Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. This webinar is being Time. Heat. Heat. But they're measuring, you know, they say it's hard to measure coverage because of
>> how many, you what time of the year it is, right? Leaves are >> Yeah. And so then they, you know, said, "Well, we're going to measure the the um girth of the tree, you know, the inches of the trees." Okay, that makes sense, too. I said, "But are you being specific about the species of the tree?"
>> I said, "Because you could have a 10-inch palm tree and 10 inch palm tree you don't really give a crap about." >> So, >> preserve. That's not going to do much in the way of canopy. identif >> Well, and you know, yeah,
>> I think you probably have an average canopy cover per >> inch of tree ratio for like a pine, but that's going to be a different ratio for live >> oak. Live oak's going to have a larger So that's why I said, you know, I think
we need to kind of be more specific about the species because there's certain species we don't really care about keeping and there's certain species that we definitely basically the hardwood. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, >> that's true. >> It's all the hardwood trees that we care
about. I don't know what else is native to Florida besid you know obviously the oaks. So we have walnut many varieties of oak trees then we have hickory trees.
>> I didn't think the sycamores were cypress >> of course. >> So we're going to we're going to do all the regular meeting. Another one that doesn't >> last. >> So that's what it is.
messing with the wetland. >> Like to call the meeting to order. Please get stand for a moment of silence and the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, if we can have the roll call, please. >> Jamie Gerard >> here. >> Christopher P >> here. >> John Moody >> here. >> Matthew Ms. >> Derek
>> here. >> Chris Williams represented by Richard Tanella >> here. >> Chairman Charles Ray >> here. And the proof of publication. The items were advertised from the Tampa Bay Times on August 6, 2025, October
22nd, 2025, November 5th, 2025, and November 9th, 2025. My affidavit of certified mailing. >> All right. Thank you very much. Have any minutes? Nope.
So, I'd like to welcome everyone that's here today. Um, give you a little bit of background on our meetings and how that goes. the um we're the planning commission. We're appointed by the board of county commissioners and we meet twice monthly. We serve as a local planning agency and we hold public hearings and transmit to the board of
county commissioners our recommendations on comprehensive plan amendments, land development code amendments, uh conditional use requests and the planning commission is the final decision-making body for special exceptions, certain appeals, variance requests, and certain alternative sub
requests. However, final decisions may be appealed to the board of county commissioners. Anyone is in opposition to any land development code amendment, any resoning amendment, uh, or anything or any item where the planning commission transmits the recommendation to the board of county
commissioners, it's important for you to attend the appropriate board of county commissioner meeting. Those of you not familiar with the format of the meetings, we have three sections: continuences, consent items, and regular items. And we'll go through these one at
a time. And um it's been our it's been our policy to um uh when we have a request from the staff or the applicant for continuance to approve those requests. Um and then you'll be notified when the when it's
going to be back on the regular agenda. We have consent items and there are those are items where we've had the application in and no one has objected or there's any controversy about it from the staff or the public. We'll go through those one at a time.
And uh if there's anything on consent that you'd like to have heard today, please raise your hand and we'll pull it off of the consent agenda and put it on the regular items agenda. And then the regular items will be fully vetted today. The applicants will make their presentations and the public will have a
chance to be heard. Applicants have five minutes to make their presentations and people in the audience will have three minutes to ask their questions. Then the applicant will have an opportunity to come back up and try to answer those questions best they can.
Um uh I think has there been many requests for extra time today? >> There are no requests for extra time. Mr. Chair, >> just so you'll know this, if there if you need extra time, you have to request it in writing at least 24 hours prior to
this meeting. This is a good time to um remind everyone to silence your cell phones so that it doesn't go off when anybody else is speaking. And uh uh so before we start the regular
meeting, we're we open the meeting for public comment on things that are not listed on today's agenda. Is there anyone here is that's here to speak on something that's not on today's agenda? If you come forward and give your name and address, please.
So, anybody who plans to give testimony today, if you will stand, raise your right hand, and be sworn. Anybody who plans to speak about >> you do.
>> All right. I'm short so I'm gonna have to bend. >> That's okay. It's perfect. >> But I can be loud too. >> Okay. My name is Cindy Buckle. I live at 5938 Frontier Drive in Zephr Hills.
I am here to talk about the construction that's happening at County Road 54 and Gateway. The expansion of the existing Forest Lake Estates mobile home park. They have consistently blocked us in. We
only have one way out. There are there are several roads. There's s there's wood trail. There's frontier marks and gateway. This activity that they've been doing with the construction
have totally blocked us from being able to leave or come in to our homes. And not only that, but they have turned Frontier or Gateway into basically a dirt road where you can't even see if
someone else is in front of you. Um, they consistently stop the people that are trying to exit onto 54, whether you're trying to go left or right, and they allow the construction vehicles to come in to
gateway before they allow the residents out of our out onto 54 for very wherever we need to go. Traffic is backed up. It has been backed up to 98.
It has also been backed up past the Chansy Road County 54 intersection. It's caused many, many accidents. They're not serious, but it has caused many accidents. And in my case,
I had to go to the hospital. And when I say I had to go to the hospital, I had to go. And instead of calling an ambulance, my husband was driving me. Okay. Um, we could not get out. And when
I say we could not get out, we wait sometimes 10 and 15 minutes to get out. There's a lot of people that live on these roads. Forest Lake Estates alone has hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people.
So, I have I don't know who's doing it. Nobody seems to be able to tell me. I don't see any F dot trucks. I just see these people with a stop sign. And then today, I had a very rude person
literally bring the sign up to the front of my vehicle and hit the front of my vehicle with it when I was pulled up to the stop sign. And fortunately, I have a bra on the
hood of my car because my car has basically been destroyed by rocks. I've gone through three windshields. Um, and I don't I don't know who's doing it. It needs to stop though because
ambulances couldn't even get in. Two ambulances tried to get in to Forest Lake Estates. I was a paramedic firefighter for 15 years and I know minutes can be a the difference between life and death. So, whoever's doing
this, they need to look at it and they need to make sure they do it right. There are no kind of flashing lights, no law enforcement whatsoever anywhere around this. So, >> okay. Thank you very much. >> It's got to stop. >> We don't really deal with those issues.
We're mainly uh land use and zoning. So, um, is there anybody from the county that does want to speak to it? Mr. Engel, >> David Engel, planning and economic development director. I will speak to Miss Buckwald because we have had issues with construction traffic access and
other projects. So, we're going to determine if there's a an MOT plan uh managing a traffic during the construction phase and see if there's a hall route or construction route. and we'll follow up and we'll even send somebody out to talk to the developer and the contractors. >> Great. >> I'll do that now. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you, David. >> Okay. Is there anyone else? If not, uh let's move to the first um presentation. Good afternoon, planning commission members. Giana German, Planning, Development, and Economic Growth. Item
PC1 is PTE 267899. A zoning amendment in the name of Daniel D. Pascal and Kevin Singleary, Massachusetts Avenue. change in zoning from a C1 neighborhood commercial district to a C2 general commercial district located in West Pasco County on
the southwest corner of the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Kina Street containing approximately 1.03 acres. This is coming with a request to continue the item to the January 22nd, 2026 planning commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Newport Richie.
>> All right. Is the applicant present? Anyone here to object? All right, let's go to the next one. >> Item PC2, you will be sitting as a local planning agency. PDE 260185, a smallcale comprehensive plan amendment
CPASS2326 in the name of Blackwell Mixeduse PD an ordinance amending the Pasco County comprehensive plan providing for a comprehensive plan amendment to the future land use map 2-15 and sheet 19 from comm to PD plan development on
approximately 15.36 acres of real property located on the north side of state road 54 approximately.3 miles southeast of the intersection of State Road 54 and Starky Boulevard. A text amendment creating a sub area policy flew 7.1.80
Blackwell Mixeduse PD and a map amendment to the future use map 2-9 adding sub area map 2-980 Blackwell Mixeduse PD. And this is coming with a request to continue the item to the December 8th, 2025 planning commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Dade
City. Okay. The applicant present >> December. >> Anyone here to object? >> Shouldn't that be heard in Newport, Richie? >> No, we're had a special situation. So, I authorized it to be heard in dates. Okay.
>> So, um Okay, next one. >> Item PC3 is the companion to PC2. PC3 is PDE 267778, a zoning amendment in the name of Blackwell MF and office complex MPUD
master plan unit development 5415 Inc. a resoning request from an AC agricultural district to an MPUD master plan unit development district to allow for the development of 290 multif family units and 50,000 square feet of commercial and medical office uses and
associated infrastructure on approximately 15.36 acres. And this one is also coming with the request to continue the item to the December 11th, 2025 planning commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Dade City. >> December 11th or December 8th?
>> December 11th. Yeah, I just looked the 8th is Monday. >> So it's 11. >> No, it would be Thursday the the 11th. That >> and I assume the applicant is not here. >> Anyone here to object? Okay. Um
>> move to continue item PC1 to the January 22nd, 2026 meeting in Newport Richie. Item PC2 to the December 11th meeting in Dade City. and item PC3 to the December 11th meeting in Dade City. >> Second. >> Have a motion and we have a second. Any
further discussion on the motion? If not, all in favor sign. >> Mr. Chair, we do have one more item on the continuence agenda. >> We do. >> Yes, sir. Item PC7 was moved to the continuence agenda. >> We've already got one motion. Let's go ahead and finish that one. And
>> so, all in favor sign I like sign. >> Motion carries. Okay. Now, you said PC7. We're going to jump around a little bit, huh? >> Yes, sir. Uh, item PC7 is the last item that we have on the continuence agenda today. It's PTE26-CU9,
a conditional use in the name of Bear Creek Group Home/elevated Youth Services. It's a conditional use for a residential treatment care facility in an R4 high resident high density, excuse me, residential district located in West Market, Pasco County, uh, east of Nature
Trail Road and 990 ft south of the intersection of State Road 52 in Nature Trail containing approximately.16 acres. And this item was published as a consent. However, a continuence has been requested by the applicant to January 22nd, 2026 planning commission meeting
at 1:30 p.m. in Newport Richie. We do have one individual signed up on WebEx to comment on this item. If you would like to open it up for comment or we are able to confer with the individual if they are on WebEx if they would like to wait until January 22nd.
>> All right. Is the applicant present? >> Applicant is not present. Um, so we have one person that wants to speak on it. >> Uh, we just confirmed that they are not online. So we have nobody here today to speak up. Uh, excuse me to speak on >> I would also ask if there's anybody in the public because this was not this was
not shown as a continuence on our I did. In fact, I just asked, but >> Okay. Is there anyone here that wants to speak on it? >> Okay. >> Oh, yes. There's one in the back. >> There's one in the back. >> Where? >> ACDC. >> Oh, you're hidden.
>> Okay. Um, let let me just explain to you that if you do speak on it today, then you won't be able to speak on it on the 22nd. So, you're welcome to speak on it today, but I'm just letting you know. >> So, is it going to be pushed to January 22nd? >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Okay. >> And that is the last item that we have in the continuence agenda today. >> Okay. Have a motion. Motion to continue PC7 to January 22nd. >> Second motion in a second. Further discussion? >> Yes.
>> When you come back on the 22nd, would you please have a representative from the sheriff's department here to discuss the case? >> I think we can make that happen. Something. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> So, we have a motion and a second. A
motion amended to include a request for someone from the sheriff's department. Is that correct? Yes. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, we have a second of that motion. Yeah. >> All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Like sign. >> All right.
>> All right. Uh we're going to try and get a little bit back on schedule here. Item PC4 is the first item on the consent agenda. It's PTE 262108. It's an alternative standard in the name of Lowe's Gun Highway. an alternative standard from the requirements of the
land development code section 406.1.10 10. C.1 signs and additional standards for permanent signs in non-residential districts, wall signs, and to allow combining all wall signage on the north
building elevation in a C2 general commercial district located in South Central Pasco County, approximately 467 ft from the southwest corner of the intersection of Gun Highway and State Road 54, containing approximately 7.95 acres. Uh this is coming with the
recommendation of approval with conditions from the planning development and economic growth department. >> All right. Is the applicant present? All right. Is anybody here to speak against it? If not, uh we'll leave it on consent.
Okay. Item PC5 is PTE267902, a zoning amendment in the name of Palomari Properties LLC, Lakewood Duplex, a special exception for two duplex buildings in an R2 low density
residential district, land development code section 515.4A 4A going from R2 low density residential, excuse me, in an R2 lowdensity residential district. Special exception uses in northwest Pasco County
on the north side of State Road 52 approximately 24 ft west of Colony Road containing approximately 87 acres. And this item now has individuals signed up to speak and we ask that this item be moved to the regular agenda. >> All right, then we'll move it to the
regular agenda. Okay. >> Item PC6. I would like to note for the record that Chairman Gray is Gray, excuse me, is reclusing himself from PC6. It's PTE 267894, a zoning amendment in the name of Dubulus and Little MPUD master plan unit
development. Gan D Little, Terry W. Little, Peter A. Little. It is a resoning request from an MPUD master plan unit development district to an MPUD master plan unit development district to amend the MPD and associated infrastructure on approximately 17.99
acres. And this is coming with the recommendation of approval with conditions from the planning development and economic growth department. >> All right. Is the applicant present? >> Anyone here to object? >> Don't see anyone. >> Mr. Chairman, just for the record, I have to recuse myself from voting, too.
Um, I think my form has been turned in on this item. >> Okay. All right. >> Item PC8. You'll be sitting as the local planning agency for this item. It's PTE 260023,
a comprehensive plan amendment CPASS 25004, Herod Sandy Lakes, providing for a comprehensive plan amendment to the future land use maps 2-15 and sheet 19. changing from res9 residential 9 million units per gross acre and IL industrial
light to IL industrial light on approximately 75.017 acres of real property located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Interl and Road and Gun Highway. This is coming with the recommendation that the
local planning agency find the proposed amendment consistent with the comprehensive plan. >> All right, very good. Applicant present. Anyone here to object? Okay. >> Item PC9. You will also be sitting as
the local planning agency for this item. It's PTE 26-000019 comprehensive plan amendment in the name of CPASS2507 Ridge Road Retail Plaza providing for a comprehensive plan amendment to the future land use maps 2-15 and sheet 10
changing from res 6 residential 6 milling units per gross acre to comm commercial on approximately 1.72 acres of real property located on the north side of Ridge Road approximately 180 ft east of the intersection of Broad Street and Ridge Road and this is also coming with the recommendation that the local
planning agency find the proposed amendment consistent with the comprehensive plan and this is the last item that we have on the consent agenda. >> All right, I have a motion. >> Um you should probably handle six separately. >> Separately. >> Yeah, handle six separately, please. >> Okay.
>> Okay. So motion to approve uh PC 4, PC8 and PC9. >> Second. >> Have a motion in a second. Any further discussion on the motion? If not, all in favor signify by saying I >> opposed like sign.
>> Okay. >> Okay. >> Uh Mr. Mo motion to approve PC6. >> Is there a question? Gian has a question. >> Okay. Uh Mr. Chair, do we have quorum on item PC6 since we have two chair members that are reclused? >> Question.
>> Voting conflicts don't affect your quorum requirement. >> Okay. >> Okay. So, I still Yeah, I still move approval for six. I'll second that. >> Okay, we have a motion. Second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I oppose like sign.
>> Okay. >> Okay. Uh the first item that we have on the regular agenda is item PC5. >> Okay. We'll need your name and address. me. Kayla Ye.
>> Oh, okay. Good afternoon. Uh, Kayla Ye, she's with us. >> Pull it down a little bit. >> The microphone. >> There we go. >> Kayla Yei with Planning, Development, and Economic Growth. >> Okay. PDE26-7902 is a special exception for two duplex
buildings in the R2 low density residential district in the name of Palomari Properties LLC. The future land use is RES 6 in the comp plan and the applicant is requesting to develop the property with two duplex units in conformance with the R2 low
density residential district standards of the land development code. The subject sites are on the north side of State Road 52 and approximately 24 ft west of Colony Road. It is also located within the central
market area. Uh this is a context view of our map. Uh as you can see the subject properties are the two parcels highlighted in red. Here's an aerial view of our map. The surrounding future land use uh is
res six to the north, the south, the east, and the west. The surrounding zoning to the north is R2. >> You look to your left. >> Oh, okay. I shall proceed. Um, the surrounding zoning to the north
is R2. To the east is PUD, the Sugar Creek PUD. uh to the south and to the west are uh R2 are both R2 zoning. The subject parcels are undeveloped on approximately 0.87 acres. Uh one parcel
being tracked 108 makes up 47 acres. Uh and the other parcel uh tracked 109 accounts for the remaining 40 acres. Access will be from Lakewood Drive, a standard countymaintained residential
roadway. Uh this is the applicant's uh conceptual plan. As you can see, the site plan illustrates the front view, the side view, and the rear view. Um, PTE recommends the proposed special exception shall be capped at two duplex
units on the total 0.87 acreage, limiting one duplex per lot. PTE also recommends for no vehicular access to the properties from Colony Road pursuant to the LDC section 901.3F.
Staff recommends that access shall only be from Lakewood Drive to avoid any operational and safety conflict with residential uses and accesses. >> And this is coming with recommendation for approval with conditions from the PTE. And I'll stand by for any questions.
>> Sure. How many duplexes are on Lakewood Drive? >> Uh, currently there are none. >> There's none. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. And you said Lakewood Drive was a standard roadway. >> Yes, sir. >> I noticed in the substandard roadway
analysis performed by county staff that it indicates that only two dwelling units were being constructed when there are four. And if you do the math, that would put them over the exemption. >> Good afternoon. Stacy Burgess,
Development Review Services. For this project, it will have two well one duplex on each parcel which will give you the four units. Um for it lane use 215 they would um have a
I believe let's see four units they would equal about three trips. Um for the daily they would end up being under under 100. Um the road does have some uh
isolated substandard areas, but overall the roadway is standard. >> Well, your exemption analysis says that the number of daily trips is two dwelling units times 7.2 it rate to give 15 average daily trips.
There's four dwelling units. That would be 30 daily trips. >> Correct. That is incorrect. >> It would if they if this roadway was substandard, they would fall under um about 30 daily trips. You are correct.
It should be four and not two. >> So then they should provide a substandard roadway analysis. >> They at the most they would have to provide a prop share if it was substandard. >> Well, >> but not but not an analysis.
>> Okay. But they're not exempt. They're I I believe the report says they're exempt, >> but the report is not correct. >> Where does this say? Does it say that it's exempt? >> Yeah, it's finding a fact number 11.
>> It says the roadway is exempt. From the document that I saw, it said that they were exempt from the analysis and exempt from the uh mitigation. >> My point is that the calculation to determine that is not correct.
>> Correct. I agree. I agree. >> They're not exempt. >> Not exempt from what? >> They're not Well, if they owe a prop share for mitigating substandard conditions, then they're not exempt from that. The form says that they were
considered to be um a standard roadway. That was the findings that the roadway is standard not substandard. There are some isolated areas where it is substandard but overall that roadway is standard and based on the land
development code the roadway can be fair. >> Okay. I'll respectfully disagree with you and I'll also make one other point. >> Okay. that when a substandard roadway analysis is submitted, our land development code says that it's to be signed and sealed
by a professional engineer. >> Okay? >> And the Florida Department, the Florida Board of Professional Engineers also requires that engineers working in government that perform such analyses have their work signed and sealed by a
professional engineer in charge. So, who's in charge? To my knowledge, this this um project did not have an analysis at all. And even if >> it's an anal it says substandard roadway analysis and it contains engineering calculations.
>> Do you mind? Can you tell me where it's listed? I have number 10, number 11. >> Page 70 of 351 of the agenda. I do not have that information. From the findings, I'm sorry, but from the findings that I have, this project did
not have an analysis. And even if they did not have the typo, even if it was four, they would not be um they wouldn't have to >> when Miss Willilhight comes in. >> Okay. >> All right. and she's going to reszone
some land and it's going to be for 500 units and they're going to access a county roadway. They don't perform a substandard roadway analysis and say that it was 20 units or 10 units. They use the 500. They use the actual number of units she's implying for the entitlement for.
>> Okay. >> Shouldn't that happen here? >> No. I mean, >> no. based on based on this project, they have four units and if the road if if we were to say this road is substandard,
they would generate more than 20 trips but less than a 100 trips. They would not have to produce an analysis. They would have to produce a prop share. >> Well, okay. Where's the computation for a prop share to fix the substandard roadway
conditions that you acknowledged a minute ago exist? >> My acknowledgement that the roadway is not substandard. You disagree with me and I respect that. >> I disagree with you because I drive on it every day. >> Okay. >> So, you definitely have personal
experience. I don't. I do. So based on that, if the road if we agree today that the road is substandard based on your personal experience, then this project would be um have to yield a prop share and then they would need to be uh
information done for that. >> Okay. So that would be some error in this report that needs to be corrected. >> Yes, that's the information. Okay. Anything anything else? >> Not with regarding traffic.
Thank you. >> Amy Tol with planning development economic growth. We can have that updated um prior to the well I guess special exception. So if you would prefer we can have that executed prior
if you want to continuence and coordinate with the applicant. Otherwise we can have that updated and bring it back with the order. That's going to be the smallest issue in this case, but >> sure, >> we'll hear the rest of it. >> Understood. Thank you. >> Also, while I have you here,
the the land development code says that you'll submit signed and sealed boundary legal descriptions and sketches of the property. Can we look at that in the application? and I'm sorry because I got to scroll up
here to find it. If this stuff was indexed, >> which part are you looking for? >> That's exhibit A, correct? >> Yes. >> Can we look at that? Can you put that up there? >> Where is it at?
Gotcha. So that looks to me like it's a signed and sealed boundary survey of a piece of one of these lots, not of the two lots. Looks like it's about the north 2/3 of
tract 108. Okay. I'd like to defer to the applicant for this question. >> Okay. >> Good afternoon planning commission. My name is Spro Dimma. I live on 12789 Perry Pic Trail in Odessa, Florida in
Pasco County site. I'm the owner of the property. >> I do have the boundary for both uh boundary survey for both properties. >> That's in our packet. Okay. I guess my point is is that that's
not a survey of the property. >> Yeah, I know. But this is the one that gets presented to us to try to decide the case. Mr. Gray, I don't see any I don't have any more questions of the staff over the application. I'm merely pointing out
that there are a lot of errors in our agenda packet with the application. So, >> okay. >> No need to do that. >> Okay. Let's continue with the presentation then. >> Thank you. >> Does that complete your presentation or do you have more?
>> Yes, that completes it, sir. >> You complete it? >> Yes. >> Okay. Any questions from staff? >> Okay, Mr. >> Present. >> Is the applicant present?
>> Yes. >> I assume he that was the gentleman that just came out. >> Uh Amy Tol, Planning Development. Based on these deficiencies, we would recommend a continuence. >> Well, if there's if there's a citizen that was here to speak to, we should let
them speak. >> Sure. Okay. Well, based on that request, is there anyone in the audience that here is here to speak on this application? >> Hear the applicant or does he want to continue it? >> Hear the staff wants one. >> I guess he said everything he wants to
say at this moment except he wants to continue. >> Does the applicant want to say anything else before we hear from the public? >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Before we hear the public, can I show the planning commission something? Yes, he's there.
>> Patty, can you put the exhibit up on the screen that I emailed to you? >> This is a map of Lakewood Drive and the surrounding neighborhood. All of the red hatched out properties
are owner occupied homestead properties. That constitutes the vast majority of this neighborhood. >> Okay. >> Yeah. I mean, the one thing I'm concerned about is compatibility.
>> Yeah. You know, >> point I'm trying to make Yes. or will make >> having been familiar with that pretty familiar with that area. So, it seems like you you're putting something in there that really doesn't fit. But
anyway, if uh we have members of the public that want to speak, if you want to come forward, please, and give us your name and address. The first individual that I have signed up to speak is a Mr. Jimmy Sarkca and after that I have a Miss Anne Warder. >> David, is this going to be continued?
Can they speak now and next time? >> Well, I think I mean, first of all, we don't even know that it's going to be continued. >> So, I think you should let them speak. >> Okay. I just want to limit their right to speak on the next one. >> All right. Your name and address,
please. Name's Jim Sarka. What's your address, Jamie? >> 11616 Colt Way. >> Okay. >> The reason I'm here is it burns my ass everything that's been going on in this county cuz I was born and raised in the
neighborhood where I'm at today. >> Mhm. My biggest question is for the gentleman that's wanting to do this of how long he's been in Pasco County and how long has he's lived in Lakewood
Acres. Okay. What's going on here? And this whole county is messed up and this should not happen by no means as far as the traffic. Yeah, I get John's point on the traffic ending
things, but it's not as much as what the zoning's been and you guys want to continue to change things and take away properties. And if I'm not mistaken, that did have originally an easement that went right through those two lots
years ago. My family's been in that neighborhood since ' 67. And ain't none of this right when you're ruining neighborhoods by putting way too much stuff on one little piece of lot.
But back to my initial question. >> Okay. He he'll have a chance to come up and respond. So, and I mean I don't know how you guys work and do with this as far as but what I've seen I guess you guys already voted on stuff because nobody's been here to
object to it and improved it and put it through. >> No, we haven't voted on anything yet. Oh, those were earlier items on the agenda. >> Yes. >> They've not taken any action on this item yet. >> No, no, I'm not saying on this. I'm saying other ones that people are here to get stuff done on.
>> There was nobody objecting to those items. >> We invited people to come. >> And then I'm going to go back to that because all the working people can't take off work to be here. And from my understanding, what the bylaws and their laws are on it is there's supposed to be
a meeting held after 5:00 for people to be able to come. And fortunately, I'm able to come >> statement, sir. >> Huh? >> That's not That's not legally accurate. >> It's not. >> We're all working people, by the way. >> Yes, I understand that to be here. >> No, I understand that. But I'm saying
the people that live in these communities and stuff where stuff's trying to get pushed through and it's getting pushed through without them being able to come because the times they have to be at work during the day and they can't come in the middle of the day. >> I'm not aware of any other duplexes that
have been pushed. >> Well, I'm not just saying the duplex. I'm talking about other stuff. >> Other cases. >> Other cases. >> This this is why we allow virtual public comment. This is why we allow people to attend virtually >> and I understand that. But when you have only during the daytime from regular
business hours of people that work regular business jobs like you guys are. So So just to to clear up maybe a misunderstanding, we don't necessarily have to approve anything that So just because there's no public comment
opposing something doesn't mean that we're going to approve it. We still review it as well as a planning commission. We look at those agenda items and if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. you know, whether there's public opposition or not. Now, obviously, if there's opposition, we're going to hear that. But, >> okay, but where's the justification come
from of it being approved that you guys feel that? >> Listen, everybody has the opportunity to ask for something if they want it. >> It doesn't always >> It doesn't mean we're going to approve it. >> It doesn't always get approved. In fact, I've got a reputation for coming in here and on these consent agenda items,
pulling them off and having a regular hearing. >> Correct. We we all review them. >> Yeah, we we do review those things. We don't just push them through. >> That's that's the purpose of the board. You know, obviously we hear the public's input like yourself, >> but our our purpose is to review these
items. And again, we might have no opposition to it, but we'll look at it and say this this is doesn't fit the neighborhood or this there's a number of reasons why we might uh recommend denial. All right. Who's next?
>> The next individual I have signed up to speak is Miss Anne Warter. And after that, we have Miss Nancy Hazelwood. >> Good afternoon. My name is Anne Water and I live at 12832 Post Road, Hudson, Florida. I've been a permanent residence
here for the past 47 years in Lakewood Acres, subdivision one, unit one, Paso County, Florida, and I'm here as a concerned residents of Lakewood Acres regarding petition number 7902,
which has been filed in the name of Palmer Properties for special exception to develop two duplexes, buildings, one duplex per lot in our R2
low density city residential district. I respectfully urge the board to deny this request. Our neighborhood was thoroughly zoned for single family homes to preserve its character, safety, and
quality of life. Allowing multifamily dwellings such as duplexes will fundamentally alter the fabric of our community. Increased density could lead to traffic cont
c congestions on street not designed for higher volume parking shortages especially on weekends and evening hours to put a strain in the infrastructure
already in place such as water, sewage, waste management, loss of green space and privacy. Y for existing home owners and the potential decline in property value due to the incompatable
development. While I understand the need for diverse housing options, zoning laws exist to ensure balanced substantial growth. Granting the granting exception sets a precedent that
could open the door for further developments inconsistent inconsistent with our neighborhood established character. I respectfully ask the board to consider the long-term implication of this
decision and to uphold the integrity of our R2 zoning. Please render a decision of no for our neighborhood. Thank you for your time and consideration.
And I heard I need substantial evidence. This is how our, you know, neighborhood was developed half an acre per home. Not, you know, and making an exception will take that
character away from Lakewood acres. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. We appreciate you coming. >> Do you need a copy of my paper? >> Is that my zoning? >> Is that something you can you are you're willing to give up or you want or you need to keep? >> I beg you pardon. >> Is that a copy that you can get?
>> This is the original from 1978 when we moved into Lakewood Acres. >> The question is, >> we have two lots, 90 and 91. >> But do you are you willing to let us keep it for the record? >> Okay. Ma'am, is that something you're willing to give up to us
>> permanently? >> Permanently? Because if you give it to us, we have to keep it for the record. >> No, >> you probably should keep it. >> Yeah, you should probably keep it. >> But I just want you to see how spacious. >> No, we know for
can Can you make us a copy? which is less than half an acre. >> I'll go make it. We'll make it. If >> staff makes a copy of it, can we'll >> give you back your original. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Thank you, Patrick. >> Can you get a motion to receive file copy?
>> Yeah. File and receive the copy. >> Second. >> Or receive and file. >> A motion and a second. Further discussion. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I post like sign. >> All right. Was there anybody else that wanted to speak on this particular topic? The next individual I have signed up to speak is a Miss Nancy Hazelwood.
And after that, I have a Miss Julia Barteneck. >> Okay. Julia here. >> All right. You want to just come up front here and sit so you don't have to? >> It's for 11. >> Huh? >> No. >> This one. It's for 11. >> Yeah. Oh, for 11. Okay.
>> Hey, it's actually Nancy Hayeswood 34110110. A nice place. I was actually trying to sign up for number 11, the tree ordinance, but since I'm here, I'll give in my two cents worth. I'm with them. It sounds like >> you're here.
>> Make it worth your while. >> It sounds like it would start the ball rolling on screwing up their whole neighborhood. So, say no. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thanks, Nancy. >> All right. There's nobody left to speak on this one. The last individual that I
have signed up to speak is a Mr. Anthony College. >> Mr. College, if you just give us your full name and address. >> Good afternoon. My name is Anthony Cly. I'm a homeowner and resident at 11854 Lakewood Drive. Um, I'm speaking on nearly 30 uh of my
fellow neighbors on a street who signed a petition against this special request and um we unanimously oppose it, adding the four units on a single family uh lot home and lot, excuse me. Uh we feel it would bring more traffic noise and
strain on parking and it would disrupt the quiet cohesive feel we've kept there for years. And um you know, I'm sure in in our position you guys would not want this on your own street. Uh I have also some signatures that I'm willing to give. I went door to door to receive
these and I find uh that task far more apprehensive than speaking before you today I might say as I've never gone door to door for anything in my life but um yeah we ask you to uh please uh deny this uh special request on Lakewood Drive as we >> turn in the petition and that's all
related to receiving file second. All >> in favor I just give it to the clerk. Yeah, give him that. All right. Thank you very much. Anyone else? Giana, >> that is the last individual I have
signed up to speak, Mr. Chair. >> All right. Does the applicant like to say anything? I totally understand the concerns of the neighbors and I thought I was going to >> but I'm planning to build this nice duplex. >> One second. >> Sorry. >> You just need to give your name and
address every time you come up to speak. >> I'm sorry. Sorry. Spirroodimma 12789 Berry Pre Desa, Florida 3556. >> All right. Good. Go ahead. I totally understand the concerns of the neighbors. I'm planning I have a picture
approximately the draftsman gave me how it's going to look and uh it looks very good and I'm planning to keep the value of the property high and uh I can build as it is without approval and reszoning with main
residence let's say 1 1700 ft² and ADU unit which I don't need any approval or any exceptions or any reasonzoning questions but I didn't think it's going to look good to stag four you four uh buildings in that neighborhood is going to look I said maybe a small duplex good-l looking
duplex is going to keep and it's going to be only two bedrooms is going to be a lot less traffic than me building four different residents over there I thought was this is going to be look much better than me building two big houses and two small houses which I'm allowed to build it without approval
>> okay anything else >> that's it I hope I can give uh my personal cell phone number to any neighbor and we can discuss it. I guarantee you and I promise I'm going to keep that property as by all other properties not good. Perfect. Like no problems at
all like zero. It's going to be a beautiful looking property. >> And what happens when you sell it? >> Excuse me. >> And what happens when you sell it? >> I'm not selling it. >> No. The reason No, the reason of doing this I >> We don't know. >> No. No. I guarantee you that because the
reason I'm doing this, I have a son in high school and a river and a river and I have a daughter, but she's not going to deal with real estate. She wants to be a doctor like her mom and my son wants to go in that direction and I know I'm only 50. As long as I'm alive, that
property is not going to be sold. I know that. >> I can sign it. >> So, you're going to occupy the property or >> No, I'm going to rent it. >> Okay. But I'm not going to sell the property. >> Any other questions? Anything else? All right. Thank you very much.
Appreciate you coming in. >> Okay. Anybody have any comments, questions? Anybody want to make a motion uh to generate a question or com? >> So, our options are to approve, deny, or continue. >> Correct.
>> Just like any other case. The only thing is though that I the only concern I have about approving it as Mr. Moody noted is I'm not sure you have a correct legal description in front of you to approve it.
So unless staff tells me they have that we're wrong about that. >> Amy tell planning development economic growth. That's correct. The legal description that's in there is not for the two properties. Uh, however, the
applicant did show me a legal description with both, but it was not signed and sealed. So, we do need to have that signed and sealed. >> And the other thing is that there is no condition of approval that says what the correct prop share would be for the substander road.
>> Correct. >> So, >> that is something that I did speak with Stacy with and we can get that fairly quickly. Um, so it's >> I'm just not sure that it's well approval is technically an option. I'm not sure it's approvable today. So
realistically, I think your options are denial and continuence. >> Okay. >> I'd like to make a motion for denial. Personally, I don't think it's compatible at all in that area. I'll second that. And I will thank the planning commission because in full
disclosure, I live on Spur Road on the second lot north of Colt Way and this is my neighborhood. And I will tell you that this is a neighborhood of predominantly owner occupied homes. There are no
duplexes on Lakewood Drive and it just doesn't fit. So, one thing you need to do, and I don't know if the motion maker wants to do it or who the whoever seconded the motion, um, but you have to site the criteria
for special exception >> denial >> are in your packet. So, you need to site one or more of those criteria. >> Mr. Gray, if I may help you. >> Yes. >> Objective flu 1.4, for protection of residential neighborhoods to ensure the
long-term viability of residential neighborhoods by regulating future development and redevelopment to create compatibility with surrounding land uses. >> I like that one. >> What he say? >> Yeah, that's >> Well, we also typically site policy
1.10.1. >> I have happen to have that one here, too. >> I was just going to bring >> Would you like a copy? >> Well, do you want to read to him what that one says? >> Sure. It says that we will review all plan amendments, resoning, special exception and conditional use applications as necessary for
compatibility and appropriate timing. Review shall include and I think the most important one as to this case would be B consideration of existing development patterns and approved development in that area and D consideration of environmental and
cultural features and community character. So, and that's special exception criteria one, which is consistent consistency with the comprehensive plan. >> Correct. >> Are there any others that you think are appropriate in the special exception
criteria? >> Um, potentially policy flu 1.10.2 to foster superior design and to mitigate potential incompatibilities encourage the use of land use techniques and design. Such techniques may include
but not be limited to the following I limits on density or intensity. >> Okay. I actually I meant other in the special exception criteria. You you cite a number of comp plan policies. There's also other special exception criteria.
I'm asking are any of those that you wanted to site as well? >> Yeah, I'm looking for the normally we haven't >> they're in your agenda packet. Let me pull them up. >> Can't find it. >> It's normal towards the end of the item. >> The signature sheet, correct?
>> Yeah, it's a signature sheet. >> Well, your choices are the proposed use shall be consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies of the adopted comprehensive plan elements or applicable portions thereof. Two, the proposed use will not create or excessively increase traffic or parking
congestion or otherwise affect public safety. Three, the site upon which the proposed use to be located has suitable drainage, access, ingress and egress, on-site parking, loading areas, refuge collection, and adequate utilities available to service the site.
Four, the site which the special exception is to be located has or will have screening and buffering sufficient to prevent interference with the enjoyment of surrounding properties. Five, proposed signs and lighting will not create any adverse glare or adversely affect traffic safety,
economic value or cause other significant problems on adjoining or surrounding properties. And last but not least, six, there is adequate yard and open space to serve the property upon which the special exception use will be maintained. Yeah, looks like probably
one and two apply from what I can see. >> So the motion is to deny it based on number one based on the comp plan policies read by Mr. Moody and number two. Is that the motion? >> That's that's a motion I'll second the
motion if you a motion and we have a second. >> Okay. >> Any further discussion of the motion? >> If not, all in favor signify by saying I. I >> I >> opposed like sign. Okay. Question is denied.
>> Oops. The next item that we have on the regular agenda, we're going to jump a little bit to item AP13. You'll be sitting as the local planning agency for this item and it has a companion MPU which is P10 DRB Little and Ross MPUD.
Item AP13 is PTE 260173, a comprehensive plan amendment in the name of CPA S2511 DRB Little Road and LO Ross Lane, excuse me, providing for a small scale comprehensive plan amendment to the future land use maps 2-15 and sheet 10
changing from comm 9 residential 9 dwelling units per gross acre to res 6 residential six dwelling units per gross acre on approximately 26.2 2 acres of real property located six located approximately 600 feet east of the intersection of Little Road and Ross
Lane. And this is coming with the recommendation that the local planning agency find the proposed amendment consistent with the comprehensive plan presented by staff. All right. Good afternoon. Amy Tol planning development and economic growth.
Before you is PTE 26-0173. It's a proposed comprehensive plan amendment in the name of CPASS 2111 DRB Little and Ross. The proposal is a smallcale comprehensive plan amendment to change
the future land use from comm and res 6 or I'm sorry and res 9 to res 6. Uh the proposal is to allow for a maximum of 74 single family dwelling units located approximately.18 miles east of the intersection of Little Road and Ross Lane. There is a companion
MPD to follow this presentation. Properties located in the West Market area and urban service area. Here's a visual of the context map. There's an existing residential development to the east. Uh subject site is currently vacant. There's uh
commercial located along the corridor of Little Road up to Ridge Road. Uh commercial to the north as well. Here's an aerial view of the proposed site. The existing future land use is currently Res 9 and Calm. As you can
see, there's res 9 to the east, commercial to the north and west, rir and res 9 to the south. Proposed development is or the proposed land use change is to res 6. Existing zoning district is currently
see a portion C2 and AC with C2 along the corridor. uh following policies are consistent with the comprehensive plan or the following amendment is consistent with the comprehensive plan policies. I always say that backwards, I'm sorry.
And the following uh policies are not consistent with the proposed area. And with that, we recommend the local planning agency find the proposed amendment consistent with the comprehensive plan. And I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have unless you would like to see the
PowerPoint for the MPU. also. >> Okay. Anybody want to see the PowerPoint? No. >> Okay. Mr. Chair, this item came to the county attorney's office very late. Um, we still have a lot of issues with some of the statements in the memo.
>> Mhm. >> And they need to be corrected, but I think those are things that probably can be fixed after the planning commission acts. I don't they're too numerous to go through today, but >> there's a reason why I came to you so
late on the agenda. >> Okay. >> All right. Okay. Thank you. >> Good afternoon. Barbara Willil Heights, 6327 Grand Boulevard. I just have one presentation. So, if you would like to hear the staff's MPU presentation, then
the public can hear all your presentations, my presentation before they speak. I think that would be a good order of things if you agree. >> It's fine. >> Okay. >> Good afternoon. William Vermillion, Planning Development, Economic Growth. Before I get started, I have a couple
expartes to submit to the clerk's office. This is the companion amendment uh the companion zoning amendment to the comprehensive plan amendment the DRB little and Ross MPD PTE 267893. Here is the current location within the
western uh market area. This is a reszoning request from agricultural AC to MPD master plan unit development to allow for the maximum development of 74 single family detached units and associated infrastructure on approximately 26.2 acres. This is
northeast of Little Road and the Ross Lane intersection. Here is the location map. The MPD outlined in red. To the south being Ross Lane, commercial out parcels as you move west towards Little Road and to the
south is the VA. Here's the existing zoning map. The existing future land use map showing that a portion of the site is commercial and a portion of this site is currently res 9. contextual map here highlighting
that about 0.5 miles to the north is the Little Road and Ridge Road intersection and the Veterans Affairs of course to the to the south. This is the MPD master plan which illustrates some pedestrian
infrastructure both internal and external to the development. I'm going to skip forward slightly to the binding concept plan which illustrates this a little bit more clearly. But notably here uh we can see that these are a minimum 60 ft lots for
the single family detached. Here is the binding concept plan oriented on the PowerPoint. I know it looks a little weird, but that's to keep the north arrow pointing north. You can see the access off of Ross Lane and the
sidewalk that will be built along the frontage uh on the north side of Ross Lane as well as the 17 ft of additional dedication for Ross Lane there in yellow. As you move west towards the Little Road intersection, you can see the offsite segment of sidewalk that
this project is constructing that is mobility fee credible since it is an off-site improvement. As we move further north, highlighted in red is the 8-foot uh pathway bu being built on site to the south of the storm water facilities and
then along the access road of the adjoining commercial properties. And then finally in orange is the 6-foot path internal that navigates from the crossaxis on the east north around the
storm water facilities and to the 8 foot path in red. Here is a drone connectivity exhibit that the applicant was kind enough to provide which shows the current subject site and the same applicable coloring of the
different multi-use segments that I just mentioned on the connectivity plan. The orange segment, the red segment, and the offsite yellow segment in conjunction with the on-site green segment along Ross Lane. There's one variation request
with this proposal here from 901611 street design and dedication requirements to not provide an interconnect to the north or directly to the west to the north. If we move back um
if we move back towards the aerial that is uh the current lows uh there that's uh on the south side of Ridge Road that southern portion of the Lowe's is the loading dock and side access for the trucks.
And to the west you can see the commercial outpartial division that's already begun through commercial subdivision um within the overall polygon of the conflu in lie of a complete vehicular connect directly to the west. the applicant is providing pedestrian
connections to the west in in the form of that eight use path as well as uh the fact that the the main western connection is going to be on Ross Lane which is approximately 900 ft
south of where that western connection would be. It's a very short distance away and serves as the most meaningful vehicular connection. I will point out that the signalization of Ross Lane and Little Road is currently at 30% design
with the county as it's on the CIP with construction anticipated fiscal year 27. Those signalization improvements do include an additional right turn lane being built on on Ross Lane westbound
onto Little Road as well as intersection improvements to Little Road uh for both uh the northbound and southbound left turn lanes from Little Road. Pursuant to the conditions of approval, the applicant is going to be paying a proportional share for these improvements as a as a part of this
development at $128,000. And with with that being said, uh PTE is immunable to the variation request for for those following reasons and come to you with a recommendation of approval with the reasonzoning request. uh with conditions to the board of county commissioners. I'm here for any questions.
>> So the interconnect to the east, what is that going to? >> That that is a a stub out in case there's a future development. Right now there's a a single family home that's there that actually gets their access from the neighborhood. Um,
as you move a little bit further east on Ross Lane, if I had a a larger aerial, their access is actually off of one of those internal streets. It's a long dirt driveway where they have an easement. >> Okay. So, we're just going to put a stub there to know to nowhere, basically.
>> Excuse me. I'm sorry. We can't speak from the audience. You'll have a chance to speak. You Yes. So, you'll you'll notice that the it's it's just a a stub in case they they ever sell sell sell their property. Yes, sir.
>> Okay. Any other questions? >> That sidewalk that goes out, it looks like toward the Wendy's, that's when it's off the property, there'll be something to connect that so they're not >> Are you speaking uh to the yellow segment or the red segment? >> The red segment.
>> The Yes, sir. the the red segment will um move from this property and give uh pedestrian access to the the Wendy's and the commercial development there. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Thank you, William.
>> Good afternoon again, Barbara Willil Height, 6327 Graham Boulevard. I bring my laptop because I can't see up there. I need bigger screens. >> I know if staff can bring up my PowerPoint.
I'll start with saying um I'm happy to be here. I have represented this property in its prior life with another potential developer who was going to develop a multif family rental. So, I've met these neighbors. We've come along a journey together to get to this place
where we're going to do 70 DRB. My client's going to do 74 single family homes, 6,000 square foot lots, 60 60 foot wide, very compatible with Crescent Forest, which is a very nice neighborhood to our east. So, I think we've come up with something and we had a neighborhood neighbor meeting the
other night. Um, well received and uh and my client's working with Crescent Forest. They have a very nice entry wall, ornamental wall. and my client's going to do something very similar so that our neighbor neighbor community
will have some continuity of quality um when even not only with the home sites being the larger homes but also along our frontage. So they are well underway to working together as as as new neighbors. So I probably should do this properly.
staff has done a good job showing you the context obviously of where we're at and we all know it's just north of here. Um this is the shows you where this little bit of commercial is. Um it's really remnant commercial in my view. What
happens is when somebody sites commercial sometimes they don't get the boundary right and this is that scenario. The commercial has is located itself along little road. It's called Little um Road Landings Commercial and it's already platted and it has the depth needed for commercial. So to me
it's just a mapping. This is a mapping issue of remnant commercial um in my opinion and this is the comming under the current land use which is res 9 and comm there could be 421 dwelling units. We are proposing 74 which is an
82% reduction. We could have said let's take this land use to resz 9 because it already is res 9 and comm but we actually downed it to res six the non because there is commercial even though it's
went somewhere um >> oh you guys are really trying to mess with me can't see and I >> see that anyway >> can't see and it's black Um,
>> that's funny. >> I can What are you talking about? It's right there. >> Yeah, it's >> Oh my goodness. I'm glad you're all helping me out here. >> We We can see it up here. >> Okay. Well, >> we used to be able to >> I have ruined all of that. I am going on vacation on Saturday for a
week and I'm excited about it. Um, so as we were saying, even though that I think it's remnant commercials just because sometimes you don't get the lines right, it does produce the ability to have some some pretty intense um numbers when it comes to square footage. Um, this would
take that to zero. So the residents would know they would have residential next to them and no more commercial. Um, height is interesting. This is in the urban service area. So currently the property has no height limit. Our height limit in our conditions um leaves us is only two stories.
As you've heard, we're proposing the 60 74 single family homes, 60 foot lots. We did a binding concept plan. We're exceeding PM26. When you do 60 foot lots, you don't have to do the monotony control architectural features per the wording of PM26, but we have incorporated that into our conditions.
23 foot driveways, minimum trees per lot, HOA management of our on street parking, all things that have been important to the board and for other communities. You've already seen William did a great job going through our binding um concept plan. These are the homes. We're proud to
bring the DRB homes which have the three some of them will have three-car garages. I know the house I raised my kids in in Trinity had a three-car garage. So, nice to see some of that coming back. This is our connectivity exhibit. What we wanted to do here is just show
our how we fit into the existing because we clearly this is an infill piece. We have commercial we have development all the way around us. Um you heard about the the um path sidewalk 8 foot sidewalk that we're going to be putting where the
red is along the roadway um driveway that goes to Wendy's to the commercial project. The commercial project left a couple gaps. One being this gap here. So although they have a sidewalk all the way along
their back reverse frontage road, it stops. And so we're going to pick up and we're going to pick up a side sidewalk and put a sidewalk on our property. It's not the perfect way to do this because their sidewalk is on their property and
our sidewalks on our property, but because it was missed or something happened and the commercial project didn't put in when they put in the driveway through the Wendy's property, they didn't put in a sidewalk. We're trying to do our best to pro to fill in that gap.
There's also a gap on Ross Lane um where their storm water pond is that that was missed somehow, I guess. And so that's a gap that we're going to fill in. And so we're trying to fill in the gaps and to have a nice pedestrian movement. As William explained that you can't really
see behind this commercial property. There is a reverse frontage road all the way down to Ross. And so it's not in yet, but I understand the plans for the commercial out parcel that's next to Ross are in. And so that connection will be made. So, the residents, and they
were kind of happy to hear this, they won't have to go on Little Road. Our our neighbors over here um to my right, won't have to go on Little Road to get to all the commercial. Our residents won't have to go to on Little Road to get to all the commercial. So, they'll be able to drive down that reverse
frontage road or walk or bike with the pedestrian connectivity that we're filling in. As you heard about the traffic signal, you heard about that. And I wanted to just kind of show you this. Um, we plan on having our project permits
and and first model in in Q3, Q4, 2027. The county's timing for the signal is 2027. So, those will coincide nicely. The signal will be in by the time we start having residents moving in. I do get asked um a bit about you know
the connectivity to the west um and why we don't have vehicular connectivity. There is an ECR and I I represented the commercial project to the west as well as this property now twice. Um, and there is an easement covenant
restrictions over Lowe's, KFC, Wendy's, Dunkin Donuts, and now the commercial property to the west. They all were part of an ECR many years ago. And uh that's the how that project
to the west was able to get that connectivity through Wendy's. Although that took him two years to to get that connectivity that was contemplated in the ECR for Wendy for them to get the connectivity for that commercial project that reverse frontage road that goes all the way it will go all the way from King
Haley. Let me start from the south. It'll go from Ross to King Healey and then we all know if we've been to Lowe's you can get through Lowe's and up to Ridge Road. So, finally achieving some nice vehicular connectivity. We do not have a connectivity to our west. Um,
one, we're not part of that ECR, so we we can't access their roads with our vehicles. Um, and two, we want to have our community really doesn't want to have um sitting in your backyard looking at a connection
to Wendy's. So, we're for for both reasons. We don't have the ability to do it, nor would the community really want we don't think that would be good for the community um an asset for the community. So, I wanted to explain that because I get questions about that about how this ECR works and what's going on
out there. If when you look at King Healey as a as you leave Wendy's and you go to the light, King Boulevard is actually that portion is actually on Kentucky Fried Chicken's property. So, it's kind of interesting. It's kind of an old school ECR and the way it's set up. So you'd have to to change that ECR,
you'd have to approach 12 different corporations and uh it took just the commercial property to the west had to approach just Wendy's because they were part of the ECR and it took them years. So in any event, um I hope you receive
this as well as as uh I think it's received. I know we had a wonderful neighborhood meeting and we'll continue to meet and work with our neighbors any way we can. We are improving the drainage situation just to we know it's got some engineers here their their pond does get full um right now with the
drainage that comes to it but as a result of this project we are going to take drainage that's now coming their way from the commercial legally coming their way and we're going to take it and pipe it to our pond and then we're going to go north so they will see a reduction
in um water coming to their pond in a storm event. So I think that'll be helpful to them. Thank you. >> Thank you, Barbara. >> The first individual that I have signed up to speak on this item is a Mr. Costas Cist.
>> Good afternoon. I think I know some of you up there. I'm um my name is Kasus Kustakis. I'm the um I live at Crescent Forest 8841 Crescent Forest. Um I'm the president of the association. I'm a
retired engineer and executive. So I have met with uh DBR and we have gone over with the developer. We have gone over some issues that I had and I'm very satisfied for the first time in 28 years of somebody you know coming in
as a neighbor of ours. Um, however, there's still a little bit of issues as um, uh, the VA apparently has decided to use Ros Lane as the main entrance and exit when they were supposed to use it
only on time of an emergency. That's going to bring an issue with all the construction equipment going in in and out. Um, I will propose the expedition of the the changing of Ros Lane and the turning lane and everything else in
order to reduce all those issues for the developer and also for the for the residents of of our community. It wouldn't have been nice to have another entrance for the equipment, but I do understand as an engineer some of
the, you know, previous uh mistakes of the past in regards to uh reszoning and the um in and outs of the communities. But if we can expedite some of the work that it needs to be done on Ross Lane, I
think it's going to be a perfect uh you know the position of everybody you know coming in and out or or developing that uh community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thanks.
Who's next? >> The last individual I have signed up to speak is a Mr. James Vulgum. You go, Jean, if you can give us your full name and your address. >> James Vogle, 8831 Whispering Oaks Trail. Uh, we've lived in Crescent Forest, right behind this community, for 30some
years now. We're the second home in the community. Um, my brother and sister-in-law live on Ross Lane. My sister-in-law has been there her whole life. The area has changed quite a bit through time. Um, our drainage in our neighborhood is horrible. our our lakes are overflowing and right now where
they're building looking to build these homes is a orange grove sandfield. So the drainage is pretty decent in that field and it abs absorbs more than it pushes back to us. A lot of it's coming from the lows, not from where they're building this home. The drainage I feel isn't going to do anything that they're
installing. The traffic on Little Road since they changed the traffic pattern on Little and Ross Lane. Getting in and out of that community is very difficult. And the builder said that they were paying for a light to put in there. And that's
all great, but add another 140 cars a day to that intersection is going to be difficult. On the back east end of the property, they have that stubout that you had brought up and saw that goes to a property right behind my mother's house and behind eight other homes that has
three homes on it, not one single resident. And it has a black top driveway, not a dirt driveway going to it. And that is part of our actual community. They pay the fees. They're part of our community. My fear is that the builder is looking to purchase that property and eventually put more in
there. The builder at the meeting on Tuesday tried to tell me, "No, the county made us put that stub out there. It's part of the county that did that." That's incorrect. The county doesn't tell you you have to stub out to another potential property.
>> Um, I'd beg to differ with you. >> I've never seen it before. >> That's actually enshrined in the land development code. That's a requirement in >> I've never seen it before, but >> it happens on >> I'm really concerned that their plan is to eventually add into that property behind us which is part of our community
and they pay fees in our community. That's just my biggest concerns. The traffic that's going to be on Ross Lane, the change of the traffic there and then that stub out becoming a larger complex behind us. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> May I say something?
>> Excuse me, sir. We got to give give everybody a chance to speak first and then if somebody wants to call you up, we will >> have one more individual sign up to speak. Miss Sarah Vogle. >> Okay. >> Sarah Vogle, 8720
Ross Lane. >> Okay. >> Uh I want to point out it sounds like we've been there's been community meetings involving Crescent Forest. Never have you invited Ross Lane ever. This was an issue last time she tried to
get something through. She doesn't include anybody on the street. This is important to me because my house is actually facing what you plan to build. It's also facing where you plan to put I guess their street to enter and exit.
Why I'm not included. My family's not included. Not really sure. Another point I wanted to bring up is it sounds like they're trying to use the end of Ross Lane as an easement to get out if that person sells. That's Tanglewood.
That is another home, an individual's home. So again, I don't see where they're planning this other exit. We are a deadend street. Ross Lane is a dead end. Gunshot that's connected to us is also dead end. Can
you show us on the map where you live and they can put a map up here? >> I'm sorry, sir. Remember I told >> Either way is somebody's house. >> Okay, >> there we go. >> So, you want to know where I am? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> I'm the second house on the street. Two
houses behind the VA >> right there. Can staff put up page 257 of the agenda >> because it looks like she would have been included in the notification rating. >> William and >> yeah, >> Elizabeth,
>> Elizabeth and William would be the homeowners. Yes. >> Yep. So, >> they did not get a notification about this community meeting that's been happening. >> They there's proof of mailing to their address. >> Not for that meeting. There's not. I think we're confusing two things. You're
looking at the proof of notice for this meeting. >> Correct. This meeting we got a notice notice for the >> neighbor meeting that Barbara had. >> Yes. These meetings that Barbara's having, we are not included. I just want to point out we are not part of Crescent
Forest. We are not an HOA. We do not have anything like that. We are our own entities. >> Are they required to have neighborhood meetings or was that a voluntary >> I think this is a staff. Was this a voluntary neighborhood meeting? Yeah, >> this was a voluntary meeting,
neighborhood meeting. >> Well, like I said, it'd be great if the people on Ross, at least the first few houses that will be directly impacted, were aware because it sounds like they've worked out some deals and we have no idea. So, the applicant
wasn't required to have a neighborhood meeting, but they had one voluntarily. So, you may not have been invited to that, but that's the whole purpose of us mailing uh that's the whole >> for this meeting. >> For this meeting, >> my concern is this has happened prior. >> Okay. >> She's done this before. She already
knows that we live there. She knows we're trying to be involved. We can't be involved if we are unaware. >> Okay. >> Um >> but but at least you're aware of this meeting. >> We're aware of this meeting. So you can express your concerns. >> Again,
we're not part of Gunshot or I'm sorry, Crescent Forest, so we don't know. I know they're planning to make great things for them. I don't hear anything from me other than I'm going to have 72 homes in front of us. Um, is there a way
I don't know, we can make these homes not be the cookie cutters that we're seeing everywhere else? >> They were Um, so we're looking for something different. 72 homes is a lot of homes. The last time they tried to put the
multi-unit homes over there, their drainage was into someone's yard. That is what they were planning. Um, and the owner of the property actually spoke up at a community meeting to tell them that. I don't know where their drainage system
is, what their plan is. Um, if they need to have a retention pond, our request would be to put that retention pond in front of the h our house on Ross Lane because we really don't want to have everybody so close. Um, this was an agricultural street and area. That's why
we all live there. That's what we have there. Uh, we're all agricultural houses, you know, with property. We have all our animals. We're just looking to protect ours. Um, that's pretty much I think all I've got.
>> That it. I'm sorry. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I think uh did you want to speak? >> Yes. >> No, not you yet. I'm sorry. >> Well, come back. >> Julia Bartunic, 2645 Meadowwood Drive,
New Florida 34655. And I h I have walked in uh these areas and they're very very beautiful. And uh I I find it hard to believe that all the residents there were notified of this.
It seems like this would be very incompatible with that area. Um, and I think it should be uh continued and uh just like P5 was denied, I could see uh
residents concerns having similar reasons to uh P5's denial. Uh, also I wanted to inquire, has there been a gopher tortoise uh, assessment and survey on the property and removal
because there are many gopher tortoises and the 360 species that reside in them in these uh, environmental upland areas. Thank you. >> So, can I answer your question? >> So, that come forward. He's going to
answer your question. >> Oh. Oh, okay. the the the county code requires that they submit a listed species survey which includes the gopher tortoise and >> condition of approval. county will not
issue them a permit until they provide the county with copies of the approvals from the FFWCC for all the permits to capture and relocate those tortoises from the property to a gopher tortoise reserve.
So, no, they just can't come in and mow over the gopher tortoises. And that's they're not treated any differently than any other applicant. That's that's a requirement of our local code and state law. >> And where could I get a copy of public
record of that, please? >> I'm sure it's in the applicant's file and you can >> Well, there's also a condition of approval number three that you can read that's on the agenda that directly addresses that issue. >> It's it's on the published agenda. >> Yeah. It's actually conditions of
approval 2 through eight that deal with environmental requirements before they it can be approved >> or or once it's approved then they have to adhere to those conditions rather. >> Thank you. >> I would like to note just as somebody who's grown up in the area.
>> So it looks today like it's planted pine trees at Silva culture today. When I was a kid, this was acres and acres and acres of citrus. >> In fact, I can still smell the orange blossoms in March driving up Little Road
in that area. >> But the citrus is gone and that's now another it's a crop of trees. >> Okay, this is not like they're destroying a pristine habitat. This is this is actually a crop that is being
farmed there today. >> So I understand gopher tortoises may have moved into the area but they will be properly dealt with and you can rest assured sleep at night. They they have to comply with that requirement. >> Thank you. Appreciate it.
>> It's also a felony to to mow over gopher tortois burrows. It's punishable by law. So, yeah, I mean, if that if that happens, I mean, they need to get the appropriate permitting like John said, >> and this developer is a very uh very high-end developer. That's not going to happen.
>> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Is there anybody else that would like to speak except uh I'd like to call you back up because you obviously want to have something to contribute. uh Kusakis
as I said you know prior there's there's a couple things that they've been uh misunderstood here I was approached by the developers have been fighting all kinds of you know developers for the last uh 25 28 years there and they wanted to meet with our community
everybody in our community has seen it we're not getting anything out of the developer the developer has not indicated that he's going to do anything for our community, okay? We just want somebody who's comparable to what we
have. I moved there 30 years ago and matter of fact, my house was built. I designed it. I built it as an engineer and I moved in on January 16th, 1996. I bought there because, as the gentleman
said, of the orange blossoms. I loved it. I was told that those oranges were going to stay there forever. They were protected. That's why I paid more than anywhere else to move and build in that com community. I never wanted any other
community with section 8 or multifamily homes or rental homes. So finally after all this time I have to thank the actually you know you know Pasco that they actually put a nice sign for once as notification. I hope that you continue doing that in the county.
>> They spent a lot of time improving that sign. >> Yes, definitely. Definitely. I know that and we're not getting anything out of it. They came and they asked us as a community of uh 63 you know you know homes. Now the fellow that lives right
to the north of us does not belong to our association. He pays us okay a small amount just to have access. He doesn't have access anywhere else but through our
association. Okay. He uses our streets. He only was supposed to have one home there. Somehow he was allowed to build three structures. Now I have no issues with that. But at the same time, I can see that our
community, again, it was done many, many years ago by Mr. Williams, it doesn't have a second access. I worked in a lot of developments up north. They always had to have a second access just in case of an emergency.
What they doing, what this community is doing, I can see the easement that they that they provided. I wish that there was a road that went all around, maybe come through our community as a uh as an emergency access because every community
needs a second access and I do understand as an engineer how you have to have something like like that. Why would we don't have one in my community? have been questioned for years. So, but we're not getting anything from anybody.
We just want an easy access in and out of a community. We've been blocked like rats by the developer at the VA. We were told that nobody was going to be going through. Everybody's going through. So, please do something for Ross Lane as soon as possible. Thank
you. >> Yes. So my understanding is uh any development over 100 units 100 units or more requires that emergency access. Am I correct in the LDC >> staff? Can you answer that question?
>> That's correct. >> Okay. >> 100 units. >> So So to answer your question, it's under 100 units. So it's not required to have that secondary access. >> Okay. >> But over 100 units or more, it's required to have that secondary access. I do have a question for staff before
Barbara gets up. So to the gentleman's question about Ross Lane and the VA access, um the conditions of approval don't really address any improvements on Ross Lane for like
access related improvements on Ross. Has our access team looked at the access on Ross and whether any improvements need to be made or is that something that's going to be looked at at site plan approval
to address the gentleman's point because I mean doesn't it look like we anybody really analyzed it. So >> Sure. So that first 950 ft of Ross Lane were improved by the VA. This project's
access point is at is on that se segment of road that it's been improved. >> I'm not asking about this paver condition. I'm asking about >> about the the turn lanes. >> Turn lanes. >> Yes. So the the applicant will be submitting an access management at a time of site plan to determine >> somebody will to the gentleman's point
somebody's going to be looking at access at site plan approval to make sure this all works. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. >> And Barbara Wilhigh, I agree with that. I actually had a condition that said we didn't have to do any access management improvements and you caught it. So because it's a local road and normally
you don't have to do access management improvements to a local road. So it's all >> you're on the record that >> there you go. >> You got caught. >> I didn't do it maliciously as although people think I do things maliciously. Actually we'll meet with anybody. I do have the um the neighborhood meeting um
package here. A voluntary neighborhood meeting but I do have um Vogle William T and Elizabeth at 8720 Ross Lane that received our mailing. Vogle Mary Lou at 8831 Whispering Oaks Trail. That being said, our hearing is not until 1:22
before the board, assuming that you guys move these two items forward. If neighbors want to meet again, happy to meet. Um, I did want to bring up if you want to hear from Jamie, Jeremy, excuse me, I'm looking at Jamie Jeremy about drainage. I I don't want the residents
to go thinking that we're not doing what we're saying regarding drainage and it wouldn't be an improvement to their situation. And yes, on the record, the reason why there's a stub out to the property to the east, the only reason is because the county code requires it and staff requires it
during the MPD review. That being said, if anybody wanted us to remove that stub out, that was we we could have it, not have it. It's just there because of the code. So, wanted to get that on the record for the neighbors as well. If you'd like to hear from Jeremy just briefly about the drainage so that the
question can be answered that the resident raised. Um he can come on up. >> Good afternoon commissioners. Jeremy Couch 17937 Hunting Bow Circle and I am an engineer specializing in drainage.
So when we started to look at this property, the first thing we do with all projects is we think about are there issues in the area? What is the cause of the issue and what can we do to help? Um so right now if you see crescent forest
and then after this area I'll ask staff to put up the binding concept plan. Historically, what's happened is Little Row Little Road is considerably higher than Crescent Forest. And if you can see kind of where the yellow dot is in the middle of Cresant Forest, that's their community retention pond. This was built
a long time ago before the stringent rules that developments are required to have today. And so what has historically happened is where the commercial site is and where our site the planted pines are has historically always run off down to
the pond in the middle of their community and that pond doesn't have a great outlet. So they have seen flooding. The first benefit um to them for their drainage issue is
that when the commercial developed you can see that the commercial parcel has two large dry ponds. These are perk ponds intended to eliminate um um uh match volume. So generally what we see
with these type of ponds is large dry ponds um do have discharges in the extreme events but the gully washers that people are seeing where all of a sudden on a random um September the pond is overflowed that goes away. If you
could move to our abing concept plan. So our site drains directly into their property. Um, a small portion of our site drains to the north. I talked with my client and even though
the Florida law allows us to drain our retention pond back into their site, is that really what's best for their community? Absolutely not. What we're going to do is capture the water that comes into us from the commercial and comes into us uh from our
site in our roads. We're going to drain our roads to the street and we are going to the north. And although in this graphic that is a blue colored retention pond, it's a big dry perk pond and it's not desirable to be dry, but that's what
is best for the drainage situation in the area, a big dry perk pond. So, the 30 acres that used to dump directly into their pond is now being taken around their property through a series of dry ponds and will considerably alleviate
the situations that they've had. Our project will be required to get a permit from the state through the Southwest Florida Water Management District and also um through Hills or Pasco County whose engineers will review it. Um, last
thing is like Barbara said, we would be more than happy to eliminate that stub road to the east. We have no desire to connect to the eastern parcel. It's a cost we don't want to incur. It doesn't look great. Um, but we are
meeting the code. Thank you. >> Hey Jamry, why while you're up there buffering at Miss Vogle's question, um, what's the buffer on the the south side going to be? On the south side, we have a debuffer. I believe with this rideway
width, it's 10 foot. Um, in addition to the east, the code doesn't require um buffering for like kind districts. So, single family on single family, we have self-imposed a 10-ft type A buffer between us and Crescent Forest to um
soften the two projects. >> All right. >> Thank you. Thanks, J. >> Thank you. Yes, sir. Okay. Anybody else? No one else is wishes to speak. Yeah, we have a motion. >> Um, you probably need to take up the
plan amendment first. Okay. If you could just if you do move approval, just make it subject to staff making the corrections requested by the county attorney's office. Motion to approve PC13 subject to
incorporation of the county attorney's offices revisions. >> Second. >> Have a motion and a second. Any further discussion of the motion? >> Not. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> Oppos like sign. >> Okay. Motion carries.
>> And then >> motion to approve PC10. >> Second. >> Motion in a second. Further discussion. None. All in favor signify by saying I. I >> I >> opposed like kind. >> Okay. Motion carries.
>> We're going to take a little recess. >> Okay. >> Couple hours. >> Then we'd be having meetings after five. Yeah, that's one of the few situations I feel like the stubout should stay there. >> I'm not sure Eric thinks that
>> I know what you doing. >> Correct. >> It's true. That's the least of his problems right now. >> Talking about the guy that owns that little parcel there to the >> He's got some other problems.
>> Yeah. >> Looks like Walt Cass, >> does he? >> All that property to the north, >> you know. What was Walt thinking when he bought that? >> Oh, no. I'm sorry. Wayne, that's Wayne. I'm sorry. Okay. So, yeah. So, the culters used to own all that, including
what was Crescent Forest. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Actually, he was a D. >> So, so this guy Eric >> in a neighborhood with duplexes. >> So, Eric and Colleen Sojan and Sonia.
>> So, they probably bought this property from So, is this >> I don't think Wayne's still alive. >> Yeah. So, here's his connection through their neighborhood to the south. >> Yeah. So, he's connected down here and
coming up this driveway right here. So really an inter kick over here wouldn't >> it's only if this gets sold and >> yeah Google it'll >> the name does sound familiar
>> he's the guy that used to >> Oh yeah that's that's why it sounds >> brother's Well, they abandoned. I mean, the property looks abandoned now. >> Did the property get sold?
fall apart. >> So, it's his brother's wife. Uh, >> well, I'm not sure if that would be proper. I'll just say you need to go look at here. I'll make it simple. You have a
finding of fact that says the county has no record of any complaints. I'll say that the sheriff's department has a litany of them. I spoke to Chase Daniels and that's who I spoke to.
I'm reasonably certain. Where's my little notes here? >> Yeah. >> Now, this is not for the facility in question. For the fac Well, there's a couple things going on here. >> So, the one in Wesley Chapel,
>> as of August 5th of this year, there have been 31 calls for service, >> and they are not to have sexual offenders in that facility for their conditional use. According to Chase, they do have sexual offenders in their facility.
>> They've had six Baker acts, five missing persons, and >> so someone needs to go talk to Chase. >> And and then there's also a condition that says they're supposed to have a local community member as a member of
the board. >> Well, that was >> she'll be here next time. She's 83 years old, blind, and has never been invited to a board meeting. So >> the only thing that I know about services at the point right now is that
the only thing that seems to be elevated is the number of calls to the sheriff's department. >> Talk to Chase Daniels at the sheriff's office. And >> yes, I understand that under the state statute they can do six and they need a
conditional use for the 10. But I'll just say that there's no record of complaints. It's not a >> maybe complaints. >> And I'm not talking about Bayer Creek. I'm talking about Lawrence Drive. Well,
>> I'll just say that there's going to be a group of people in here who are going to say that enforcement who would like to initiate >> revoking the conditional use for the one on March. It is weird. I >> should
>> Yes. I haven't heard the latest update from >> I should get should get that later today. >> Tell you what's going on. >> Do you really? the entire litany of data called left >> is young. I mean that's supposed to be
>> he was young while you're young. >> I saw some sort of statistic or something like you know 40 5% of females your age want to move out of the country right now. >> You would do that? >> So, >> okay.
>> Well, I'll So, I'm just >> So, so you're you're a part of that. >> I got you. Now you're kind of stuck. And I'll just say except for the one code enforcement, but I've been told by people who have called me that they've
called code enforcement who's refused to go out and deal with the property because of them threatening them. >> Oh, okay. >> Matter. state law that says that they can have six or whatever in their house and it's probably a necessary service
that question in my mind is whether the operator is competent take on it if you got 31 calls for service you might not be running the place right >> so when were you in
>> maybe another operator could run it properly I don't know >> where do they live in Okay, >> it's beautiful. >> I think I want some of these. >> So pretty up there.
>> Good. >> Well, from what I understand, I wasn't on the PC when the Lawrence drive came in. It happened just before I got on. I mean I >> So we went to New Orleans. We drove up the 19 route this time and the coast of the 19 route and went out through Perry.
>> I was like >> when you get about 10 miles when you get about 10 miles north of Perry, it's really pretty. >> Yeah. I am told by the sheriff that >> Wow. I never driven that way. He took >> they would be in violation condition. They've got sheriff says he's got sex offenders in there.
>> Mhm. Well, and that goes back to is there's no really >> that's right >> monitoring this in perpetuity once you have such I mean aside from somebody calling code enforcement that's perfect investigator >> well the problem is code enforcement
comes out in matters of the land development code they don't investigate matters of the law you know criminal laws and statutes as the sheriff so it's a matter right into it. >> You've got to have a relationship with
the sheriff where he's feeding you the information that if you need to shut the facility down or revoke a conditional use, you got the information from the sheriff. That's why I frankly I asked >> they be here. >> We used to go we used to go twice a month, but we we haven't been a long
time. >> Yep. >> Because I've been getting calls, like I said, it says I don't even know anything about Bear Creek, but I've been getting calls about Lawrence Drive. boys just came in for insurance. It actually went down.
>> Can you make it all without driving? >> They doubt. I mean, they like $10,000. >> It's only four hours for goodness. >> I don't know what it dropped. He never told us premiums. It's probably probably down. >> Did you grow up down here? You went to
school? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Gotcha. He probably also knows that we're working another broker right >> now. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> There you go.
She's up taking another sent me another picture today. I'm like, "Will you stop sending me?" >> Yeah. Family, you know, I'm gonna go to Orlando. I was fun there. >> Like, I'm fine. I'm like, "No, you're not." >> They send me really >> I hate it. I hate going there. >> I got reports from my neighbors.
>> No, no easy way to get >> over the weekend. Two separate neighbors talking. I know there's still more because I still hear them. Yeah, it's been uh recently it's been like an explosion. >> Coyote sightings. >> No, you don't.
>> I've seen a couple of them dead on the road. >> That's my favorite. >> Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. But yeah, it seems like just out of nowhere we had suddenly they're everywhere. >> Uh reports in 12.
>> I don't think there's I One day I was in Detroit Woods. I was going to Jack Mariano. There was one walking right down Jack the middle of Jack's street mid broad day last night. >> I was drive, you know, in the preserve driving out one night and one standing right in somebody's front yard right on
the edge of the street. >> Yeah, that's bad. He didn't move. We drove by him slow. >> Pretty big number. >> Stared at us the whole time. Didn't move. >> Sure is. >> Pretty big number. >> Healthy, too. Fluffy coat. Lots of >> Don't eat my dog, man.
>> Go broke paying vet bills for the good deer population. >> I went back and took my dog back on Saturday. >> They couldn't figure out why he has numbness in his legs, right? He's having a hard time walking. Left leg is numb.
And then we finally got it. Got the X-ray today. Except it's too hard up there. Huh? Oh my gosh. >> Oh my neck is pushing on his spine. >> But the doctor gave me some. We've been doing steroids. >> They went down like 500 bucks.
>> She gave me some muscle relax >> and I think those are actually having a huge effect. She told me that those muscles until they relaxed. They didn't let those vertebrae settle back to their natural position or whatever. >> So it's a lot of spasm causing. >> So yeah, seems to be helping. The other
thing that never ever. >> But when I came home yesterday, he was wagging his tail. >> That's good. >> When I went to the door, >> so nothing was broken in those vertebrae. >> No fractures. >> He had bite marks right on his throat.
Bite marks on his shoulder. >> Couple on his paw. >> Yeah. >> Black mouth. >> You ready? How How big is he? >> Calling me back to order. >> They did. >> Yeah.
>> Uh, good afternoon planning commission members. Giana German. Item P1, you will be sitting as a local planning agency. And I would also like to note that there are expertise that were received for this item. Item P11 is PDE 260004, an ordinance by the Pasco County Board of
County Commissioners, amending the Pasco County Land Development Code, amending section 802, tree preservation and replacement. Section 802.1 intent and purpose. Section 802.2 applicability. Renaming section 802.3 removal to exemptions. Creating section 802.4 tree
canopy standards. Section 802.5 tree removal. Section 802.6 problem trees. Section 802.7 tree replacement and mitigation. Section 802.8 tree protection requirements. Section 802.9 trees of special significance. Appendix
A definitions and other sections as necessary for internal consistency providing for applicability repealer and providing for severability an inclusion to the land development code and an effective date. And Amanda Hill will provide a presentation. >> Good afternoon planning commission.
Amanda Hill, Planet Development, Economic Growth. Like Tiana mentioned, item P11 is the section 802 tree preservation and replacement land development code amendment. The purpose of this um amendment is to conduct a comprehensive update to
section 802 tree preservation and replacement of the land development code to enhance tree protection within the county as directed by the board. The adoption of these proposed amendments will set the effective rate date for the new contribution rates to the tree
mitigation fund as approved by the board by resolution number 25-291. staff previously proposed LDC amendments to the LPA to repeal section 802.3C 1B38D
and section 802.3E on August 21st and September 18th and was requested by the LPA on September 18th to provide a comprehensive proposed revision for section 802 to be considered in conjunction with the repealed fees. Key updates to the code
include restructuring of section 802, inclusions of standards for tree canopy preservation, enhanced requirements for tree removal, clarification of the tree mitigation fund references, new and revised definitions related to tree protection, and minor revisions
throughout the code for internal consistency. Starting with the restructuring of section 802. Section 802 currently is structured in three subsections. Subsection 802.1 and 802.2 are relatively short and all the other
standards related to tree preservation in this section of the code are currently under 802.3. This amendment proposes the restructuring of the code to allow for nine subsections. I just wanted to note here that most of these subsections are already existing, just all nestled under 802.3.
And the only section that we're proposing that would be a completely new subsection is section 802.4. Moving on to standards for tree canopy preservation. So for the purposes of calculating the existing tree canopy, the diameter at breast height of a tree
will be used as a proxy for the coverage of the treere's canopy. The required minimum tree canopy retained shall include each tree and the associated native vegetation within the area of the drip line undisturbed except for invasive species removal.
Development will be generally required to maintain 20% of the total number of inches of existing tree canopy 10 in in diameter and larger. There are some special situations where the required preservation will be reduced. So namely
for mutram and TND sites a minimum of 5% will be required. The idea behind this is that these sites will organically have enhanced tree preservation due to design principles that have compact development areas and respect for natural features as an amenity to the
development. Additionally, for development sites where wetlands and their associated buffers occupy at least 10% of the total site area, a minimum of 10% of the existing trees located within the upland developable area will be
required to be preserved. Thirdly, commercial sites that are less than 5 acres in size, minor rural subdivisions, industrial sites, redevelopment sites along with bonafide agricultural lands are exempt from the requirements of section 802.4A.
There was some consideration for small commercial sites that might not have the room to adjust the site layout to accommodate the preservation of trees. And for minor rural subdivisions, essentially those are typically families that are trying to subdivide lots and
not large scale development. So we didn't want to make that process any more cumbersome for those families. And for industrial sites, redevelopment sites, the board has been very supportive of promoting employment generating uses and as such staff did not want this ordinance to create additional hindrances to site
developments in those situations. Listed here is the tree preservation uh priorities that will be required to be considered. Um these aren't necessarily in order. Essentially any of these circumstances would require the
developer, the applicant to consider those when preserving trees. Uh we've also included passive recreational opportunities within the canopy preservation areas including decks, boardwalks, paths, and trails. And legal
protection of the canopy preservation areas is required. Preserved trees are also required to be located in areas that are not subject to flooding due to the activities related to site development. And if that is unavoidable, then appropriate drainage would be
required to be installed. We did look into some density increases as a preservation incentive as requested by the LPA. However, what we noticed was that the projects typically come in under entitlements already when the site plans are being submitted for review. So, as such, density was not a feasible
option. We did consider some additional preservation incentives. So namely the staff is propos proposing credits to incentivize the preservation of large trees over 54 in uh the location of passive and acre and recreational areas
adjacent to each other. And if sites save additional canopy over the 20% requirement then those would also be entitled to incentives. Um, essentially these can be combined and these would serve as credits to the total amount that would be due to the tree mitigation
fund. >> Let me ask a quick question. Inches you're talking about, is that >> diameter or circumference? >> Diameter. So everything would be based off of the diameter at breast height. >> Moving on to enhanced requirements for
tree removal. So the current code requires the submittal of a tree survey, a tree inventory, and a tree plan. A discretionary option of a representative sample is also included. Staff is proposing a requirement for the tree health to be included on the inventory
for trees that are to be retained to meet the canopy preservation area requirements as well as for all trees that are greater than 24 in in diameter. The previous discretionary option by the county to allow for representative sample has also been removed from the
code for site development. In addition to these uh clarification was also provided on the existing tree survey requirement as currently identified in appendix A of the code as a tree location inventory. So essentially it was referenced as a tree location
inventory in appendix A, but it's actually describing the tree location survey. For lots not associated with site development and those that are not exempt as a single family home, a replacement tree will be required to be planted for trees that are removed.
I'll now review uh some of the references that were clarified for the tree mitigation fund. So the previous outdated language related to the purpose and authorized locations for the tree mitigation fund were stricken. The previous contribution rates are
revised in accordance with resolution number 25-291. The TBBA did request three items in their previous discussions with the board regarding this resolution, namely the vesting of projects, phasing of new fees, and the installation of a cap. and
$3,500 per upland developable acre was the results of said negotiations and is included according accordingly in this draft. Staff also conducted additional research regarding the appropriateness of setting the contribution rates by ordinance to consider the LPA's recommendation.
Section 107 fees of the Pasco County Land Development Code authorizes the board to adopt by resolution all necessary fees to administer, implement, and enforce this code. The said fee resolution may include provisions for
consulting assistance as required. As such, the adopted fees along with the $3,500 cap are currently included in the draft amendment. However, staff will request guidance from the board at the January 6, 2026 meeting to determine if the fees will be referenced in the
ordinance or exclusively referenced in the amended resolution which we brought to the board for approval. Additionally, we would also seek clarification from the board um as to whether or not future fees would be amended by resolution or ordinance.
staff is proposing the regular evaluation of contribution rates to the tree mitigation fund to provide consistency to interested parties regarding future changes. This evaluation will consider the inflation rate and other applicable factors in addition to the performance of the
existing tree protection standards. And this subsection of the code also clarifies that the authorized locations, recipients, expenditures, distribution, and monitoring of funds shall be based on a resolution by the board. The amendment proposes new definitions
for the following terms in appendix A definitions and updates the existing definitions for diameter at breast height and tree location inventory. And I'm just going to run through the some of the minor revisions that were done in other sections of the code for internal consistency. So section 802.1
intent and purpose. There's an expansion of the intent and purpose to include the value of trees and the benefits derived from their protection. Section 802.2 applicability. There's a minor clarification of existing applicability. Section 802.3 exemptions. There's a
clarification of the types of county projects that are exempt from this section of the code. County roads and drainage maintenance and land management projects or the projects that are specified in this section where there previously was wasn't any specification. There is also clarification of the
prohibition of wetland tree removal without authorization for the fencing exemption that currently exists in the code. Clarification is provided of the notice required to meet the exemptions provided for proposed bonafide agricultural land.
Clarification is provided of the term residential lot for the purposes of the section of the code and additional and the addition of language based on the state requirements of section 163.045 of the Florida statutes
for section 802.6 Six problem trees specification is provided that replacement trees should have appropriate tree growth control measures and fulfill the original intended design objectives. For section 802.7 tree replacement and mitigation, there's a specification of
when palm trees may be substituted for shade trees. Section 802.8 tree protection requirements. Uh we currently have a term that's um in there for protection, but it didn't reference a tree
protection zone specifically. So we just clarified what is the area in question that was being referenced in that section of the code as tree protection zone and we utilized that term throughout the section. We also added in the prohibition of final grading within the tree protection zone and added a
requirement to replace trees that have been destroyed or received major damage prior to final engineering inspection. And then finally for 802.9 trees of special significance, there is a revision of the easement requirements from 15 ft in all directions of the
trunk to the trees trip line. This comes to you with a recommendation to find the proposed land development code amendments consistent with the Pasco County comprehensive plan and I'm available for any questions that you may have. >> If you could just remind me again what the tree mitigation fund is used for. I
mean what's the what's the purpose of the fund once monies are paid into it? >> Uh I will have to look at the resolution to give you that. >> It showed the language change too. that one. Yes, >> I'm going back to the 2001 resolution to
find the language when it was created. >> Doesn't the resolution outline what it's to be spent for? So the resolution was amended from the original resolution. So it basically mentions what has changed since the previous one, but it's not necessarily rewriting everything from scratch. So
going back to the 2001 um language for the tree mitigation fund, a tree mitigation fund is hereby established which shall consist of all monies received by Pasco County pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance and shall be deposited in the general fund which shall be in a separate revenue account established and maintained apart from
other general revenue funds and accounts of Pasco County. The fund shall be used solely for the purchase, planting, and maintenance of native trees meeting the intent and requirements of this ordinance and associated administrative costs as designated by the board of county commissioners. And then it goes on where the trees can be planted, um
the recipients, etc. >> Okay. So planting of trees by the county on county property, >> it doesn't have to necessarily be exclusively on county property. That um the locations have expanded throughout the years, but it includes county
property. Yes. >> David, just a quick question for you. The very first sentence on the screen is stricken. Is there any legal significance to that? to the striking of tree mitigation trust fund is hereby established
>> curious as to why we would strike that and is there some what's the significance of that >> it's existing >> it already says the second sense would be deposit account so I don't
>> I think the difference is is that I'm accountants don't like They have separate funds. They set up separate accounts. So, >> let me elaborate my question. >> So,
I don't I don't think there's a problem with your question. >> My question has more to do that the funds received as payment for tree mitigation are used for trees. They're not used for roads. They're not used for
>> correct marks. They're not used. >> The reason I think it was struck and I was involved in this conversation, but >> our accountants don't like to create separate funds. They like to create separate accounts.
But to your general concern, yes, it's earmarked for trees. It's not it's not comingled with other things that can be spent on roads or parks or well except for trees in parks
>> in roads or but yes it's supposed to be spent on trees. >> Okay, you've answered good >> and that language still says established and maintain apart from other general revenue funds and accounts of the county. It it would just they don't set it up as a separate fund. They set it up
as a separate account. >> I got you. >> That's why it was struck. >> Okay, I'm satisfied. >> Uh well, I I had asked what it was you that was my first question. I did have a followup, too, because we when we spoke um on our one-on-one meeting, I
mentioned um speaking about um clarifying species of trees and this. So, I understand that there's already exemptions for palm trees and pine trees and so forth, but I mean, was there any more did you look into doing that or
>> not in detail? Um, we are still looking at the palm exemption to potentially um consider some additional scenarios where that might be appropriate, but um we're still doing additional um research discussion with stakeholders as to whether or not that would be feasible, but other than that, we haven't
considered additional species. So the issue I brought up um for everybody else's information is to um it's a discussion regarding uh canopy coverage. We're trying to m to protect canopy. However, canopy doesn't always equate to
a proportionate amount of tree diameter because it depends on the species of the tree on average. So, you know, one species of tree, um, there's probably an average, uh, tree diameter to canopy ratio, but for a different species, that ratio is probably different. So, that's
why I was curious about um getting more detail on the species of the trees. Obviously, we're trying to protect hardwood trees, but >> yeah. And we did have discussions with um staff that's related to um trees and the permitting process and so and my understanding is that it essentially
works as a proxy that if you have a tree with a larger DBH that it typically corresponds to a larger canopy. Of course, in the case of palms and so that wouldn't be the case, but for hardwood >> extreme example, but you know, another example might be a cypress tree, >> you know. So, that can be a very large DBH diameter, but not a really huge
canopy, >> right? And we did have some um >> well >> generally yeah >> yeah we did have >> I'm just looking at r you know average ratios of of tree canopy coverage to the diameter. >> Yeah we were attempting to find the simplest way to have the tree
preservation um percentage calculated. At first we were looking at it based off of the aerials but then there were some concerns in terms of the time of year and whether or not you'd have the trees in full bloom and the leaves on the trees versus winter time. And then is it shade versus is it the actual canopy. So
we figured that the inches would be a cleaner way of considering it >> because they're doing the survey with the inches anyway. So >> Right. >> Okay. >> Can I ask >> anything else? >> Yeah. Can I ask Patrick a question? >> Sure. >> Since he's the guy that's going to
administer the ordinance. >> Yes. >> Okay. Can we flip to the side slide about the priority? Thank you. >> And I don't know if you have, but the the ordinance says that priority shall
be given to saving certain trees. What does that mean? And how do you intend to administer that? If I come in with a plan and I've saved 20% of the
tree inches, and I expressed this in my I expressed this concern in my discussions with staff and with TBBA, I want to have an ordinance that's easy for people to comply with and that there's not going to be a lot of
argument about. And I don't want to get into petty arguments with staff of you should have saved this tree versus that tree or that tree because I'm personally looking at this as any tree saved
under this ordinance is more trees than we would have saved under the prior ordinance. So I'm a little skeptical. Maybe you can convince me about what you mean by priority shall be given to
Somewhat subjective is what you're saying. >> Yes. >> Is it okay if I provide some more context before he answers? >> Yeah. And can we look at the actual language? >> Yes. Page six of the red line. >> Somebody has the actual ordinance. >> It's six. Jamie, thank you.
>> Okay. So, while Patty works on that, um, this list was a lot longer in the original draft that we had. I think we had about nine different categories and it said it shall be prioritized in order of preference, something along those lines. And I definitely recognize what Mr. Moody said that it would be
challenging to identify well this one versus this one and having conflicting um opinions cause an issue in terms of the review process. So we did simplify the list. We only have four right now and these represented the ones that we
were um told are the ones of greatest priority to the various stakeholders that we've spoken with. So whether it's a heritage tree, we definitely want to prioritize saving those those that exist in natural grouping. So that is the tree stands that we were talking about in previous sessions. Um the ones adjacent
to the required site perimeter landscape buffering and screening along arterial and collector roads. So essentially that if you're going down little for example that you try to preserve those trees that are immediately adjacent to the road um in preference over trees that might be located further back in the
development and then the ones that complement the streetscape appearance of subdivision collector roads. So as you go into the development that you preserve trees that are located along that main road. So that's why we pair down that list and the language that previously said in order of priority is
no longer there as well. So, we did attempt to make that a bit more objective. >> I don't know if that helps. >> Well, I guess Amanda, can if I can expand on that a little bit. I mean, because John raises a really valid point. I mean, as engineers, we put forth quite a bit of effort on projects
before you guys even see them. And my biggest fear in reviewing this is that we bring a plan to you and then you guys look at it or somebody looks at it and says, "Wow, why didn't you save this cluster of three trees over here? Why are you saving these three over there? I mean, I go back to I think there's
language in there that requires the creation of of an easement, a conservation easement to be dedicated to the HOA. Well, how how do you do that for a a street tree that you're saving along the street? >> I mean, there's a lot of I mean, there's there's a lot of ambiguity here and I'm
I think everybody's got the same goal. We're trying to get to the same place, but it's just how's that going to be interpreted? even if that's not by you, by the next people. >> And I just I couldn't follow why that priority list was there. >> So, um and Amanda can correct me if I'm
wrong. Um but I believe it was it's um method of encouragement. Um some of our stakeholders, I think, uh preferred that we try and save trees in certain areas and we should try and prioritize these. But it's not a shall statement and that
it's >> in the first draft it said should but it's now changed to shall. >> Does it say shall I thought shall was remove priority shall be given to >> right in the first draft it said should because I actually asked somebody about that. >> Yeah the first draft said should and I
think it said in order of priority and this version just says shall and it doesn't mention the language about priority. So I guess it's a matter of which one is most objective. It says priority shall be given to. >> Yeah. >> So any of the ones that are on that list.
>> Page six. >> What I would suggest is it's great to encourage the saving of those trees. Trying not to get too far into the weeds. I'm working on a project right
now where we're having an argument over the code where and this has to do with the parking section of the code where it says parking should be on the sides or at the rear of the building. It doesn't say parking shall be at the sides or the
rear of the building. Well, there's a big legal difference between should and shall >> or maybe I'll ask Mr. County attorney >> shall mean shall is mandatory. >> He knew it was coming. >> Yes, should is not really mandatory.
>> And we did have some previous language in the code, not in reference to this specifically that said should and the feedback that we got >> priority shall. What does that mean? Does that mean you must save the heritage tree?
>> Sounds like it. So if you have a heritage tree and you have a non-heritage tree and you can save one or the other, you should save the heritage tree over the other tree. >> Well, so
by way of example, a Lowe's store or Walmart store or a Home Depot store would be greater than 5 acres. And if that heritage tree is in the middle of the Lowe's store, I'm to do what?
>> Then maybe you can save a tree that's along the buffering instead. >> Build around it. >> Yeah. But the but see that's the problem. I don't want to get into an argument with someone who's not the design professional over which tree should have been saved.
And the whole point of this exercise, this ordinance is, you know, under the current ordinance, I can kill every tree on the site and pay my fee and I have a a cap of the fee based on the acreage. And in this ordinance,
you are going to save 20% of the trees unless you're in one of these exempt categories. Aren't we in a better place than where we were before? >> Sure. >> We're in a way better place. Why do we want to get in and pardon my language of singing contest over which tree it
should have been? Any tree saved is better than no tree saved in my opinion. But >> um Terry's online and he'd like to um speak to this as well if that's okay with you. >> Sure. >> Uh good afternoon Mr. Chairman. U Mr.
Moody planning commission planning development economic growth. I apologize I'm present today. Be here I'm sick. Um on the question of should versus shall, we've understood that should is not a mandatory statement like shall is.
Um however should does express the intent of the code. And so the way we've looked at it in the past is that please demonstrate to us how you may not be able to uh meet the intent of the code. And at that point uh we can we can check
that off and move on with the review. So that's kind of how should has been interpreted. >> So is would the staff object if the planning commission recommended that language should be changed back to the
word should instead of shall. >> Uh I'm be cons the interpretation would be consistently applied. So, um, it's it's it's it's one way to do it. >> I'm sure he answered my question. >> Yeah. I I mean, I I was waiting on the answer. I mean,
>> you're waiting for me to answer. >> Yes. Well, >> um I I would be okay with it as should. It allows for a checklist of items to be go gone through and to identify which
priority actually works. >> Well, Terry, I I don't I'm not sure you the point's not understood because now we're still in a negotiation point when it comes to site plan review. I mean, we there's again, there's a lot of work that's gone into a project by the time
we I mean, it almost sounds like we need to have a a premeating before we even do any design work with the county to go over what trees are being saved on the site. And I don't think that's the intent here. I mean, I think we're trying to get to a better spot >> to an ordinance that's black and white, not gray.
>> Sure, 100%. >> I think we're almost there. I think we can be here. >> Yeah. if we wanted to say shall, >> but it's it's when it says priority shall that it's that's very nebulous and and I might have an opinion as to what
the priority is and someone on the staff's going to have an opinion and your staff arburist will have a different opinion and Jackie over there is going to have a different opinion and and we're all going to get into circular arguments over which tree could have would have should have might have been
saved at the end end of the day, the goal here is to save trees. And I think you got an ordinance that now saves trees. I just don't want to get into creating a dragged out permitting process arguing over which tree.
>> Yeah, I understand you want to put in writing the intent of what you're trying to do, but I mean, it may be better stated if it's just stated as the intent of the >> We encourage you to prioritize saving these trees, >> right? as opposed to
listing it specifically because it is a very subjective requirement. >> It is encouraged that priority should be given to preserving healthy native trees. >> So, you know, >> so I would say >> we got county attorney over here for me.
>> Yeah. I mean, you could even include it in the very beginning of the section under intent and purpose. >> Sounds like that's you're setting yourself up for a court battle there. Yeah, you you could you could even include it this portion under the intent and purpose at the beginning. >> Yeah, it's already in the intent and purpose. >> Right.
>> Right. >> I don't even know how you would interpret this. I mean, the way this is written, priority shall be given. Okay. Well, I'll go to a heritage trees. I mean, every heritage tree I got to save till I get to 20%. >> Yeah, >> that's >> Yeah.
>> I I I just don't know the interpretation of this. where this it's really gray at best. >> Well, if you're going to build your building where the heritage tree is, you're going to have to make some kind of accom accommodation for it. But that doesn't doesn't mean you're going to have to make accommodation for every heritage.
>> The better way to handle this is my opinion is if there are trees that we don't want to count towards the canopy requirement because they're just bad trees, just exclude them.
I mean, I get why staff would say there's certain trees that are just they're, you know, what do we call them? Invasive trees or that that shouldn't be counted towards the canopy.
But if you want black and white, then just say that, you know, these are the invasive trees that we're just not going to count towards the canopy requirement. They don't count towards the 20% and just leave it at that. That's black and white. >> They can. >> Yeah, I think that's already said.
>> I don't think they count already, right? >> Okay. Well, then >> and we also have that language later on, I believe, in the section of the code >> if that's already in there. >> Number six, uh 802.46. >> I guess what I guess I'll go back to
maybe ask Terry the question. What is the goal overall goal with the priority requirement? Then if you've already excluded the bad trees, the trees that that you don't want to count
because they don't do anything for us. What is the what's your goal of prioritizing the good trees? >> Terry >> asking what is the goal? >> Are you asking me or Terry? >> Whoever can answer the question. I think I could start to answer. Terry, you could fill in anything that I might have
missed, but um >> Sure. >> They're all good. Why is one >> good? >> Why is one gooder than another good? They're all good. >> Yeah. So, there's been a lot of discussion from stakeholders um and the public trust in general in terms of
preserving these large trees that have been around for a while in terms of preserving groups of trees and not just replanting trees to replace the ones that have been cut. So we're trying to emphasize that if those exist on the site as feasible, you should be trying to serve to preserve those instead of
preserving. >> You just said the magic word. See, >> as feasible, >> it's feas. It's got to be feasible. >> Agree. >> Said I brought the example up if I'm going to build a Walmart that's takes more than 10 acres. That's not exempt under this ordinance. You got to save 20% of the trees. And now there's a
heritage tree right in the middle of the Walmart store. Well, I can't build a hole in the Walmart store to save the heritage tree. Unfortunately, it's going to go. >> Mhm. >> But he still they still have to meet and save the other 20% >> sure >> trees. We've still met our objectives. I
guess so you've already created your incentive process to try I mean maybe you tackle this a different way which is if you're trying to incentivize the the goodter trees the better trees whatever we're calling
them. Why don't you just create more of an incentive like a monetary incentive for preserving those higher ranked trees and say, "Hey, the more you preserve what you kind of started to do with the
heritage trees, why don't you just handle it that way and say for every great, you know, for every outstanding tree you create preserve, we'll give you this additional incentive." So it's it's
more of a carrot than a stick because heritage trees were defined as what 54 in or >> So actually no heritage trees were defined as uh 24 in and larger for southern magnolia and then 34 in and larger for live oaks. Um for the incentives we have 54 in and larger you
would be entitled to um an incentive. So that's basically at 4 and 1/2 ft the tree is as wide as is it as it's tall. >> So diameter breast height is measured at 4 and 1/2 ft. Everybody seems to like the incentive concept. >> Why not just take those ones that are
high priority and just make them incentivize trees? >> And then if if that way if somebody really they really want that in monetary incentive, they can point out that they saved those
really fantastic trees. >> It's a much more black and white way. >> You want to get to more Jen there. What What would you want? Yeah, just just I think to the additional context and Amanda feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Uh Patrick Dutter, Planning, Development, Economic Growth. I think the original intent behind this entire
section is based off of our um notsodistant memories, our poster child that we like to reference Newport Corners. It would been real nice if they saved a 20 or 30 foot strip along the frontage. So, hey, let's try and incorporate that in this. Um, so that is
I think where this language came from is we should try and prevent things like that from happening if we can. >> Well, no, I think we all think this is great. >> Sure. >> The question is how do you >> Absolutely. I'm just saying, you know, the question was raised, hey, where did this what's what's the intent behind it?
It's I think those things that were fresh in our memory, how do we prevent these things from happen? That's where it came from. So, >> right, how we again go about solving it, right? Should it be a shall, a should, uh, you know, whatever word we use?
>> But I but I guess what I'm saying is rather than I guess I believe in putting your money where your mouth is, okay, if you really think it should be a should, put a dollar value to it.
Say, for every time you do one of these things, we'll give you a credit for it. If you're serious about it, give him a dollar credit for it. >> Thank you, David. I made the same exact suggestion in my meetings, and that's a
great segue to the next comment about the incentive. When I met with you guys, I talked about having a 4x, 5x, possibly 10x incentive for saving trees.
And in some ways, you guys almost took my bait because I said to my partner, I said, "You watch, they'll come back in this ordinance and revised ordinance with an incentive for the trees. It'll only be for the most biggest trees because they don't want to give up the money to the
tree fund. If a heritage tree is 24 in for a magnolia or 30ome inches, then we should be giving the incentive to save that tree." You guys got started out at almost double the size of the tree. How many 54 inch trees do we come along to
begin with anyways, right? It's >> a big tree. >> I mean, >> are we is we need to make sure that the tree mitigation fund is not a revenue raising exercise and that it's actually for, you know, mitigating and replanting trees.
And we should also give carrots to those who save the trees. If you're willing to go in and design a road around a 36 inch tree, why shouldn't you get some credit against your tree mitigation for that?
>> So, I my overall suggestion is change the diameter from 54 to be something more consistent with the definition of your heritage tree and the ordinance. Don't don't be stingy with
the credit would be my suggestion. And at $100 an inch, you got got to remember the math. We talked about the math about how we get here about how the tree always loses because the math doesn't work in the treere's favor. Well, you're
giving them you're charging $75 an inch under the new resolution to take down a tree and you're only giving them $100 inch and for the one rare the rarest of all rare trees, right? 54.
So, I'm I'm I'm netting $25 an inch. I think we should be a little bit more generous with the credit to David's point. Put your money where your mouth is. >> So, I do have one question about the credit. because I don't know what the intent is.
Um, the credit against the inch requirement makes sense to me. I'm not sure if it makes as much sense to me if you're paying per acre. My understanding of the
>> per acre was that it was supposed to be a cap, like to make sure that if you were paying per inch, it didn't get like crazy. >> Mhm. So my concern is if you're giving these credits, if you're paying per acre that
somebody might effectively it almost might end up paying almost nothing because the cap I don't think that was the intent. I mean I thought that the cap was sort of like a you know just let's just make sure things our inch requirement
payments don't get totally out of whack. I didn't think that was we were going to start giving credits against this cap, but the way this is worded is it makes it sound like you get a credit against whatever the payment is.
And was that your intent or was you only were you only going to give credit against if you're paying by inch? >> So, it would be either or. And I think it may work a little, at least in staff's opinion based on when we were looking at this, that it may work a little bit differently to how you
mentioned it, that it wouldn't necessarily go all the way down to zero. But let's say, for example, someone comes in, they are cutting, I don't know, 50,000 in. And at that point, they decide that they're going to save their 20%. That doesn't mean that they're not paying anything. They're still paying
for whatever they're cutting. So out of that total amount that's due after they save their 20% if they're saving those larger trees, if they're saving in excess of the 20%, if they're saving the uh ones that are coll uh that are
located adjacent to the open play areas, then they would be able to get a discount on that total amount. And then if you look at D below, it also says that it goes up to 25%. So there shouldn't be a scenario where someone's not paying anything. >> It's not Zero is an extreme example. I'm
what I'm saying is that I thought the intent of the per acre way of paying was that it was supposed to be a cap that it it wasn't supposed to be the base payment that it that you then deducted
>> credits from that it was supposed to be just a ceiling like to make sure that there was no way under any scenario you would pay more than that amount. At least that's how it was described to me was that TBVA was pushing for a cap on payment. Like there's just no way under
any scenario that we'd ever have to pay more than $3,500 an acre. I didn't think it was going to become the baseline and then we're going to start deducting credits from the the baseline. That is the baseline. >> I thought credits were only going to be
deducted from the per inch payment. But I I don't know what you I mean, my fear is that if you're deducting it from the $3,500 per acre, and I realize it's not a revenue
scenario, but but but you may effectively be getting very low payments at that point. And I would tell you personally, and I'm I'm not trying to get in the way of negotiations. I think the $3,500 an acre
cap is way too low. When you start to look at we're we're charging $75 an inch for the tree. So, a 10-in tree is $750. Well, doesn't take many 10-in trees before I'm at 3500 bucks, right?
>> That's my point. >> Yeah. I don't think you should be giving credits against a $3,500 an acre $3500 $3,500 an acre payment >> even for the enhanced protection of the really large
>> I think $3500 should be a cap only. It should just be that's like your worst case scenario. Like you if you add up all your required your payments, all your credits, whatever you you do all your calculations based on inches and credits and if that dollar amount ends up
equaling more than $35 an acre, you go with that as your cap. It just it all it serves as a cap, not as a alternate way of paying. I understand that you worded it that way that way is that oh we can elect to pay
that way but I'm with John I just think that's going to result in like an extremely low payment and that was not what how it was the way it was presented to planning commission and the board was that was a cap
not a oh we can just elect to pay it this way too especially now that you have this credit concept. I think the credit should be based on the inch way of paying, not based on the cap. >> Um, I might be mistaken. Um, Patrick, do
you mind clarifying for me? Um, in terms of generally when sites come in, when projects come in, um, do they usually elect to pay per inch or do they usually go with a cap? Because we also have a cap right now for the existing fees. Uh to answer that question specifically,
generally your smaller sites are paying by inch and your larger sites are going to be paying by the developable acre. >> Yeah. >> And also coverage is >> you know it's coverage dependent but generally the smaller sites are paying by inch larger ones are paying with the cap.
>> Okay. So >> I think some people to to go back to what you were saying I think there are some developments that they're just electing to go with the cap instead. Just a clarification in on the screen in the table down here for the percentage canopy retained in credit. Shouldn't
that say percentage of additional canopy retained? >> Sure. >> Yes, we can add it. >> Yes, I think it should. >> Additional 20%. >> Meaning if you >> I mean number one mentions the 20%. Do we also need to mention it in the
title of the table? So B1 says developments that preserve more than 20%. More than 20% thinking It's probably fine the way you have it. >> I did not have those were my questions.
I didn't have any other with this. But but but but but can I just finish my point? So I agree with John that you need to look at maybe upping the credits and maybe adding some additional credits for the stuff that you these priority
things that you have. But I would not be giving credits against an upland acre cap >> in my opinion. >> I would agree with you. To me, a cap was basically to effectively avoid a taking. Basically,
that's what the developers were arguing. They came in here and said, "If you don't cap this, we're going to have these billion dollar payments is effectively what they were arguing." I'm I'm exaggerating, but wasn't that basically what they were arguing? >> It was. >> They would have been big numbers. Yes.
One gajillion dollars. >> That was the purpose of the cap. It wasn't to become the new baseline for credits. in my opinion. >> Okay. So, if we're doing it per inch, we
would say that instead of $75 per inch, the percentages that we have here would be applicable to that amount instead of the total amount. I want to make sure >> you also could just you need to revise your language about the $3,500 per acre and say it's a instead of saying it's an
elective way to pay, you say it's a cap. It's the maximum that you calculate your inches and no matter how you calculate your fee, it can't exceed that dollar amount. >> In no circumstance shall the payment of any mitigation fee exceed the amount of $3,500.
>> Just just make it a cap as opposed to an an alternate way to >> make that in the form of a of a motion for an amendment to this. And the reason that I suggest that is I understand that Mr. angle is under great pressure to get this in front of
the board and I am committed to help him do that if we can today. I I don't know where the rest of you guys are on all this. I mean, if we're far enough along, if we can make recommendations for changes to move it on to the board, then that would seem to
me to be >> I think those are easy changes to make. >> Okay. >> All right. State your motion, please. Agreed. >> I'm Oh, so that the language regarding the cap shall not be an election,
>> but it it should change to say something of the effect of, and if the county attorney wants to help me, in no circumstance shall the amount of tree mitigation paid exceed the amount of $3500 per acre.
That's accurate. That's how I would say it. Good job. So, you could be an attorney. >> You've been practicing. You've been practicing a lot lately, John. >> Okay. >> Do you want to make another motion about how to fix the >> Yeah. What about the should
>> the how we're going to fix the >> priority? Priority should be given, not priority shall be given. Is that all part of the same motion? >> Well, but is that really what you want to do? Because
>> because this still doesn't solve the problem because >> Well, then if you really want me to make a motion, I'd recommend we just strike that section. >> Well, let me just ask because I I want to know what staff's thought is. Can you can you do what I suggested, which is
the stuff that's prioritized, the stuff that you want to really >> make sure can you move that into a the incentive section? >> I think we can. >> Yes. >> Yes, you can. >> Yes.
>> And that would be the motion. >> And I would >> So, I mean, that's we're going to make the changes something we're just not going to see. I mean, I I get it. I'm I'm all for trying to get this keep this moving at David's recommendation or from the board the direction, but I mean, I I don't think it needs to go unsaid that
we sitting up here have seen this document for 48 hours. It's not like we've been looking at this thing for four months, five months, six months. We've seen it for 48 hours. We got our agenda on Tuesday afternoon. So, I mean, I I'm all for trying to keep
it going, but we're doing a lot. I I have some comments here too, but I mean these are important things and these are things that it's everybody has the same goal. Everybody wants to get there. I'm for saving my my comments aren't that I don't want to save trees. Um but I want
to make sure we get it right rather than hurry up and get something that we got to come back three months from now and talk about for four more hours and be here till six o'clock talking about the same thing again. >> I I would agree with you. And if if you don't feel like we're if you don't feel like we're far enough along,
>> yeah, >> I'll happily withdraw those motions. We can >> Well, let me throw a compromise. >> Come come come back another day in a >> better form. >> I think that I think we can get there. I just >> Let me let me ask you Let me ask Mr.
Engel a question. I know this would be highly unusual, but this has to go to two public hearings in front of the board. Is it possible that between first public hearing and second public hearing,
planning commission could see that one more draft of this so that they've had one more chance to make comments so that that if they've got additional revisions, you can make them before the final public hearing in
front of the board. so that at least we don't stop at the train moving, but they've got another chance to make final comments. >> You're you're correct. That's very unusual. I've never dealt with that before. Um, if you could find me the the
road map to get us there legally, I will certainly ex we certainly embrace that. >> Well, the planning commission's role is to find the ordinance consistent with the comm plan. um
you know, you in theory could do that today. That's all your only legal role. Um, but if you don't feel like you your other comments have been addressed, you know, I don't see any problem with you with you having another chance to,
you know, make comments to it before it goes to the board for final action. >> Jamie, what are your comments that haven't been addressed? >> Well, I guess just and some of these aren't comments. Some of these are just clarif but I think Mr. Garrett's point though is goes beyond what he's about to
say. You know, if they're going to move the priority stuff into incentives, I think his point is >> he won't know what that says, >> right? What does it even say? >> Can we agree upon it today? What it might or should say, should or do it.
>> So, um we kind of treat this as >> a workshop. >> He won't know whether you know what is your current schedule for this, David? What's the current what's the current >> uh first reading in January, second reading in February with the BCC
>> and are there any planning commission meetings? >> One more, right? >> That's it. >> Yeah, we >> Well, could could we bring it back? What's Do we have a planning commission meeting December, right? >> Yes, sir.
>> We do on the 11th. So in theory, if we brought it back in December, >> we could do the January 1st reading with the BCC if we >> I guess my question is if we if you plan gave planning commission one more shot
at it in December, >> you could still put it on the board meeting for January, right? >> That's right. >> And presumably if planning commission still had issues, you could make those changes before the final public hearing in February.
Well, I I was hoping that in the December planning commission meeting, we could deliberate with the draft that we will present to you as a result of the conversation today and and then and then make a recommendation to the board and then we can >> My only concern is I don't want to
because I I don't want Commissioner Starky yelling at you. >> No, no, but the flip side is I >> me Okay. If the if the board if the board starts looking at this item at first reading and having interaction with the staff and making directions, then it's a little unusual for me to
bring back that that back to the planning commission. It would be a problem, I think. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, >> I think we should focus on trying to clear it through the PC in December if we can. >> But you can you get it on the January
agenda? I think that might be a concern. Um, for January 6, that's going to be the first hearing. I believe the deadline, for example, to hit the county attorney's office's queue for reviews is December 9th, which would actually be before the
December 11th date for planning commission, >> cancel your Christmas holiday. >> So, it gets a little weird. >> Well, if if the CEO could be a little flexible with that deadline, I think we could work through it. >> It's not the CEO deadline I'm worried about. It's the
It's the county administrator's deadline to get it on. >> I I feel very confident because of the prioritization that the board has placed on this that the county administrator would be very cooperative. >> I don't have any problem talking through these things now. I don't want to give
that impression. I mean, I I I thought the intent was to move this to towards the board today. >> Well, that was the hopeal. That was the goal. And and Mr. Gerardy, you had indicated that you had some questions. >> I did. >> So, if there's just clarification, we could do that today.
>> Yeah. And I mean, I I mean, again, I go back to these priority things. I mean, I I agree. If you want to incentivize the priorities, my my whole again, I don't want to repeat, but my concern is I don't want this to get a be a hang up when we get into site plan. And and the way it's written now, it's potentially a hangup when we get to site
plan. So I mean if if we had priorities I mean the first priority is the heritage trees. If you change the language in the incentivization and the credits from the 54 in to a heritage tree I think that takes care of and you take that off the
list and you go to the next one where existing you know natural groupings I mean do we want to give an incentive for that if it's important or is that just the goal? If so why are we even stating it? So, so we're back to this really is the
same issue we just talked about. >> Yeah, sure. >> So, maybe we just need to hash out that issue. >> Yeah. >> So, >> um so who who's the decision maker on this issue on these priority issues? Like how much do we want each of these things?
And then like how much of an incentive should we give for each of these things? >> I think we should take it back and come back on the December 11th meeting. Um, who's the quarterback on this? It's
really the uh planning commission because you're making a recommendation to the board. And I I don't think anything that we spoke about here is is unreasonable. I think they're good ideas. Even the initial idea about the incentives to begin with came from the
planning commission, >> right? But somebody put in monetary like dollar amounts for or for these credits like who came up with those? >> That would be staff. >> So like what dollar amount would you give for
preserving a heritage tree? >> We can have the same amount. Do you think it enough or do you think it >> Well, if you're going to prioritize above preserving another tree, you want it to have a higher amount. I would >> correct. I mean, you charge $75 an inch
under the resolution. I suggested when you and I met that that should be four or 5x. >> Don't they charge $150 an inch for heritage? >> I'm sorry. So, it's $150 for heritage credit. How about double? I'll start with double. Give them $300 credit for
saving the heritage tree. It's it's got to be significant enough to really move the needle. >> I agree >> to incentivize them to keep these trees. You know what's And again, and you did address it somewhat with the inflation
aspect of it and we're going to revisit this every three years. But I mean, you you get in some of these bigger projects and it's just a lot easier for them to check. So you want to make that a motion for you to change three heritage fees to incentive $300. >> So moved >> incentive
>> second. >> Okay. >> All in favor? >> I I like >> Okay. What about natural groupings? I don't know what that means, but >> tree stands. So a group of trees essentially naturally growing together. >> Is that an objective standard that staff
>> a certain number? Is there >> Jackie? Do you want to speak to that? >> I know a heritage tree is an objective standard. I don't know what natural groupings means. Is that a defined term? I >> think you're making our point for us. >> Okay. Jackie Jordan, Parks Rec and
Natural Resources Department. Um I don't think there's really a standard for tree grouping. It was just um an objective, a goal to group larger trees together or groups larger amounts of trees together rather than just protecting one singular tree. Could I move to move that goal or
to the intent and purpose >> section? >> I'll second that. >> Motion and a second. Further discussion. >> So basically it becomes nonregulatory. It's just a goal >> because it's it's how do you define
that? If we can't define it, >> we can't define what it is. And I agree. And then the problem and I can and Jamie and I is the little wheels turning. Okay. Does that mean the trees are separated by one foot, two foot, 3 foot, 6 foot, 10 foot? Who decides what's a grouping? >> Three, six, 10.
>> Oh, there's a tree over there and a tree there and a three there. Is that a grouping? >> I >> Okay. So, >> that's how far you zoom out. >> You You got a motion to >> Well, related to drip lines. >> You got a motion. You have a second. Well, I mean that could be a way that you could define a grouping, right? Is
intersecting drip lines or something like that. So, I and I agree with the intent of it. We should try to preserve those groupings. But if you can't define it, then we run into issues. So, >> on this list, I'd say that that one is one of the ones of lower priority. So,
if it's okay with the planning commission, we could strike it completely if it makes it easier. >> Well, I think the incentive is already there for the developer. If we think back to we're trying to save 20%, the closer the more grouping we can pick out, the smaller the footprint of the area I'm going to have to set aside's
going to be. Right. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> So, I mean, they're already incentivized. I think there >> we have a motion on the floor. Any further discussion? >> I think she's suggesting it's easier just to strike it than to move it somewhere.
>> Okay. I will Can I amend the Can I withdraw the motion? >> Go right ahead. And then I will make a motion to strike that section as per staff's suggestion. >> I will still second. >> Thank you. >> The whole rest of the section under the priority or just that
>> just I think it's B. We haven't got the C and D yet. >> Yeah, just B. >> I think we're attacking. >> I think we're going to have the same goal. That's why we want to talk about one motion. >> We can quickly we can talk about C and D first if you unless you want to just finish the motion on B. I don't care.
Whatever you want to do. Do you have a motion and a second? >> A motion, a second. >> All in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Both like sign. Next. >> C are adjacent to required site perimeter, landscape buffering and screening along
arterial and collector roads. This is a little more objective. What what is is staff? This is the Newport Corner scenario. Is this is this what Patrick talked about? Patrick >> is C the Newport Corner scenario.
>> Yeah, I'm trying to push this button. Uh, yes. >> Okay. >> The only reason I was saying C and D were still a little bit more subjective were because they say adjacent to. How close is adjacent to? >> Yeah, but that >> says they complement the streetscape. Well, is that within the rightway? Is
that >> Well, I mean, you could change adjacent to to say within 30 feet. I mean, that you can make it objective. At least see you can I don't know about >> how about >> I think I think the >> included in the buffer
>> in other words if you're in the buffer then you will save the tree okay >> the trunk >> I I do think it's important I the reason I don't like I think I don't think it's appropriate to strike C because I think what staff is trying to say is if you can preserve it along the roadway
you should do so >> absolutely >> we should give you some credit for. I mean, >> this is what got your mad. >> That's right. >> We don't want to strike. See, >> all right. >> We should I'll start the bidding again at 2.
>> All right. >> Is there a second? >> So, that's what $150 an inch because these aren't heritage trees, right? >> Mhm. >> And then, uh, it >> Okay. Well, first of all, we need to define what adj You want to say within. change it to say within
>> within the buffer or >> are within the required site perimeter lands >> to Jamie's point adjacent what is that 10 feet 20 ft 50 feet 100 feet but within is very >> yeah within is well defined yeah I can live with that within the buffer >> problem is yeah because you can't define
>> so I so I think you have two motions one is to redefine so to say are within the required site >> perimeter landscape buffering screening so you need then you got to assign assign a dollar value to it >> and it's the trunk being within correct
not the canopy. >> Okay. So >> somebody >> within or partially within because it could be a trunk that's halfway in the buffer too. >> Nice. >> So what credit went in >> two times, right? $150 an inch.
>> Yes. >> Yeah. >> So moved. >> We have a motion. >> All right. Second. >> Have another second. All in favor? >> I I >> I like sign. >> It's like the votarama in the city. It >> is. >> Okay. D.
>> Complement the streetscape appearance of subdivision collector roads. >> That one's tough. >> Can staff explain the objective they are trying to achieve with. >> Well, how is this different than C? >> Yeah, how is it different than C? That's my question.
Um >> technically um a subdivision collector road is different than an arterial and collect. Well, >> I guess it broadly says collector roads. So I >> would see is any collector road. It could be a subdivision. >> That's what I'm saying. I just recognize
that. >> Move to strike D. >> Second. >> Unless Patrick you can tell us C D is different. Um, in that C says collector road and a subdivision collector road is a type of collector road. I would assume I would
assume it's covered there. >> So it's still covered. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Agree. >> I still second. >> You okay with that, Patrick? >> Sure. >> Okay. So we have a motion and a second. >> Further discussion.
>> All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Okay. Okay. So, we already covered the issue about the cap language. What else did we need to cover? >> The incentives for saving trees. We talked
>> Oh, uh, you wanted to deal with B1A, right? The 54 inch. >> Correct. >> Yes. >> What do you want? >> Your suggestion, Jamie, was just to say heritage said all heritage. >> All heritage trees, right? So, we get rid of that >> at $300 an
>> heritage already defined. >> I think that has already been addressed by the change that we made for A3 uh a our heritage trees because we assigned two times the cost of the heritage tree and we said that we're going to put it in the incentives.
>> So, do we not need B1A anymore? >> We will replace it with heritage tree language and $300 per inch. Right, >> as the incentive >> Okay, perfect. Right. And then you will amend
B1B the title in the table to say percentage additional canopy retained. >> Sure. And just a clarification, when you're saying credit 5%, credit
10%, you're saying the credit is 5% of the total amount of tree mitigation due for the project. >> That's what we were initially saying, but my understanding for Mr. goal seem
that we didn't want to >> Yeah, I think I think that'll be clearer when you fix the the cap language that we talked about earlier that to make it clear the amount due is the amount due per inch
and that the the amount per acre is just a cap. If you if you make if you do what Mr. Moody's motion was earlier, the one where he acted as a lawyer. Um, I think that'll be fixed. Is that >> So then I don't have to change the
language in this section. >> I think this language will be fine once you make that other language fix. >> Okay. And just to confirm the language you're talking about. In no circumstance should the shall I guess the amount paid exceed $3,500 per developable by acre. >> Right. As long as that language is
clarified that that's just a cap and that the amount due because the B this section here talks about the total amounting total monetary contribution due to the fund. The amount due is the amount per inch. Um
I know we might need it to say the amount due prior to any cap being applied or something like that. Um, now that I think about it, we might we might need to add to Mr. Moody's language that says that all credits under this subsection B are applied
against the per inch payment and not against the cap. Just to make it perfectly clear. So moved >> because otherwise I think we're just I don't want to have to fight about this later. Does that make sense? >> I understand the intent of what you're
saying, but I don't think I captured exactly what the change would be. >> So the after the language that we that Mr. Moody previously suggested that we added to >> I don't know where we added it, but it was
>> $3,500 per acre cap. Yeah. >> Age 19. >> Yeah. >> Um Yes. Um did we say that any credits issued pursuant to subsection whatever this >> 802.4B for B
>> B shall be issued against the per the required per inch payment and not against the cap. I can work with you on exactly how to word it, but that's the concept.
>> Okay. >> All right. So, do we I think he he made a motion on that. >> He made a motion to that effect. >> Yes. To that effect. Okay. I second again. >> All in favor? >> I like sign. >> Okay.
>> Are we there? I one last and this is actually very minor on page 11 when we're talking about individual tree remove replacement for lots not associated with a development proposal and I'm talking about point your
attention to D condition of the tree says the condition is field verified by an ISA certified arborist. I would ask staff to be consistent with the state statute that says an arborist
or a licensed landscape architect. We don't need to make this the arborist enrichment act. >> That's I think that's mentioned in a couple different spots. Yeah, it's mentioned in another section where you can use a landscape architect and just
be consistent through the whole thing. >> So that's a motion. >> Yes, that's a motion. >> Second. >> Further discussion. All >> in favor? >> I per >> Mr. Drawy, did that have we covered all your issues or
>> some questions? >> Okay. >> All right. I'm going to go to 8023B county maintenance. Just clarification, my legal ease isn't near. Mr. Moody's, can you give us a page? >> Uh, page two.
Um, does that exempt all county projects? >> Uh, no. Uh, the list is included here for county yards on drainage, maintenance, and land management uh, practices. I mean it goes into beautifification, preservation, design,
etc. But >> there's a specific list, >> but it says but in included but not limited to. So it's any county project that's initiated, fully or partially funded and maintained by Pasco County, including but not limited to county road
and drainage projects, maintenance projects, land management projects. So if you're asking in my opinion which we are county the answer is yes. I'm just going to give you a straight answer. The answer is yes. I mean I I don't
because it says include I mean because it says any project initiated fully or partially funded and maintained by Pasco County. That means if we fund it or maintain it >> or partially fund it
>> or partially fund or maintain it, it's we're not subject to it. Now, it does say that we will follow beautifification, preservation, design, and best management practices. Now, from a practical standpoint, if we
don't do these things, certain commissioners will not be happy with us. >> Well, and I I think really just and the reason I asked the question is I I don't think the county intends not to play by the same rules, but it kind of gives the impression that they're not going to
play by the same rules. So, >> yeah, I think the intent for this too was to provide some degree of clarification as to what county maintenance may mean because before there wasn't anything. So, this actually attempts to give that clarity.
>> Yeah. Um Patrick Dutter. Um the intro to this county maintenance. It's for county maintenance purposes. This is what we mean by county maintenance. Um all of the site plan applications that we've received for county projects are following the landscape code. We
generally don't give them an exception unless there's rare instances, but just like everyone else. So, should we clarify or should we just state this exemption shall apply to county maintenance projects initiated if
it's specific to county maintenance? >> I mean, I know it's under the heading already that says county maintenance. So, >> yeah. The weird part about it, Patrick, is it it says including Van Element to county road and drainage projects and then it says maintenance projects. Like so it it the way it's worded is it makes
it sound like it's >> Mhm. >> capital projects and maintenance projects. >> So I I don't if the intent was that it was just going to be maintenance projects. That's not how it's worded. >> Just for your edification. We have five
people that have signed up to speak. Okay. >> Oh, maybe we should Can we >> Well, I don't know. It's up to the chair. I don't know how many more. >> Well, I I only have a couple more questions, but do we answer that one? Are we going to >> Yeah. Again, I I don't think the whatever however we need to change the language. I don't think the intent was
to give the county a pass to do road projects. And you know, I I think it was just for maintenance. Um, and I think they're trying to give examples and maybe some of those examples are weren't maybe we can clean up some of those examples. >> So, if we could just get a motion to limit the language to maintenance
projects, we can work on how the wording. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> All right. page 18, >> whatever subsection that is where the
planning credit stricken. >> Oh, it was just relocated. Um, it is under Give me one second. >> I just couldn't find it. Sorry. >> Uh, if you just go back to page 17, it's under number 10.
>> Perfect. See, that was easy one. And and just for my this this really stupid question, the 20% is mandatory. That's a mandatory save 20% preserve >> outside of the exemptions that and the
special cases that we mentioned. >> Any new project that doesn't meet those exemptions is 20%. >> 20% >> is there's no hardship criteria or anything. It's just a >> sites could uh request an alternative standard if
>> the alternative standard process still exists. >> Okay. Yeah, >> that actually reminds me of another question. So, where is the language that talks about when this will be applicable?
Because I know we talked about grandfathering projects that are currently in process. >> Yes. What's the proposed effective date? >> So the effective date for the ordinance or the effective date for the fees? >> The effective date for the ordinance.
>> Okay. So for both it would be at the adoption hearing for this item which is currently scheduled for February 17th of next year. >> Okay. And then so that would apply to >> that is a >> any
any new project applied for from that point forward or I mean so in other words projects that are currently have an application in process this this would not apply to >> if there's a site plan that's currently in then they would be under the current
>> we need to add an applicability section to this if it's not there already. >> There's one in 802.2 two >> 2.2 But it just talks about >> right but it doesn't deal with the changes to the code
>> right >> um Patrick normally normally apply these based on whether they have a complete application for PSP or PDP >> uh development application because it could be masquerading could be operating permit so the development application
>> so whether they've had a complete application in prior to the effective date of the the change. >> Correct. 403. >> So, if we can get a motion to add language to that effect. >> So, moved. >> Second. All in favor? >> I
>> I have more, Mr. Jordy. >> My apologies for my rant. That wasn't that difficult. >> That actually wasn't bad. Anything else? >> That all you got, >> David? That's it. David, I don't I don't think it necessarily matters for your last motion, but um operating permits are technically 404 and de site
development is 403 and I said only 403. I think your motion was intended to mean both categories, so I don't think you need to modify. >> Correct. >> You all are the ones drafting this. So yes, put both in. >> Okay.
>> Okay. I think that's uh all we have for for that. So let's >> No, my only my only comment was the disparity between the 54 in and the heritage tree. So that was we've answered that in spades. >> Rich, do you have anything?
>> The school board got a bucket of money set aside. >> Well, I'm just, you know, in theory, I mean, you guys, all this information is good because in the end, the county, it works better together and things get done quickly and it just it makes the job of the county easier if all these get you know, figure it out
now and then run into all these problems later. >> Okay. So, what I'm hearing then is we don't need to come back to the planning commission. >> Correct. I think that's correct. Yeah. >> You just made David Engel's life easier and >> that's what we want. >> That's the goal. >> Nobody's going to yell at him or me.
>> That's right. >> We wouldn't have done it wasn't for David. >> Well, we still have members of the public that may come up and tell us that we're all crazy and we need to just start all over. But >> can I summarize where um we're at? >> Sure. as of right now. Okay. So, uh 802.2, we're going to add language in
there that the code is applicable to sites after the site plan submission completed application under section 4344. Uh for county maintenance, we're going to limit the language that it's just for maintenance projects. For
802.4 4 A three, we are going to essentially move most of these into the incentive section. So for uh 3A, we're going to be doing $300 per inch. For 802.4
A3B, we're going to strike that completely. For 802.43 43 C. We're going to add language that says um within the landscaping buffering instead of adjacent. We're going to also
have that at $150 per inch. And uh D, we are going to strike. Uh for 802.4B, the ones that I just mentioned, we're going to move them into that section. Um, we are going to add language to the
table title for B1B that says percentage of additional canopy retained. And that was it for that section. um 802.5 B 2
D we're going to say um ISA certified arborist oral landscaping licensed art landscaping architect and check the entire document to ensure that it's consistent throughout. Moving on to 802.7
D. We are going to update this language to say that in no circumstance shall the amount paid exceed $3,500 per upland developable acre. And I believe we're going to add an additional D there because I don't know and Mr. Girls, I could defer to you with this if you want
this to be a separate bullet or if you want us to continue C to say any credits that are issued subject to 802.4B shall be issued against the per inch payment and not the cap and that's what I have so far. Did I miss anything? >> Yep, I think you got it.
>> Okay. >> Okay. Thank you very much. >> Great job. The only thing we didn't really address um you got well >> we got to hear from the public but >> so you didn't really hear it in staff's
recommendation but you have a difference of opinion with staff about where the fees are going to lie. Staff is recommending they be in the resolution. You all I think are recommending they be in the ordinance. Are you sticking with your recommendation
or are you going to >> My personal preference is that they remain in the ordinance so that if there's a proposed change that there is a public hearing. >> Correct. >> If you want to change the language of this that they'll adopt it by resolution
at which there's a public hearing and the public can participated in it then they can do it by resolution. But there needs to be a public hearing where people get their due process. >> So that's a motion. >> Yes. >> Second. >> Motion in a second. Further discussion.
All in favor? >> Okay. >> Can I get some clarification on what this motion does? Is there additional language I need to put in here? >> No, they just they're they just disagree with you. >> That's all. >> Okay. >> Just wanted to get their position on the record. >> Okay. >> Doesn't mean you can't recommend something different to the board. I'm
just want to know what their position was. >> Don't you dare. >> Okay. and we have it in the in the ordinance. We the language is currently reflecting the fees and we intend to communicate your preference for it to be in the ordinance to the board as well. >> Okay. >> I just wanted their position to be on
the record and why it was >> the pos the position is it needs to be >> there needs to be due process. >> There needs to be due process in determining the fees. It can't just be on the consent agenda and no public hearing. public is going to have to have the right to put have input on the
amount of what these fees are from time to time. >> Y >> and I'm not worried about what our board is going to do it. It's some future board that comes along and decides in the middle of a meet where it's slipped in and nobody knows and all of a sudden they're $10,000 an inch or they're zero
dollars an inch. >> Could be the other way. >> Right. Well, while while we're talking about those, I mean, does that prior motion that we talked about about the applicability and when this becomes effective, does that apply to the fees as well?
>> Yes, it does. >> Okay. I just want to make sure because I thought the position before was was that there was no vesting. >> So, there's language that's currently in resolution 25-291 that says that the fees would become in effect once the language that's currently in the code that speaks to the old fees are
repealed. Okay. >> Which that's what this does. >> Yeah. >> Correct. >> Good. >> All right. We're good. Thank you. >> You had a difficult job there. You did a great job. >> Yeah. >> Yes. So, we have what, five people.
>> Okay. Who's on the list? >> The first individual we have signed up to speak is a Miss Nancy Hazelwood. And after her, we will have a Miss Melanie Lambertson. >> Okay. If you will >> Hey, Miss Nancy. come up toward the front, please. That'll make it a little
quicker for everybody. >> Please move up toward the front if you're going to speak. >> I only have two speaking. >> I'm sorry, Nancy. You've already used up all your speaking time. >> Three minutes are up. >> Nancy Hayeswood 34110 and Ice Place
State City. Well, first off, y'all stole my thunder with um the couple of things I like about it. One of them happened to be um having the ISA take a look at trees before they're removed. I know that organization very
well. One of the things I've noticed is that a lot of people that come up to evaluate trees own their own tree cutting company. So they want to make sure that it's in ISA isn't like that. They're
very ethical and told over and over again in the classes they have to keep up and and in ethics. So I I kind of like that one. Y'all got rid of it. >> Well, we didn't get rid of the ISA. We just added that it could also be a
licensed landscape architect. >> Yeah. Um maybe >> they have to be >> are they ethical too? >> Yes. >> Okay. Um I thought the intent and purpose part of
this 802.1 was very well put. Um that they covered a lot of things that say what we need to say about trees. Of course I'm uh in favor of all this.
I would like to see something mentioned on tree mitigation fund for it to be used to rewild some of the open space that might be left around there. And I don't I don't know if anybody's given any thought to to that.
Um other items I'm having difficulties with minor rural subdivisions. That's exempt. I can choose. I I was trying to read about it. Looks like they're about five acres each for minor rural subdivisions
and there can be up to 16 of them. If they're exempt from that, that could be 80 acres that they're tearing trees down on. Am I incorrect about this? Anyways, so I I think there ought to be something
with minor subdivisions. I don't think it should be exempt. Uh there's a lot a pretty long list of exemptions. I was thinking, well, maybe we could get rid of half of them and they wouldn't be exempt. But I don't
know. That'd have to be relooked out. Uh do not lose sight of what a tree ordinance can and should accomplish. Saving our natural resources is paramount in this and that's what makes Pasco a better and attractive place to
be. That's the major criteria of the whole thing. And the citizens in Pasco have made it pretty clear that they want the trees and open space and Pasco has enough entitlements to last for the next 10 years. This should
give up the count. This should give the about county the ability uh to save more tree cannon pee all over Pasco. We aren't we don't need to rush to have growth all over the place anymore.
We don't need to give the the development community everything they're asking for and they seem to have had a quite a bit of input in this and they don't really care what condition they leave Pasco County in. They don't really live here. A lot of
them, most of them, they come through and destroy everything and move on. >> Um, >> I think the time is expired. >> One more thing. Okay. >> When the tree canopies are gone, they're gone. It's asphalt and rooftops. So, thank you all.
>> Thank you. >> The next individual I have signed up is a Melanie, excuse me, Melanie Lambertson. And then after that, we have Miss Julia Bartneck. Yeah, Melanie had to leave. >> Yes. >> Go ahead, Miss.
>> Okay. Um Julia Bartunic, 2645 Meadowwood Drive, New Perichi, Florida 34655. And um I'm submitting a public comment for the record um from Sierra Club Pasco Conservation Committee. And it's uh my
comments regarding the proposed uh tree mitigation cap of $3,500 per acre. That amount is far below the actual cost of replacing the environmental value of an acre of trees in Pasco County. Planting a single tree with proper soil
preparation, labor, staking, and the required two to three years of care costs between uh $300 and $700. A typical acre of tree canopy represents 40 to 100 trees. That means the actual
replacement cost for a cleared acre is between 12,000 and $70,000. And that does not even account for decades lost canopy, storm water absorption, wildlife habitat, and heat reduction benefits. Other Florida
communities charge higher, more realistic rates, often 20 to $50,000 per acre when calculated by caliber per inch. At $3500 an acre, Pasco would only be able to plant 5 to 10 trees. That
replaces barely 5 to 20% of what was lost and unintentionally um incentivizes clearing rather than preserving canopy. Long-term community value. The environmental value of that acre is typically tens of thousands of
dollars per acre, sometimes hundreds of thousands depending on canopy density and ecosystem functions. So $3,500 an acre cap doesn't come close to compensating for what is lost. Typical mitigation or tree fund rates are way
higher. Across the US, cities commonly charge $10 to $50,000 per acre for canopy mitigation or $150 $500 per caliber per inch of tree removed or 2,000 to 8,000 per large specimen tree.
Compared to those standards, $3,500 per acre is only a token amount, not enough to replace lost canopy. replanting costs far exceed $3,500. Planting one tree
um usually costs um um much more. So, I respectfully request that the county adjust the mitigation cap to a range that reflects true environmental values such as 25 to $50,000 per acre or adopt a different
system ensuring meaningful compensation protects Pasco County long-term tree canopy. Um, that's from an organization and I'd just like to request that I submit this for the record and that Thank you, chair. And I would like to
have 30 more seconds, please. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Thank you. We have to vote on >> my other 30 30 seconds. >> Yes. >> Yes. Thank you. Um my other 30 seconds is that we would like to increase the
wetlands uh 10% to 20 to 50% uh canopy because they're the most environmentally sensitive areas. And also that I think that this um I understand it was the holidays and I'm just speaking as myself right now, but I understand that was the
holidays and everything, but I really think that this should there's a lot of uh delineations and specifications that are still ambiguous and the way this was written and I think more time uh should have been taken on it. There's the word
should. Um, and I think that you in the end of this shall wind up taking more time because it was expedited today. Thank you. >> Okay. You realize that the wetlands can't be developed anyway. Right.
>> You do recognize that, right? Okay. Who's next? >> Up next, we have a Miss Cindy Buckle. And after that, we have a Katherine Capello. >> I think we just did a motion. >> I think we just motion. Now there was like six seconds. So in essence, >> all in favor?
>> I >> Okay, the clerk has >> just give him the gel. >> Yeah, right. I'm ready. >> Cindy Buckle, 5938 Frontier Drive, Zephr Hills,
Florida 33540. Okay, the first thing I want to talk about is the three different changes that the newspapers touted, Pasco County actually touted themselves. Um, starting
with, I believe it was January 16, 2025, Pasco leaders volunteer tout to benefit trees raising prices for developers. Then again, July 21st, 2025. However,
nothing's been done. Um, where I live right now, there were 27 totally healthy heritage oaks that were in at least I think the smallest one was probably maybe 10 in, but the rest of them were
like more like 20. These were heritage oaks, healthy oak trees that did not need to come down. the developer or whoever originally put orange fence around some of them to save, but they bulldozed them all down. Um, the other
issue that we have is, of course, they've raised the they've put so much dirt in there, they've already flooded Gateway from the rains we had earlier this year. They flooded Gateway. They flooded Frontier.
Um their little retention ponds. And the one acre lake they were supposed to build is nowhere near one acre. So what my question is, how are they able to change the the plans to something that they'd
already presented and got their permits for? And by the way, they got their permits before 114 gopher tortoises were removed because I worked with the contractor and FWC. It took me three years to get a contractor out there and
I actually helped them remove the gopher tortoises. They were not all removed. The ones that were left were killed. I actually have pictures of the dead tortoises. So FWC I contacted numerous
times. I went to Wilton Simpson which was a waste of time. And finally I had a contractor out there and I offered to help because I actually took pictures of every burrow and included the coordinates with every single
burrow. It's not my first rodeo. I've been doing this a very long time. Um, but basically, you know, they've talked about this from January to July and now here we are in November and we're just
now trying to reach an amount of money to charge these developers for bulldozing down trees. Trees were supposed to be saved on this property. They had the orange fencing around it and next thing I know, they're
bulldozing it down. I asked who who told them to do that and the surveyor was there and he said I did and I said are you an arborist and he said no and I was like okay as far as a contractor or
anybody in charge. There's no one on in charge on that property. I stop every single day and ask who's in charge and nobody is. They're just running machinery and doing whatever they want. But they've changed the plans three times. I have
the original plan. >> I appreciate your criticism. >> I I have >> You need to keep in mind that you drive on roads and gopher tortoises got moved and trees got removed to build the roads you drive on. >> They also got removed to build your
house and gopher tortoises got removed to build the neighborhood you live in. No different than the neighborhood any of these people live in or that I live in. >> Okay. We're up here trying to make the situation better. Okay. Right now, we have a tree ordinance today that
somebody can come in here and just wipe out every tree on the site and pay whatever it is per acre and go away. Now, after after this happens and the board adopts this, 20% of those trees will be saved. Do not come tell me we have not made it better. And I'm sorry
it didn't happen on schedule. It's going to be a lot better than it is. >> I'm not saying you didn't make it better. Your time is expired. We're not your turn to speak. >> It's just more. >> Yeah, we don't want to hear more than
three minutes. >> Who's next? >> The next individual we have signed up to speak is Miss Katherine Capello. >> Okay. >> Katherine, is she in the room? >> Oh, Katherine left. >> Catherine left. Okay. >> Anybody else?
>> No, sir. That's all we have signed up to speak for this item. All right. >> Wait, one more. >> There's lady in the back. >> Anybody else is here? >> She signed up to speak. >> Please come forward.
>> I don't have to come get you. >> You could give us your name and address, please. >> Melanie Lambertson, 184 Spring Lake Highway, Brooksville. Although it's out in the county, I think you guys know. Um, I just the exemptions
are uh kind of disturbing to me. Um, I I wanted to know why the the agricultural land was exempt. >> It's legislated. >> Well, if you'll look at most of the agricultural land, there's no trees on
it except cypress trees because they all had cows on it at one time. Um, so a developer would not be uh >> if there are trees that are in the open pastures, they'd have to still have to comply. >> If it's agriculture, it wouldn't be developed.
>> Yeah. They're talking open fields and everything. >> Yeah. >> They don't have to plant trees though. I mean, >> if they if they developed it, they would. Yes. >> Okay. >> So, in order in order to develop it, you have to change zoning from agricultural to something else. >> Yeah.
>> To develop it more than just for agricultural uses. Yeah. >> So, at that point, >> you're required to plant trees, >> right? And that and that and so well, no, >> they would fall under the same ordinance. >> Correct. They would because they'd have to reszone it and then that would put them under this this ordinance.
>> I don't understand. >> In other words, if they want to clear land to grow 50 acres of corn and there's a tree in the way, they're exempt. The tree is they they're exempt from this tree ordinance. they can take the tree down to plant their acres of corn. If they're planning on building a
subdivision on this land, when they submit plans to build a subdivision, they are not exempt from this ordinance. >> Okay? >> And >> but this is this only >> the reason that the exemption exists in our ordinance is because there's state
laws that give them the same exact protection that the states already preempted those activities, >> right? It's not that the county's giving some special favor to agriculture. The state the state does it. >> The states prioritize agriculture and our food supply over
>> the other issue is it often times for our culture the tree is their crop. I mean >> for some cases the pine tree is is their actual crop >> right >> so they're growing trees to harvest them. So, we can't make them protect
their crop because that is what they're selling >> prevents them from harvesting. >> They they wouldn't be able to sell their product if they if we made them protect that tree. >> Yeah, I gotcha. Okay. >> Yeah, because they aren't natural.
They're planted there. >> I just I just hope to see a lot more trees in future developments. >> We all do. That's why we're passing this. We're trying to recommend that it gets passed because at least with this there is going to be some trees saved
whereas now there there's no mandate to save any. Now there is or will be. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> That it sir. >> Okay. Move to recommend approval of the
ordinance with all of the previous voted upon motions. Okay, we have a motion. >> We have a second. >> Further discussion on the motion. >> If not, all in favor signify by saying I.
>> I. >> Oppos like sign. >> Okay, >> great job. Good job, Patrick. >> Yeah, >> Mr. Chair, we do have just a noted item on the agenda, item N12. Uh, you do not need to take any action on this item. It
is the 2026 public hearing schedule that was adopted by the board of county commissioners on October 7th, 2025. And that's the remainder of the agenda. >> Okay. >> Awesome. >> Noted. >> Thank you. >> I do have one request, Mr. Chair.
>> We I think it's next meeting will mark a year from when we first heard Evans 80. And when we heard Evans 80, we received our planning commission agenda on Wednesday at 300 p.m. before the
Thursday hearing. And we were promised on that day that we would now get the agendas no later than the Friday evening before the Thursday hearing. And that date over the course of the year has continued to
slip and slip and slip. And I understand there was a computer glitch this last time, but it's not the first time. It's been happening almost every meeting for the last few months. We are all volunteers. We all have businesses to
run. And I had to literally take a day away from my business to read the agenda and I'm spending the day here. I don't know what has to happen, who needs to do what when, but it's not
fair to the planning commission, nor is it fair to the applicants or to the public. >> I agree 100%. >> Is that your last word? >> You get the last word. You're the chair.
>> Your motion to adjurnn, >> chairman. >> Yes, David. I I hope I'm not out on a limb post the tree protection ordinance, but I want to wish everybody a healthy Thanksgiving. >> Thank you so much. >> That was a really bad pun, David. >> Put that in the in the minutes, please.
>> On that note, yes, I move to adjourn. >> It's time to leave. >> Second. I >> I Okay. Thank you. There we There we go. Please.
There we go. Heat. Heat. Please. I need to What are you going to do? Hey there, it's Jordan with Pasco Libraries here to share some fresh picks for our morning blend book club. This is
just one of the many exciting things your library has to offer. So, let's get into it. First up is Murder Mystery Book Club by Danielle Collins. Eva Stewart runs a cozy bed and breakfast down in the Florida Keys along with her very
chatty parrot. She loves reading mystery novels and even hosts her own murder mystery book club. But when a real body turns up near the inn, Eva finds herself in the middle of a case that's straight out of one of her books. With the local
police watching closely and her own guests looking suspicious, she's got to use her books smart to solve the mystery before things get out of hand. It's a fun and clever cozy mystery full of charm and twists.
Next up is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer. This beautifully written non-fiction book brings together science, indigenous knowledge, and storytelling to explore our relationship with the natural world. Kimmer is a botonist and she invites us to see the
earth not just as something we use, but as something we're connected to. It's thoughtful, moving, and a great reminder of the importance of gratitude and giving back to the world around us. A perfect book for anyone who loves nature and wants to feel more in tune with it.
And for young readers, check out Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. In this sweet and funny picture book, a bunch of animals sneak into Bear's warm, cozy cave to get out of the cold. They're having snacks and a little party, but
Bear keeps snoring. When he finally wakes up and sees what's going on, he's in for a big surprise. It's a great read aloud filled with rhyme, rhythm, and a heartwarming message about friendship and sharing. That's it for this month. Be sure to visit your local library,
sign up for a card if you haven't already, and check out all the great books and programs we have waiting for you. Until next time, happy reading. >> Um, can I have this >> line? >> We all love to cut corners. >> You're all set.
>> Okay, great. >> But when it comes to crossing the road, this is one corner you can't cut. Always cross at an intersection. Use the crosswalk pedestrian signal. And when you cross, be alert. Make sure approaching drivers see you and have enough time to stop. Drivers, you cannot
cut this corner either. You're required to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk. It is the law. >> Really? >> Yes. Alert today, alive tomorrow. This message is brought to you by the Florida Department of Transportation. You can read a story.
You can go for a walk. So why not combine both? Welcome to our story walk. >> Here at JB Starky Wilderness Park, we have installed a new story in our story walk. Check out this new seasonal themed
title, The Very Last Leaf by Steph Wade and illustrated by Jennifer Davidson, where you'll learn about Lance, the cottonwood leaf, and how he must face his fear of falling with the change of the seasons. The story walk consists of 18 reading stations positioned along a
02 mile loop. Along the way, you'll also learn some fun facts about the changing colors of leaves. The outdoor reading experience allows children, families, and people of all ages to read a story while walking along a nature trail. Head to the back left trail of the playground
area, follow the purple trail blazes, and you'll be on your way. A special thank you to all who partnered with libraries to make this project possible. Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources, the Friends of the Pasco County Library System, and
Americanore. >> Do you have friends or family who live in a safe area and will let you and your pets stay with them? If so, add that to your evacuation plan. Disasters can happen anywhere, so you might want to find several places to stay depending on which direction the threat is coming.
Your pets being with you in your home or someone else's home is better than being at a shelter. Know where pet friendly hotels are on your evacuation route just in case. Hotels do not have to accept your pets during a disaster, and not all shelters allow animals.
At a shelter, each pet needs a separate carrier. Even pets who normally get along can react to the stress of evacuating. Have a pet emergency kit or go bag packed and ready. Watch our video on what to pack for your pet for more information. Remember, the key to keeping your pet safe during a disaster
is being prepared. Now, you might not be able to contact your vet during a disaster. So, make sure your pet has their ID tag, up-to-date vaccines, and all of their medications. Make sure the contact information on your pet's ID tag is
correct and snap a photo. If your pet gets lost, it can help reunite you and your pet later. If you can't take care of your pet during a disaster, find someone who can. Show them where you keep your pet go kit and talk about your evacuation plans so you can get your pet back as soon as
it's safe. Caring for your pets during a disaster can be easy if you prepare now. For more information about evacuating safely, visit pasco emergencymanagement.com. >> This is a message to anyone who is pimping, selling, or sexually exploiting
someone in Pasco County. If you are forcing someone to sell their body for drugs or money, or if you are giving them drugs in exchange for sexual favors, >> if you're allowing a minor to stay in your house in return for sexual favors, or if you're setting up sexual dates
with a child, >> if you are pimping, providing a ride or security for someone selling their bodies for sex, or acting as a manager and keeping all of their money, >> the law considers you a human trafficker, and human trafficking is a felony.
You could be sentenced to 30 years to life. >> Every law enforcement agency in Pasco County, including the Pasco Sheriff's Office, >> the Newport Richie Police Department, >> the Zephr Hills Police Department, >> the Dade City Police Department, and the Port Richie Police Department, >> are working to arrest and help prosecute
human traffickers. Pasco County has zero tolerance for human trafficking. >> If you take advantage of others, forcing them to work or engage in commercial sex acts, we have a special place for you to live. the Pasco County Jail. >> If you exploit or traffic other people,
you are participating in modern-day slavery. >> Would you want someone to sell a member of your family for sex? >> Is a life in prison worth it? Because eventually you will get caught. >> We use state-of-the-art technology. >> We have highly trained, experienced officers.
>> We leverage detailed intelligence and monitor all of the online and social media platforms that traffickers use. >> All law enforcement is working together. If you are a trafficker in Pasco County, we're looking for you and we will find you. >> Pasco doesn't buy it. Don't traffic or
sell another person or you will be arrested. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Pasco County waterways and wildlife depend on you to keep them healthy. Excess fertilizer, grass clippings, trash, oils, and pet waste wash into
gutters and storm drains when it rains. Storm water carries these pollutants directly into our lakes and rivers, creating an unhealthy environment for fish, water foul, and other aquatic animals. Storm drains are meant for clean rainwater. Most other discharges are illegal. If you suspect an illicit
discharge, please contact Pasco County Department of Public Works at 7278343611. If you qualify as a special needs client, your emergency go kit should include everything you need to maintain your care regimen and optimal health. This includes all your medications. Once
a disaster is declared, Flidians may obtain an extra prescription refill even if you have recently filled it. That's important since you should bring 10 days of medications to the shelter. Ideally, bring the original pill bottle since it has your name, the prescription number,
the medication name and dosage, as well as the names of both the pharmacy and your physician. If you need special food or medical supplies, bring those with you. Have enough oxygen to get you to and from the shelter safely. And don't forget, bring your concentrator or
nebulizer. While packing, grab your glasses, hearing aid, and batteries, wound care supplies, prosthetics, walker or wheelchair, along with a pair of socks, and closed toe shoes. It's very important to carry copies of contact
information with you as well. Include the names and numbers of family members, doctors, your pharmacy, home health provider, and your oxygen supplier. Bring your insurance card, your photo ID, and a copy of your care plan. If you
have a do not resuscitate form, pack the yellow original form. The most important thing you can bring is your caregiver. A cot will be assigned to you, so ensure the person taking care of you brings their own small air mattress. Bring supplies for
your service animal if you have one, and watch our pet inclusive kit video so you know what to pack for them. Planning and preparing ahead of time can help lower your stress level and will keep you organized. that allows you to remain healthy during an emergency. There is no
bedside nursing care at the shelter, but there will be assistance available. Planning on your part ensures a smoother stay. So, pack that special needs go kit now. If you have any questions, call the Pasco County Emergency Management Staff
by dialing 727-8478137. Interesting. Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Everybody, hey
Come visit us. Through the years, we didn't necessarily anticipate being in a position where we required assistance. One of the main uh bills that is sometimes the most difficult to deal with is of course the energy bill, the electrical bill. The
electric really tends to add up. It's been far more than just an electric bill. My particular case worker and the Pasco human services has um facilitated within me a sense of optimism. there is
another person, another resource that truly cares for me and about me that uh has made it very very uh clear to me that um I matter and that means a great
deal. That's life-changing. Hello and welcome to this edition of Profiles on Pasco. I'm Tamry Lane, public information officer with Pasco County Government, and today we're talking about the Pasco County Animal Hoarding Task Force. So, joining us are some special guests. We have Mike
Schumate and Danielle DS. Uh, first of all, thank you both for being here. We appreciate it. and I wanted you to talk about your role uh with animal services a little bit. Mike, we'll start with you. >> Okay. Uh I'm the director of animal services. Uh I oversee um everything that the county has to do as far as uh
operating a shelter, animal control services. Um we do adoptions at the shelter. Uh we have quite a vast array of services that we provide to the county in that regard. Um we also do animal licensing for the county. Um the
animal control aspect, uh you know, they're the folks that are out in the street every day, uh answering citizens calls or complaints about loose animals. Uh um if there's any kind of disturbance in the neighborhood as far as an aggressive dog or anything, we go out for that. We investigate cruelty cases
as well. And of course, hoarding is a big part of that. Um we're finding more and more of those cases out in our community. And um it's very important that we can handle them effect effectively. So >> Danielle, tell us a little about your role with animal services.
>> Right. Um so I'm an animal control officer for Pesco County and um my my daily operations are uh answering and servicing the citizens while out in the field for Pasco. Um that could be anything from picking up an injured animal that may have just been hit by a car. Um somebody who found a loose stray
running in the neighborhood. But then we also do uh cruelty humane investigations. Um, we assist our fellow law enforcement agencies, anything from other municipalities to uh, Pasco Sheriff's Department as well. And there's a whole plethora of uh, different types of cases that we can run
on a daily basis. >> I can imagine. >> All right. And today we're focusing uh, on the animal hoarding task force. So, so Mike, give us a little bit of the history of this task force and how it came about. >> We started this uh, probably about four
years ago. Um, we had some a a brief history of cases probably in the county that led us to realize that we were not prepared for what we found on scene. And so we started looking around to develop a task force. Uh, we actually saw Lee
County had one in place. So, uh, a contingent of the folks from Pasco went down, um, got all the notes, saw the presentation on their task force, very impressed with it, came back and tried to duplicate it as much as possible to get those agencies we needed to assist
us uh, with developing our own task force. And so, we began to do that. And at first, it was just a few agencies within the county. And then we started reaching out to other agencies that could help us out, especially in regards to the human element. um we weren't
really that well prepared for that. So, we needed some professionals to come in to help us uh case management and things like that with folks. >> And why do you think there's a need for this specific task force in Pasco County? >> Well, we run into situations almost
every day it seems like that could lead into a hoarding situation. A lot of times, um it's neighbors that will complain. Um, it's family members that will identify someone in their family that's been left alone and they've
gotten into a situation where they're starting to hoard different things. Typically, it's either resources or it's animals. And for us, that's the big aspect is the animals. Normally, we'll find out through code enforcement. They're good partners with us in this.
And then also, uh, we'll just get complaints from customer service, uh, calls in from folks that have, you know, gone by their neighbor's house and they've seen the condition start to change and they're concerned, so they'll call it in. >> So, the task force has been around for a few years. You just added an
investigator. Can you talk about that a little? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, we knew that, uh, a lot of hoarding, it really borders on neglect of those animals, and sometimes that neglect is so severe, it runs into cruelty. um we want to protect those animals, but we also want to look at the human
element as well, but still we have to enforce laws and and ordinances within our county and protect those animals. So, we wanted to do a better job of defining that that line between hoarding and cruelty. And sometimes we come out to a case and we immediately know that
this is an overwhelmed caregiver or something. So, we won't need as much investigation as that because of the condition of the animals aren't as bad. But when the condition is, we want to investigate as fully as we can. So what we um we had asked for um uh this for
quite a while. Finally, we had some money available in our budget and we decided to train one of our own to go ahead and take the courses uh that were necessary. Uh she went to the University of Missouri, got the u the the uh hoarding, not hoarding, I'm sorry, the
um humane investigator certification. Uh this took a while but over the course of a year and a half she completed it. We're very proud of her and um so now she's actually gone on to a few cases and uh luckily we also had the ASPCA um we got a grant with them. They're good
good partner in this. They do a lot of hoarding nationally so they've got grants available and we were able to get her some extra forensic training as well. So >> So those are important skills that she brings to the table. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. And she can use that not only with our agency but with other agencies as well. Oh, okay.
Danielle, I wanted to ask you, Mike touched on this a little bit, but in your day-to-day operations, how do you find out about these hoarding cases? >> Our day-to-day operations could be anything from, you know, like Mike said, it could be customer service calling in to where somebody finally has the
courage to reach out and not feel bad for reporting it. Um, oftentimes we have people who are aware that this situation is going on with either a family member, a friend, or a fellow neighbor. Um, and it takes a lot of courage for that person to reach out to us through the phone. Um, we have uh website
submissions that they can go through Pasco County's website. Um, but then even something as simple as me driving through a neighborhood while I'm servicing, you know, a separate case. I might have somebody approach my my vehicle and, you know, just privately say, "Hey, I I think this is going on. Is this something that you could look
into?" Um, it really comes in all facets as far as the information. So, you know, we we have to take each bit of information seriously and, you know, assess it as best as possible so that we know what we're looking into because like Mike touched on, I mean, it could be anything from materials that
somebody's hoarding, but then you don't see the one room inside the house to where there's animals that have just been collected and um are suffering and they're in need. And it's often times where you start to smell it. So, it could just be the change of the season and the wind catches the right direction
and it makes somebody call. When we were talking earlier, something I found really interesting is is how you pointed out that each case is so individual. >> Tell me a little bit about that, maybe some of the specific cases. >> Absolutely. Yeah. So, we've had uh as
far as 2016, we've we've had I would like to say what's a pretty successful year. We've had about 18 cases. Um we ended up impounding about 544 animals from those separate cases. That could be anything to an extremely overwhelmed caregiver. Um, it could be somebody who
just lost control of maybe bringing in a stray cat, didn't know she was pregnant, and then they allowed the inbreeding to just occur inside the home. Um, you know, but then it could also be somebody who is honestly taking very good care of the
animals, but they become the caretaker of the neighborhood and they bring in all the strays and, you know, they get strays get dropped off in front of their property. So, um, a couple of our most recent cases, um, usually typically involve cats. Um, we do have cases to where we've worked with a lot of dogs.
We've had birds, all kinds of animals come in, but the cats seem to overwhelm a a lot of our residents. Um, because it is so easy. They can produce a litter every 62 to 65 days. So, if you imagine the amount of kittens that can come out of that litter, um, you know, and
everybody's heartstrings are pulled. So, specifically, um, the one that I I wanted to touch on was a woman who devoted her life to rescuing, saving animals. She she was a certified groomer. Um, she she opened up her own boarding facility. And this was 40 years
ago, she said. 40 years ago, she she put her her her heart and her savings into a facility. It's where she lived. And, um, unfortunately, she was in her 80s when the call came through to us. And we worked with her for an extended period
of period of time ultimately finding out that um her age kind of got the best of her. And what we what the most difficult part was was relaying that you know it's okay that you love the animals. It's okay that you provide food and water to them every day. But oftentimes it's not
enough. Um you know oftentimes it's taking the courage to step out and say I'm overwhelmed and my love and my passion for this animal is not really truly giving it what it needs. She had roaches that were feeding off of everything in her facility. I saw them
crawling on her, crawling throughout her clothing. Um, the cat food and the dog food was pitted from the amount of roaches that were feeding from their food. So, the animals couldn't really get the nutrition they needed. We had a dog that was completely infested with ticks and she had flee and tick medicine
inside her facility. Um, you know, it's it's it's different every single time. So you have to be able to truly morph into the human needs as as well as you know the animal needs because if you don't have a good relationship with that person reaching out and helping those
animals is you know is going to be extremely difficult. >> Yeah. We talk a lot about these cases and and some of the things you have to see and some of the things you deal with. But in most cases, do you think it's safe to say that the these start from a place of empathy, of people
caring about the animals and wanting to do what's right? >> Oh, definitely. Definitely. I mean, a lot of a lot of the hoarding is, you know, like Danielle mentioned, you know, it's the overwhelmed caregiver. You know, it's the person that starts out with a legitimate purpose serving these animals. For example, we've had uh cases
in the county where a couple bred animals uh legally, professionally, they were very good at it, but as time went by, one of them got sick, passed away, left the other one alone with the animals, and before you know it, you
just don't know how much breeding's going on, how much the situation has changed, and it's really devastating for these folks. Uh we've had people when we show up at their door because of a complaint um just say, "Thank God you're here." You know, because they really
realize at that point that I just can't handle this anymore. And you go in and you see the devastation of their home, um the condition of the animals. So it it is kind of overwhelming for a lot of folks, but they do have good intentions when they start out. I think it's just it's even like the rescue organization
uh that just gets overwhelmed and they can't stop. They think they have to save everything, you know, but they won't give anything back. They won't adopt them out. And so, it's pretty tragic sometimes. >> And I know it's about enforcement, but it also is about that human element. I
want to touch back on that a little bit because I was really struck by that in conversations with everyone at animal services. You guys really care about not just the animals, but the people involved. >> Absolutely. Yeah. Um we we often say that you know we've been fortunate
enough to actually go to um some seminars and conferences just to obtain more information about the human aspect because they do categorize hoarding into four different you know types um you know anything from an exploer to a rescuer. So it's really, you know, the
psychological aspect of that is is, you know, the biggest part. Um, at the end of the day, you know, if if the human is the one who is causing the animals to, you know, if if they're not really helping the animals the way that they need, um, you know, you have to break
through to that person in order to really get through to the animals that they own. Um because we can't just go in there and and everybody thinks we can just scoop them up and save them all. But the relapse rate of of somebody who truly is affected mentally um and physically by hoarding um is almost a
100% rate of relapsing. >> I was really surprised by that recidivism rate. You see it all the time. >> We do. Yeah. And and part of our task force now is just recently as as of the last week and a half, we we just visited one of our um our our hoarders who uh
you know, she was overwhelmed and human services and a lot of other agencies came together to help her and um I was just out there the other probably in the fall um you know and checking up on her and her her home was in good condition. The cats were were looking good but a
week and a half ago, new babies, new kittens. um the conditions and sign were not were not sanitary for her. So that's a new aspect we're looking into accomplishing with the task force is is a successful you know checkback schedule so that we can really start
pulling in the human needs side of things. Um we enjoy working with the humans but we recognize that there's a fine line. We we're animal services so we really need to bridge any other gaps that might be out there with other agencies. I think that's what really sets you apart, too, because you're
going to hate this because you've mentioned that you don't like being called a dog catcher. No, because it's so much more than that. And I think that's, you know, an outdated term, but your your involvement with the people involved in these cases,
>> do you think that helps when you have to go back and and visit these people again? And and if so, how? >> Absolutely. um that that is how I operate on a day-to-day basis is because um even if it's not a hoarder, even, you know, even if somebody ends up seeing my face because their dog was running loose
in the neighborhood, my goal is always to leave that person with a good rapport. Um and oftentimes in our hoarding situations, we still do issue citations. So the as as far as you know the the dog catcher aspect um and the
stigma of being stereotyped as one um yeah I prefer animal cop if if I'm going to be labeled. Um and the reason is is because you know it's it's not just about scooping up the strays so that we can you know everybody thinks we're going to just put down every animal.
It's so much more nowadays. You know the county shelter and animal services were here because a lot of other facilities are overwhelmed. We're here when no one else will open their door to you. We're here when you have lost all faith and you just can't care for yourself or your
animals. You don't have to be afraid of us. So the dog catcher stereotype we all picture, you know, with the net, the cartoons, it's not an image that that I really want to promote. I want people to see our faces and know that even if I do issue you a citation, we're still going
to help you and provide every bit of information, you know, regarding the courts, your arraignment dates, anything like that. We're not just going to throw tickets at you and and leave you with an empty home feeling completely void of >> everything. Love what you're doing.
>> Um Mike, there's a lot of other agencies involved. You talked about that a little earlier. Um who who all gets involved in the task force? >> Well, with within the county, we have several agencies or divisions and departments that help us out. Uh, like I said, we partner a lot with code enforcement because typically we're
getting the calls to go out for complaints and so we're serving the citizens that way and one of those agencies will typically come upon a situation that's either resource hoarding or animal hoarding. Um, but we also pull in other agencies as well. Fire rescue helps us out. We've got the
Pasco County Sheriff's Office that that helps us. Um, we've actually had cases where we work very closely with them because, you know, we typically do domestic animals and they do livestock, but sometimes there's, you know, you've got those those animals like chickens and things like that that come into play
and it's a fine line between who's going to take these. So, we work with them a lot on that as well. And then we've got the human services with the county. We've also got emergency management. Some of these houses we go into, they've been hoarding like Daniel talked about. the smell, the ammonia is so strong in
there that we have to get it tested before we can actually go in safely with our crews. So, that's an important element to have them involved as well. And then we've got customer service who initially takes all the calls from everyone and talks people and kind of gets more detail for us. And then we've
got other agencies outside like CARES, um, United Way of Pasco. I mean, a lot of these folks, they really bring the resources that help the the human element out more than anything else. Um, and then we're starting to branch out a little more so we can grab more of the uh resources from municipalities as
well. And right now we've got uh Port Richie and Newport Richie on board. Uh, we've even reached down to Hillsboro and they're they're coming on board with us as well because there's a lot of crossover between animals and and resources that we can use. So, >> well, and you've come a long way in a
few short years. In fact, the board of county commissioners recently recognized the work you're doing. So, >> want to give credit where it's due. What was that like? >> Thank you. It was great. Uh we had all the agencies actually show up uh for the resolution and like Daniel said, we had a really good year last year. We did uh
some excellent work um uh helping some citizens out. Uh we did about 18 cases and as she said, there was about over 500 animals that were involved. Uh it was pretty uh significant to to do that in in a year's time. Plus what we always
do every day. Um, we're, you know, it's it's an amazing job. You know, we've got some amazing folks both at the shelter and they're dedicated. They're hardworking. It's a very emotional business and and and you can imagine, you know, we're talking about the human element, the animal element, but uh, you
know, at the end of the day, these people's pets, they love them and uh, they're our neighbors out there, so we got to take good care of them. >> And to be clear, if these animals are able to be rehabilitated, brought back to health, they are adoptable. >> Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we got
vet staff at the shelter. We've got uh a behaviorist. Uh we've got a lot of folks at the shelter that really, you know, once the animals get there, they go to work. Uh they immediately start assessing the animals, what are their needs medically or behaviorally, and then we try to get as many uh adopted as possible.
>> All right. So, one last thing I want to want to ask you. If there's someone out there who either knows somebody who might be, you know, hoarding animals or maybe they're in a situation where they're feeling a little overwhelmed, what's what's your advice for them?
>> My advice always is don't be afraid of us. Don't don't be afraid. Don't don't worry about retaliation. Don't worry about um you know what's going to happen. Worry about what's going to happen if you don't report it. um you
know because these animals don't have a voice and even though I love animals, we all do love animals, oftentimes the people who are hoarding them, they don't really have a voice either. Um because I don't think they understand how deep into their situation they are until we
show up. Um and they go through all the stages of accepting what's going on and and to see them come through that and to say thank you is it means everything. It means everything. So, just please always remember to reach out. Um, and to not be
afraid of your county shelter. >> Mike, anything you'd like to add? >> No, I think she said it well. I think people just don't need to be afraid. You know, that like you mentioned earlier, that stereotype of the dog catcher. We're out there to serve the people. I think both us and code enforcement over the years, you know, we're looking more
compliance. We want to help people. We want to make sure that the situation where they are is safe for them and that their animals are safe. Uh, so anytime a family member has a concern or a neighbor or a friend, just call us. You know, it's it's nothing to go out and do
a welfare check on somebody just to see how they're doing. And sometimes that's all these guys are doing out there. You know, they're going out just to knock on a door and say, "Hey, is everything okay with you and your animal? We've had some concerns, you know, or we've got a call that someone's concerned about you." So, best thing to do is just call.
>> Yeah, great advice. Well, thank you, Mike and Danielle, for being here and thanks for everything you do. It's It's really made a difference and and we appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Thanks so much. >> Thank you for joining us for this edition of Profiles on Pasco. I'm your host, Amberry Lane. We'll see you next time.
If you qualify as a special needs client, your emergency go kit should include everything you need to maintain your care regimen and optimal health. This includes all your medications. Once a disaster is declared, Flidians may obtain an extra prescription refill even
if you have recently filled it. That's important since you should bring 10 days of medications to the shelter. Ideally, bring the original pill bottle since it has your name, the prescription number, the medication name and dosage, as well as the names of both the pharmacy and
your physician. If you need special food or medical supplies, bring those with you. Have enough oxygen to get you to and from the shelter safely. And don't forget, bring your concentrator or nebulizer. While packing, grab your
glasses. hearing aid and batteries, wound care supplies, prosthetics, walker or wheelchair along with a pair of socks, and closed toe shoes. It's very important to carry copies of contact information with you as well. Include the names and numbers of family members,
doctors, your pharmacy, home health provider, and your oxygen supplier. Bring your insurance card, your photo ID, and a copy of your care plan. If you have a do not resuscitate form, pack the yellow original form.
The most important thing you can bring is your caregiver. A cot will be assigned to you, so ensure the person taking care of you brings their own small air mattress. Bring supplies for your service animal if you have one, and watch our pet inclusive kit video so you
know what to pack for them. Planning and preparing ahead of time can help lower your stress level and will keep you organized. that allows you to remain healthy during an emergency. There is no bedside nursing care at the shelter, but there will be assistance available.
Planning on your part ensures a smoother stay. So, pack that special needs go kit now. If you have any questions, call the Pasco County Emergency Management Staff by dialing 7278478137. accepting. >> Have you met TED? Pasco County's
Transportation Engineering Department or TED is responsible for building and operating a safe, connected, and efficient transportation system for everyone. We ensure public funds go to the best transportation projects.
>> Hi, I am Ted. We build new roads, turn lanes, bike lanes, and sidewalks. >> I am Ted. >> We install traffic signals and ensure they operate properly. >> I am Ted. >> We make sure that property lines for new
development are accurate. >> I am Ted. >> We build pathways and make crosswalks safer. >> I am Ted. >> Ted works to provide a great transportation system for all of Pasco County. If you have a question, concern,
or request for our transportation team, just visit our website and search TED That's Yeah. Hey, hey. Yeah. Heat.
Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. What? Heat. Heat. So, you sign up for Pasco County's special needs registry. That means you have a bed at the special needs shelter
if you want one, right? Nope. Registration does not guarantee you a bed at a special needs shelter. It's simply registration, not a reservation. You should register with the Pasco County Special Needs Program before hurricane season begins. And you can register right on our website. Just go
to pasco emergencymanagement.com and click on the special needs link. Then if Pasco County calls for evacuations and you live in an evacuation zone, we will call you to find out if you plan to stay in the special needs shelter. and Pasco County Emergency Management will provide
transportation to and from the shelter if you need it. So remember, planning ahead is the best way to keep everyone safe. The special needs shelter should really be your last resort. If you think you'll need to stay in a special needs shelter, watch our videos about who qualifies to stay at one and what you
should bring. Make your emergency plans before you need to evacuate. Don't wait until a disaster is heading our way to register as a special needs patient. Hey Tampa Bay, let's come together to conserve water. When it rains or rain is in the forecast, skip a week of watering
and save up to 2500 gallons of water. Once a week watering restrictions are in effect. Know your day, Tampa Bay. Go to mywwaterday.org. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hi, I'm Aninsley with Pasco County Pavement Management. People always ask,
why can't you pave roads faster? Well, the process isn't as simple as it seems. We use two methods, which you can see here. They're called milling and paving and full depth reclamation and soil cement. What does that mean exactly?
Let's break them down. 90% of our paving projects are done through milling and paving which takes about 2 weeks depending on weather and the length of the road. We start by grinding and removing 2 to 3 in of the road. Then we sweep the road to remove
fines. Fines are small particles of asphalt or lime rock. Next, we spray tack, which is a mixture of oil and water onto the road surface to make sure that the asphalt bonds to the road surface. Then, we apply a layer or two
of asphalt. Ever notice steam rising from the asphalt? That's because it's struck to the work site at a whopping 325° or hotter. Next, we drive a steam roller over the asphalt to make sure the surface is flat and smooth. And that's
it. Now, let's look at the second paving process Pasco uses, which usually takes a bit longer. Our geotechnician team drills into the roadway at the job site and takes samples to a lab to help us determine what mix to use. Then, we create a mix
to use on the road from materials we salvage from the pre-existing road. A machine grinds 10 in into the road base, feeding all that material into a giant mixing machine where it mixes with other ingredients before being spread onto the
road. The surface has to be set for a few days and then our team returns to the site to test the road's strength. If it gets two thumbs up, we grind 2 in off the base, sweep the fines, and add the tack and lay the asphalt. So, those are
the two ways Pasco works to make your commute a whole lot smoother. Public works inspectors are on every job site to make sure there are no bumps in the road, so to speak. We follow tough guidelines and high standards to keep our roads drivable for years to come. To
learn more about Pasco County's paving process, please visit my pascco.net. And thank you for watching. Um, can I have this line? >> We all love to cut corners. >> You're all set. Okay, great. >> But when it comes to crossing the road,
this is one corner you can't cut. Always cross at an intersection. Use the crosswalk pedestrian signal. And when you cross, be alert. Make sure approaching drivers see you and have enough time to stop. Drivers, you cannot cut this corner either. You're required to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.
It is the law. >> Really? >> Yes. Alert today, alive tomorrow. This message is brought to you by the Florida Department of Transportation. >> Hey, I'm Kevin Jenkins, water quality supervisor for Pasco County. What you see behind me tends to create a lot of
questions for our department. People ask all the time, "Why are you wasting all that water?" or "Why is that thing still running?" The answer is simple. We're not. What you see happening right here is a state regulated process called water quality flushing. It happens every day
to keep your drinking water safe. Our team is responsible for checking more than 122,000 connections all over Pasco County. As you can imagine, it's a daunting task, but it's work we do proudly and take seriously. We service both residential and commercial
connections and flush water manes periodically for preventative maintenance. It helps get rid of impurities, sediment, and biologic growth. This work can be done by a team member or by an automatic flushing device known as an AFD.
AFDs can flush pipes remotely. So, there you have it. And now you know. That's our flushing process in a nutshell. Pasco County works hard to maintain the best water quality. This is just one way we get to that point. To learn more about this and other Pasco
County Utilities information, please visit our website at mypasco.net. Damn. The average shelter return to owner rate for cats is less than 2%. That means if you bring a community cat to our shelter, it's not likely they'll end up
being returned to their caregivers. Cats in our communities often have one or more caregivers, and they usually hang out in their home area. The best thing to do for these cats is to leave them be. Share that message and you too can help battle pet overpopulation.
>> If you're concerned the kittens have really been orphaned, meaning they haven't been moved or you're sure mom hasn't been back in at least eight consecutive hours, then you can step in and care for the kittens. Animal services offers resources on our website about kitten fostering, spay and neuter
services, trap rentals, and vaccinations. Whether you have a single community cat or a bunch of kitties, we encourage you to contact us at 813-9291212 or through our website for more information on our SNIP trapneuter
vaccinate release program. This means healthier and fewer community cats in your neighborhood. Healthier because we can prevent diseases like rabies and fewer because all of the cats that we treat are also spayed and neutered. Cats are eligible for the program at 8 weeks old. Pasco County is a strong and
growing community and through our combined efforts, we can help save lives with three simple words, leave them be. Heat. Heat. Are you in a relationship with somebody who is controlling you and making you do things that you don't want to do?
>> Are you performing sex acts for things like food, drugs, or a place to sleep? Are you being forced to do sexual favors instead of paying for drugs? >> Is someone keeping you from going where you want or not letting you see your friends and family? Are you being forced to travel to other places?
>> Is someone holding your ID, money, or other personal information and keeping it away from you? Do you ever ask yourself, "Am I doing this because I want to or because I'm being forced to?" >> You could be a victim of human trafficking, but we are here to help.
Every law enforcement agency in Pasco County, including the Pasco Sheriff's Office, >> the Port Richie Police Department, >> the Zephr Hills Police Department, >> the Newport Richie Police Department, and the Dade City Police Department, >> are working to help people just like you every single day. You may be afraid and
you may not trust law enforcement, but we are here to help you. >> We care about you. Your community cares about you and we all want the best for you. You matter to us. >> If you're being controlled and forced to commit crimes for your pimp or trafficker, you are not a criminal.
>> Even if you have a criminal record, we will help you. We can connect you to people who will help you find a safe place to live, to get a good job, and to get back on your feet. >> We will act quickly and discreetly to help get you out of your situation. You
are not alone. We want to help. >> We have dispatchers on standby to take your call and advocates that can give you the help that you need. You have value and you do not deserve to be forced to do things you don't want to do. We are in this together and you are
not alone. Please call one of the numbers listed below if you want help. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Oh yeah. Oh, Heat.
Heat. Heat. Heat. Roughly 90,000 dogs in Pasco County create more than 5 tons of waste every year. When left on the ground, storm water carries bacteria and nutrients from pet waste into waterways, causing algae blooms and unhealthy conditions
for fish and other aquatic creatures. Polluted waters are also unsafe for swimming and recreation. Please do your part to keep Florida waters clean by disposing of your pets waste in the trash. For more information, contact Pasco County Department of Public Works at 727834-3611.
Oh, doo. I can't. Pasco County's solid waste department is always looking for ways to help the environment and keep things out of our landfill. Hi, I'm Shannon Kennedy with Pasco County Solid Waste Department. One of the projects we're very proud of here in
Pasco is how we handle our bioolids. So, let's just call it what it is. A bioolid is poop. It's flushed down the toilets and eventually ends up here. We have our very own public private one-of-a-kind bioolids processing facility that turns
bioolids or poop into commercially available fertilizer. We paid for and built the facility which is right next to our West Pasco resource recovery facility and Merryill Brothers operates it. Ted Merrill is the co-owner of Merryill Brothers. He's been in the solid waste business since 1982.
>> Our Pasco County facility is our newest and it is state-of-the-art. We bring in nearly 50,000 wet tons of product a year and through our specialized process, we produce Florida green fertilizer. At first, the sun does most of the work. We spread out the bioolids on our
greenhouse floor and short it up with the tractor and tiller. Large ceiling fans help to dry out the product. As the top layer dries, we till it again, exposing the wetter material from underneath. It doesn't completely dry out in the greenhouse, so we also use an
oven belt pasteurizing process. We blow hot air up through the bioolids belt and through the product, drying the bioolids even more. The result is a high quality class doubleA byproduct registered with the state of Florida as a fertilizer. This
process saves Pasco about $250,000 per year. >> Merryill Brothers is a great partner and this project is very successful both commercially and environmentally. Farmers use the fertilizer to grow crops and grasses for grazing animals. It's also used for composting and to grow sod
and fruit trees around the state. Most of our fertilizer is sold to local aggra businesses. So, it's even more of a win for Pasco's economy. This is just one example of how Pasco County and the Solid Waste Department are using innovative ways to minimize impacts on our landfills, benefit our environment,
boost local businesses, and keep our waterways clean. Thanks for watching and head to my pasco.net to learn more about how we're serving our community through the years. because we didn't necessarily anticipate being in a position where we required assistance.
One of the main uh bills that is sometimes the most difficult to deal with is of course the energy bill, the electrical bill. The electric really tends to add up. It's been far more than just an electric bill. my particular case worker and the
Pasco human services has um facilitated within me a sense of optimism. There is another person, another resource that uh truly cares for me and about me that uh has made it very very uh clear to me
that um I matter and that means a great deal. That's life-changing. Microchipping. You've probably heard the term, but you might not know what it is or why it's so important. The chip has the same information as the tag on your pet's collar, but it's easily injected
just under the skin. So, a quick scan of the chip and we know who they belong to. When a lost dog arrives at the shelter, a microchip implant can triple its odds of being reunited with its owner. We know how important getting lost dogs back to their owners is for our community, and we're here to help. You can schedule an appointment to visit our
lowcost microchip clinic, and in just about 10 minutes, get that microchip implanted, and you're good to go. Once your pet is microchipped, or if they already are, make sure to keep all of your contact information updated, like your phone number, your address, and your email address. And make sure it's updated with your veterinarian as well.
Remember, one simple microchip can get your lost pet back to your home and make sure it's safe with you and your family. For more information on microchipping or microchip appointments, visit mypasco.net/p. Homelessness has many definitions. And because our funding comes from the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, otherwise known as HUD, we go by their definition. It starts with people who are literally homeless. That can include people who are living in emergency shelters or transitional housing and hotels or
motel. People living in cars, living in encampments or the woods, people in the streets, people in abandoned buildings. We also consider people who are fleeing from domestic violence or human trafficking
and people who are at imminent risk of losing their housing. There's so many factors that causes homelessness and that's why it's such a complex issue to solve. A lack of affordable housing, lowpaying jobs, financial hardships,
substance abuse, mental health and mental illness. So at community development, we offer a number of initiatives that span the spectrum of homeless services for our community. Funding outreach
services, fund an agency to provide homeless prevention services, renovation money for our family shelter. We also helped an agency buy a new facility for a women's shelter. So, we've gone from outreach to homeless prevention to
emergency services, but really the key to ending homelessness is to house people. So, we also provide financial assistance to help people get rapidly rehoused. Or let's not forget our
awardwinning project Rosali Rendu Apartments where we helped an agency purchase multifamily apartments, renovate them, and create 12 permanent supportive housing beds. So, we think it's important to help our homeless
neighbors get into our system of care. And the best way to do that is for them to call numbers where they can be served by the organizations that are helping our homeless. The best way to get this
information and this card would be to visit my pasco.net and contact our office and we'd be happy to assist you. We want to welcome you to the human services collaboration station. The collaboration station is basically
an idea of bringing community partners together with the human services team through the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners so we can serve the citizens and one hub or one facet to really create the connectivity between our partners and our not for profofits in the community as well as our case
managers and the work that they do. Our community partners play a massive role in serving our community. um they conduct certain services that you know we don't have funding for or that they have specific funding for. >> Our human services I feel is the heartbeat of the public services branch. They provide case management and connect
resources to our citizens in need. So having this collaboration station and bringing in community partners is going to make it so much easier for them to connect those services right here on the spot. >> So I think that collaboration station really fills a good void, right? we're
able to bring everyone together uh to to provide the needs for for all the folks in the community. So, I think it's a great idea and a fantastic thing and I'm I'm glad we were able to do it. >> Thank you to the team for putting this together, our facilities team, Brian Hoben and his community services team. Thank you and the support of the board
of county commissioners and a special thanks to our community development are receiving the community development block grant dollars to help with this. So, thank you all so much. >> It takes a village to serve our citizens. So, it's nice to have our not forprofits come and be open to the idea
of utilizing shared space, working side by side with uh Pasco County Human Services. Hi, I'm Hans with Pasco County Public Works. You'd be surprised with what ends up in our storm water inlets. Besides the occasional gator, we find mattresses, bicycles, even shoes. How
does it all get here? More on that later. First, it's time to clean up and clear out. Over time, storm water inlets get clogged with sand, leaves, and grass clippings, natural things, but also cans, plastic bottles, and other trash.
Our team clears all that debris so storm water can drain properly. To better see what we're dealing with, our storm water asset management team has a special camera on wheels. The camera goes where we can, checking storm water pipes for anything that might block the water flow. The camera
also helps us check the condition of the storm water pipes to see if repairs are needed. And that's important because Pasco has more than 347 mi of storm water pipes and more than 17,000 storm water inlets. Once we analyze the video,
the operation team shows up to blast water into the storm water pipes and vacuum up any debris. Then we truck it all away. With clean storm water pipes, cleaner water is now flowing into our ponds, rivers, and lakes. And some of that water eventually flows into the
Gulf of Mexico. Clean storm water inlets also prevent flooding, which means safer properties and less damage for everyone. So now you can see why dumping anything into a storm water inlet or altering a storm water structure is not only illegal but harmful. Don't dump grass
clippings, fertilizer, chemicals, paint, basically anything that affects water quality in the environment. Pasco has a waste drop off site in Spring Hill that's open every day except Sundays. So bring your household hazardous waste here instead. You'll avoid a hefty fine
for dumping in the storm water drains. We want to protect your family and your property from flooding. And we want to keep our natural resources as pollutionfree as possible. And you can do your part, too. We hope you learned a little about how we're serving our community. And if you see a clog storm
dream, please let us know at my pasco.net or by calling 7278472411. Soccer practice was always the highlight of my week. Although my relationship with my coach remained professional, sometimes he would ask me to stay after practice by myself. It was fine at
first, but over time I felt like my boundaries were being violated. I told my friends and they told me to do something about it. So I decided to tell a trusted member of the school staff who proceeded to take action for me. Heat. Heat.
Hey. If you qualify as a special needs client, your emergency go should include include everything you need to maintain your care regimen and optimal health. This includes all your medications. Once a disaster is declared, Flidians may
obtain an extra prescription refill even if you have recently filled it. That's important since you should bring 10 days of medications to the shelter. Ideally, bring the original pill bottle since it has your name, the prescription number, the medication name and dosage, as well
as the names of both the pharmacy and your physician. If you need special food or medical supplies, bring those with you. Have enough oxygen to get you to and from the shelter safely. And don't forget, bring your concentrator or nebulizer. While packing, grab your
glasses, hearing aid, and batteries, wound care supplies, prosthetics, walker or wheelchair, along with a pair of socks, and closed toe shoes. It's very important to carry copies of contact information with you as well. Include the names and numbers of family members,
doctors, your pharmacy, home health provider, and your oxygen supplier. Bring your insurance card, your photo ID, and a copy of your care plan. If you have a do not resuscitate form, pack the yellow original form.
The most important thing you can bring is your caregiver. A cot will be assigned to you, so ensure the person taking care of you brings their own small air mattress. Bring supplies for your service animal if you have one and watch our pet inclusive kit video so you
know what to pack for them. Planning and preparing ahead of time can help lower your stress level and will keep you organized. That allows you to remain healthy during an emergency. There is no bedside nursing care at the shelter, but there will be assistance available.
Planning on your part ensures a smoother stay, so pack that special needs go kit now. If you have any questions, call the Pasco County Emergency Management Staff by dialing 727-8478137. >> Hey, I'm Kevin Jenkins, water quality supervisor for Pasco County. What you
see behind me tends to create a lot of questions for our department. People ask all the time, why are you wasting all that water? Or, why is that thing still running? The answer is simple. We're not. What you see happening right here is a state regulated process called water
quality flushing. It happens every day to keep your drinking water safe. Our team is responsible for checking more than 122,000 connections all over Pasco County. As you can imagine, it's a daunting task, but it's work we do proudly and take seriously. We service
both residential and commercial connections and flush water manes periodically for preventative maintenance. It helps get rid of impurities, sediment, and biologic growth. This work can be done by a team member or by an automatic flushing device known as an AFD.
AFDs can flush pipes remotely. So, there you have it. And now you know. That's our flushing process in a nutshell. Pasco County works hard to maintain the best water quality. This is just one way we get to that point. To learn more about this and other Pasco
County Utilities information, please visit our website at mypasco.net. Are you one of the nearly 50,000 veterans who live, work, and play in Pasco County? Our team at Pasco County Veteran Services is here to help you and your family, making sure you receive the
benefits you deserve. From filing compensation and pension claims to crisis and aid and assistance, we're here to serve you. >> So, all of the veteran service officers here in Pasco County are retired from the military. We all come from different
backgrounds, different branches of the military, but we all bring forth the experience and our expertise just through things that we have gained from our own personal military services. >> You should come in and talk to a veteran service officer if you're trying to put
together um any type of claim that involves the VA. >> I just think the team is great here. Very uh caring, that's for sure. and um they put their all to help you. You get total attention from them when you do
come in, which is awesome. >> Help provide you with the guidance. We can help you put together the paperwork and we can also give you a status and update on your claim after it's been submitted. >> So, I have had veterans that that came in with $5 in their bank account and
once their claims get approved, now they're getting a monthly tax-free benefit of over $3,000 a month. That's huge. Sometimes we can do it over the phone, we can do it over video, but it's it feels more personable when you're sitting there across from someone who
probably lived the same life you lived and they is more and it's more understanding to your needs and your wants. Give them a call, find out uh if you can come in, have your documents with you ready to go and they'll they'll help you.
So, you sign up for Pasco County's special needs registry. That means you have a bed at the special needs shelter if you want one, right? Nope. Registration does not guarantee you a bed at a special needs shelter. It's simply registration, not a reservation.
You should register with the Pasco County Special Needs Program before hurricane season begins. And you can register right on our website. Just go to pasco emergencymanagement.com and click on the special needs link. Then if Pasco County calls for evacuations and you live in an
evacuation zone, we will call you to find out if you plan to stay in the special needs shelter. And Pasco County Emergency Management will provide transportation to and from the shelter if you need it. So remember, planning ahead is the best way to keep everyone safe. The special needs shelter should
really be your last resort. If you think you'll need to stay in a special needs shelter, watch our videos about who qualifies to stay at one and what you should bring. Make your emergency plans before you need to evacuate. Don't wait until a disaster is heading our way to
register as a special needs patient. Honey, start the grill. >> So, where are you guys going on vacation? That's the part of the game. >> Splash board. >> Great. Yeah. >> Has anybody seen Sam?
>> Sam. It doesn't have to end like this. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
Heat. Heat. Heat. Okay. In an emergency, do you need to stay in a Pascal County special needs shelter? You might if any of the following situations apply to you. You depend on oxygen or medical equipment that runs on
electricity. You're diabetic and need help managing your insulin levels. You have a wound that requires dressing changes. You're on dialysis. Your memor is impaired. Or you have dementia.
Now, you might not need to stay in a special needs shelter if you had a tracheotomy. You've had recent heart issues. You are bedridden. You require an IV or use a ventilator.
you have a high-risisk pregnancy and are due to deliver in the next month or you're in labor. Service animals can be with you in the shelter, but you need to bring their leash, crate, food, and water. You are responsible for caring for your service animal. Bring enough
snacks, drinks, and any special foods to last 7 to 10 days. Remember, if you only eat certain things, you have to bring them with you. Meals provided at the shelter might not be what you're expecting. And remember, if you use any special equipment, like a nebulizer,
bring that with you, too. If you go to a special needs shelter, plan to bring your caregiver with you. Just so you know, only you will get a bed at the shelter. So, make sure the person taking care of you brings their own chair or small air mattress. If you think you or
a family member might need to stay in a special needs shelter, go to floridaalth.gov to see more details about who qualifies as special needs. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey,
hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Attention all dogs and cats. Did you know you need a pet license to live in Pasco County? That's right. If you are four months or older, you need to be licensed. But
don't worry, there are so many easy ways your owner can get your tag. You can purchase one from your local veterinarian. You can grab a tag online, order by mail, or schedule an appointment to visit Pasco County Animal Services. And getting a pet license is very simple. You only need two things to
get it done. A current rabies vaccination and a small license fee. Still have questions? That's okay. We're here to help. For more on how to purchase your tag, what items you need to get one, and the fees, just have your owner visit my pasco.net/pas. >> You can read a story,
you can go for a walk. >> So, why not combine both? >> Welcome to our story walk. >> Here at JB Starky Wilderness Park, we have installed a new story in our story walk. Check out this new seasonal themed
title, The Very Last Leaf, by Steph Wade and illustrated by Jennifer Davidson, where you'll learn about Lance, the Cottonwood Leaf, and how he must face his fear of falling with the change of the seasons. The story walk consists of 18 reading stations positioned along a
02 mile loop. Along the way, you'll also learn some fun facts about the changing colors of leaves. The outdoor reading experience allows children, families, and people of all ages to read a story while walking along a nature trail. Head to the back left trail of the playground
area, follow the purple trail blazes, and you'll be on your way. A special thank you to all who partnered with libraries to make this project possible. Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources, the Friends of the Pasco County Library System, and
Americanore. They serve as I did to fight for our freedoms. We here at Go Pasco want to return the favor by serving you. Go Pasco offers all active duty, military, and veterans unlimited free rides on our fixed route buses. When you step on the bus, just show the driver one of these
forms. Military ID card, DD form 2, valid VA card, V on your driver's license, or Go Pasco veteran ID. Go Pasco, where veterans ride free. Hey, hey, hey. Often
times when you find a loose or a lost dog, they're not abandoned. They're close to their home. Almost 80% of stray dogs live within a mile of where they were found. Did you know the best thing you can do for a dog that's lost or stray like this one is to keep it in the area in which
it was found? Only 25 to 30% of stray dogs that come to the shelter actually get returned to its owner. And there's so much you can do to get little ones like this home. You can connect with your neighbors via social media, hang up posters in your neighborhood with the dog's picture, or even check doortodoor. If you haven't found the owner right
away, don't worry. It might take a couple days. Some dogs have identification on them, like licenses, tags, collars, or even microchip implants. You can check at your local veterinary clinic or pet store where the dog can get scanned for the owner's information. You can help get friendly, healthy stray dogs back to their homes
by following these few simple tools. And remember, always report aggressive, sick, or injured animals to animal services right away. Have you met TED? Pasco County's Transportation Engineering Department or TED is responsible for building and
operating a safe, connected, and efficient transportation system for everyone. We ensure public funds go to the best transportation projects. >> Hi, I am Ted. >> We build new roads, turn lanes, bike lanes, and sidewalks.
>> I am Ted. >> We install traffic signals and ensure they operate properly. >> I am Ted. >> We make sure that property lines for new development are accurate. >> I am Ted. >> We build pathways and make crosswalks
safer. I am Ted. TED works to provide a great transportation system for all of Pasco County. If you have a question, concern, or request for our transportation team, just visit our website and search TED. Heat. Heat.
What? What? No. No. Sharon uses Pasco County Public Transportation just about every day she can. >> It saves my life actually because I'm not a person to stay home. >> She rides the bus system to go to the doctor, shopping, and even into Penllis
County. >> I've had a couple bus drivers say, "You get around." PCPT continues to grow, expanding service with new buses and new routes. >> West Pasco is a big town, middle Pasco's rural, and East Pasco is small urban,
which presents totally different transportation difficulties and challenges. But our drivers and the team overcome those challenges on a daily basis to make sure our customers get where they need to go on time and safely. From professionals to retirees,
PCPT buses are for everyone. >> Sit there, use our free Wi-Fi, look at your phone, get some work done, call somebody, or just sit there and read a book, and leave the driving to test us because we'll get you where you need to go. >> Nice. >> How you feeling? Okay, good. I like your purse.
>> PCPT also provides special services for those who need a little extra help with the paratransit buses. >> The service is is good because it's very reliable. Alana Newman gets door-to-door service to Pasco's senior service elderly nutrition program. >> They just seem like they have a good
time and and they they do enjoy the service. >> No matter where you are headed, frequent riders say it doesn't take long to get the hang of things. >> You'll learn where those buses go and then you can learn where to connect. And and if you don't know a bus driver, ask
a bus driver. The bus drivers are always um helping me. At any given time, 4.8 million people are being sexually exploited across the globe. >> Men, women, and children of all ages, races, and ethnicities are exploited for
profit. >> Women and girls are disproportionately affected, accounting for 99% of the victims in the commercial sex industry. >> Over 300,000 of America's youth are at risk of sexual exploitation each year. The US is one of the largest consumers
of human trafficking victims worldwide. When it comes to sex trafficking, consumption means the purchase of sex. >> This is a problem that we face right here in Pasco County. >> When you buy sex, you are contributing to the trafficking of men, women, and children right here in Pasco County.
>> It comes down to supply and demand. There are simply more people trying to buy sex than there are those people willing to sell their bodies, thus the opportunity for human trafficking to occur. Do you think people enjoy being bought and sold that they want to perform sex acts with strangers?
>> When it comes to buying sex, we want to make sure the word is out there that Pasco doesn't buy it. Every law enforcement agency in Pasco County, including the Pasco Sheriff's Office, >> the Newport Richie Police Department, >> the Zephr Police Department, the Dade City Police Department, and the Port Richie Police Department.
>> We are working together to arrest and help to prosecute sex buyers. Would you like for your spouse to find out that you're paying for sex? >> Would you like your kids or their friends to find out or your mother? >> Do you want your boss, your co-workers, or your clients to find out that you are
buying sex? >> How would you like to have a criminal record? Buying sex is punishable with jail time and up to a $5,000 fine. >> We use state-of-the-art technology. >> We have highly trained, experienced officers. We are leveraging detailed
intelligence and monitoring the online platforms that sex buyers use. >> All of law enforcement is working together. If you're a sex buyer in Pasco County, we will find you. >> Don't buy sex. If you do, you will be arrested.
Microchipping. You've probably heard the term, but you might not know what it is or why it's so important. The chip has the same information as the tag on your pet's collar, but it's easily injected just under the skin. So, a quick scan of the chip and we know who they belong to. When a lost dog arrives at the shelter,
a microchip implant can triple its odds of being reunited with its owner. We know how important getting lost dogs back to their owners is for our community, and we're here to help. You can schedule an appointment to visit our lowcost microchip clinic and in just about 10 minutes, get that microchip implanted and you're good to go. Once
your pet is microchipped, or if they already are, make sure to keep all of your contact information updated, like your phone number, your address, and your email address. And make sure it's updated with your veterinarian as well. Remember, one simple microchip can get your lost pet back to your home and make
sure it's safe with you and your family. For more information on microchipping or microchip appointments, visit my pasco.net/pa. ET/PA. >> So, you sign up for Pasco County's special needs registry. That means you have a bed at the special needs shelter if you want one, right? Nope.
Registration does not guarantee you a bed at a special needs shelter. It's simply registration, not a reservation. You should register with the Pasco County Special Needs Program before hurricane season begins. And you can register right on our website. Just go to pasco emergencymanagement.com
and click on the special needs link. Then if Pasco County calls for evacuations and you live in an evacuation zone, we will call you to find out if you plan to stay in the special needs shelter. And Pasco County Emergency Management will provide transportation to and from the shelter
if you need it. So remember, planning ahead is the best way to keep everyone safe. The special needs shelter should really be your last resort. If you think you'll need to stay in a special needs shelter, watch our videos about who qualifies to stay at one and what you
should bring. Make your emergency plans before you need to evacuate. Don't wait until a disaster is heading our way to register as a special needs patient. Welcome to Pasco County, the fastest growing county in the Tampa Bay area.
The Pasco Board of County Commissioners is a high-erforming organization with 2700 employees representing 57 lines of business serving nearly 600,000 people over 740 square miles. and we're always looking for talented people to join our
team. This is your opportunity to help make your community a better place to live, work, and play. If you're ready to be part of a great success story, consider a career with Pasco County Government. Recently recognized as a top workplace for 2021.
Opportunities include careers in utilities, public works, traffic operations, solid waste, animal services, public transportation, information technology, libraries, parks, human services, recreation and
natural resources, administration, senior services, fire rescue, 911, fleet, building construction services, code enforcement, planning environmental science and so much more. Plus, our
benefits package is tough to beat. We offer employee wellness centers, health, vision, and dental benefits, paid holidays, and tuition reimbursement, just to name a few. We are local government re-imagined. We're
progressive, innovative, and in many areas, Pasco County is leading the way. Want to learn more about what we do and how you can be part of it? Visit mypasco.net and click on job and volunteer opportunities. Our team is more than 2700 strong. Your
neighbors, friends, and even family members. >> Come join Pasco County and make a difference every day. Welcome to Pasco County. In the heart of Florida's pristine nature coast and the Gulf of Mexico, >> comprising an area of more than 740
square miles, tourists are drawn to Pasco County for its 20 mi of shoreline and 100,000 acres of unspoiled wilderness favored by lovers of the outdoors. Pasco County isn't just about recreation and tourism. It's 30 mi north of Tampa, 50 mi west of Orlando, and has
six cities of its own, each with arts and cultural destinations, the innovative shops at Wiregrass, and a full calendar of festivals and events. Pasco County is among the nation's leaders in both residential and economic growth, thanks to its quality of life, its schools, workforce, and pipeline of
talent, pro business government, and low cost of doing business. Welcome to Pasco County, Florida, a community of open spaces and vibrant places. The average shelter return to owner rate for cats is less than 2%. That means if
you bring a community cat to our shelter, it's not likely they'll end up being returned to their caregivers. Cats in our communities often have one or more caregivers and they usually hang out in their home area. The best thing to do for these cats is to leave them be. Share that message and you too can
help battle pet overpopulation. >> If you're concerned the kittens have really been orphaned, meaning they haven't been moved or you're sure mom hasn't been back in at least eight consecutive hours, then you can step in and care for the kittens. Animal services offers resources on our website
about kitten fostering, spay and neuter services, trap rentals, and vaccinations. Whether you have a single community cat or a bunch of kitties, we encourage you to contact us at 813-9291212 or through our website for more information on our SNIP trapneuter
vaccinate release program. This means healthier and fewer community cats in your neighborhood. Healthier because we can prevent diseases like rabies and fewer because all of the cats that we treat are also spayed and neutered. Cats are eligible for the program at 8 weeks old. Pasco County is a strong and
growing community and through our combined efforts, we can help save lives with three simple words, leave them be. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, There's one. Oh my god.
Welcome to Aging on the Sun Coast. Thanks for joining us. I'm Katherine Bur, your host today. I'm the outreach manager for the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco Penelis. We've got a great program coming up always with some important information for seniors. First up,
confused about Medicare? Don't know where to turn? Stay tuned. We'll tell you about a program that shines a light on what can be a very perplexing process. And later on in the show, we'll take you to an exercise class with a
twist. It combines bending with bingo. But now, back to something not quite as much fun. Figuring out Medicare. Open enrollment starts in mid-occtober. So now's the time for seniors to start looking at their options. And if you
find all the information overwhelming, you're not alone. But there is a program that can help you sort everything out. It's called Shine. Darla Bindle frequently visits the East Lake Community Library and sets up shop.
But Dyla's not here for the books. She's here for the people she can help. >> Hi, you must be Lori. I am seniors like Lorie St. Germaine who needs some advice. >> So then I thought I probably needed some more information once I do set it up how
it's all going to work. >> Hopefully what I can do today is is sort of walk you through the different options that you have. >> Darla is a Shine counselor. >> Shine stands for serving the health insurance needs of elders. You said that
you're going to be 65 in two months. >> Two months. Okie dokie. Darla spends hours each week helping seniors navigate the complex systems of Medicare and health insurance. >> And then you make the decision. We don't make the decision for you. >> And Darla became a shine counselor
because when she turned 65, she needed help herself. Even though she'd spent her entire working career in healthcare, the process was still baffling. >> And so when it came time to sign up for for Medicare, it's a no-brainer. I got
this. I've done billing. You know, I know all about the codes. This is a piece of cake. I went in and I saw part A and part B and part C and metagap plans and advantage plans and I was like, "Oh, this isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. After
getting help from a shine counselor, Darla decided she wanted to become a beacon of light, too. >> It's It's very gratifying. I've had people hug me. I've had people start crying. I had a nurse start crying and say, "No one has ever taken the time to
take me seriously or or talk to me, talk to me about what I really need." >> 34698. Lori's also thankful for Shine because she found waiting through all the Medicare info by herself daunting.
>> Yes, because you also get this book in the mail which comes in and it tells you everything about Medicare, but then you look at all the advantage plans and there's like 50 double-sided pages. >> It's enough to make your head spin. >> It absolutely is. The area agency on aging of Pasco Panelis has a large
network of shine volunteers and they are indeed experts. Training takes nearly a year. >> Well, a shine counselor is really for lifelong learners, people that really have an interest in um learning and continuing to learn because as you know
Medicare changes all the time. >> Shine counselors like Darla are nonbiased. They're not selling any specific insurance plan. We don't work for an insurance company. >> Just providing information on what might work best. >> So, all I need to do now is go set up
that account and >> it's all for free. >> We're here to help people make the best decisions. If you need information about Medicare or health insurance options, don't fill out those forms in the dark.
Let a shine counselor shed some light. It's just an atmosphere where I just want to make sure they understand what their options are and if they don't just keep asking questions. That's what we're here for. >> Joining me now are two shine counselors,
Charles Frankle and Janet Mills. Welcome to Aging on the Sun Coast. Good. >> Thanks for being here. First off, let's learn a little bit more about both of you. Charles, how long have you been a volunteer with Shine?
I think since about 2007. So if I could do my math. >> A long time. >> A while. Yes. >> And same thing for you Janet. What motivated you to become a shine of volunteer? >> Well actually I was a former social
worker and I was involved in a very bad automobile accident. So I couldn't travel. I had retired and I couldn't play tennis and I couldn't hike. So what I could do uh I learned was to be a
shine counselor. And how long have you been doing it? >> 22 years. >> Wonderful. And we thank you both for the the hours you put in. Janet, I'm guessing there's no typical senior that you see. Everybody's situation is a little bit different, but they all come
to you because they find some of the process or information confusing. Right. >> Right. >> What kind of Yeah. What kind of experiences uh do you encounter? >> They're looking for um Medicare enrollment questions, plan comparisons
on an unbiased basis. Um drug plans, billing problems, uh questions about how to do an appeal, um lots of Medicaid, lots of different things. >> The list is long and growing, right?
And Charles, >> oh, and I should mention the fraud program, SMP, uh, the senior medical patrol fraud program is also under our wing. >> Great. And Charles, is there one part of Medicare that people seem to find the
most confusing or does it really run the gamut? >> It it runs the gamut. I mean, just that's one of the things that's attractive about doing this. You're always learning and relearning. Uh, things change all the time. It's a complex thing. just choosing plans.
There are first of all you have to decide you want to stick with original Medicare or go to advantage plans. If you want advantage plans there are what over 50 in our county >> alone in Penelis County to choose from unless you add all the other special needs plans when you get up to maybe a
hundred is our statewide trainer. >> So he um is into all of those details and he's a great help to all of us. >> Yeah. And you just have to keep refreshing be that information every year, right?
>> Oh, it does. It changes every year, right? >> Plans change every year. That's why everyone should always review their plan every year. >> And Charles, after someone meets with a shine counselor and they still have some questions, can they just come back and ask some more questions and meet with
you again or is there a limit here? >> Uh, no limit. No, absolutely. We can uh you know, till we have satisfied customer, we're available. And does does that happen often, Janet, that people come back and still have more questions?
>> Well, I'm working both at the agency and on my cell phone, so people that have my cell phone number um can call me back directly, right? I think everybody works a little bit differently. Um I'm pretty generous that way. Um, but it sometimes people
really need more answers to their questions and you've already spent a long time with them and you have, you know, what has been involved in previous conversations. So, yes, we're happy to help. That's what you're there for, right? And Jenna, I know you touched on
this a bit there. Um, but there are no shortage of business people out there promising to help people with their Medicare. But what sets Shine Volunteers apart is that you're not selling anything. Correct. >> No. The mission of the program is that
it is free and unbiased counseling. So, we're dealing it's in fact an advocacy program, an education and advocacy program. And and there's nothing wrong with people asking their friends or or
relatives, you know, hey, what plans worked best for you? I think that's a natural thing for people to do. But it does bear repeating that shine is is unbiased, >> right? And every decision is a very personal decision. So you have to you
have to come to the conclusion after you educate yourself as to what is currently the best option for you. And that can change by year. >> Absolutely. >> And Charles, the the sign up period is coming up. So, what should she seniors
be doing right now to to look into the Medicare process? >> Well, I'm not sure there's a whole lot they can do right now, but when the time comes, they need to they will get information from their current plan about the changes. So, they look at that and then uh they should compare other
options to see other plans change too. and uh what was best for him this year may not be best for what next year. >> Well, that's a good point. So, the the things change. So, don't just assume what worked well before
might not this year. >> Yeah. Now, there is a thing uh from January through March called a an advantage plan, open enrollment period. I don't know if it's open, but anyway. And that's uh we used to call it, oh, I made a mistake period. I didn't realize my doctors were no
longer in the plan or I didn't realize they no longer covered this drug or you know something like that and uh so they go to the doctor for the first time and say oh he no longer takes the plan. >> So people who have advantage plans can change during that period. >> Okay.
>> And so we're pretty busy then as well. I bet. So, uh, Charles, when you do meet with a senior and you fe feel like you've kind of cleared the the mystery out of things and and come up with, uh, some good suggestions. Um, does that
give you kind of a thrill like mission accomplished? >> Yeah, we I mean there's there's a lot of gratitude expressed from from the people we help and and that's that's that's very good. That's one of the things that keeps us going. >> Yeah, you too, Janet. a personal satisfaction about what you do.
>> Absolutely. And I'd like to mention that we also help people with lowincome programs uh to help pay their Medicare premiums and maybe more and to get help with prescription drugs. We help with those applications. >> Great. And would you uh both encourage
others uh if they're so inclined to explore volunteering with the Shine program? >> Absolutely. You can go to florida shine.org or and the application and the means of contact is right there. So if
if detail work and helping others is for you, um please look into it. It's very satisfying. Yeah, I I might add to that that it's not for everyone because it's it's fairly intense >> and you have to be willing to put some
time into it and there's a process for learning in doing it which is kind of good in itself you know but uh it doesn't take any particular background it really takes an interest in helping people and interest in learning >> and the training process is quite
extensive right >> yes there's we we start with a um eight session online and then we'll do a either inperson or a zoom uh after that with a state trainer. >> Well, thank you both for the countless
hours that you spend with seniors uh helping them through this uh Medicare process and finding the the right solutions and answering questions and answering more questions after that. And um these are really important decisions
that people have to make. So, we are certainly glad that Shine volunteers are out there and again, thank you for your time today and sharing the info. >> And if you would like to arrange a session with a shine counselor, the best
number to call is the area agency on aging's helpline. That's 1 800-963-5337. That number again is 1 800-963-5337. And Shine counselors are also based at most public libraries. So you can also call your neighborhood library to
schedule an appointment. When we come back, as promised, we'll tell you about a unique exercise class that has seniors moving and grooving and shouting bingo. Do you like having fun and staying fit?
Do you like to be creative? Do you like being part of your community? Do you like a little friendly competition? Do you like hanging out with friends? If you're saying yes, then come join us here at Pasco County Senior Services. We
have locations across the county for you to get out and enjoy great company every weekday. >> And that's not all. Do you like good food? >> We have free lunch every weekday for those 60 and older. Just come in and sign up. If you like what you see, come visit us at senior services.
>> We can't wait to see you. Welcome back to Aging on the Sun Coast. I'm Katherine Bers. In this half of the program, we'll explore why it's important for seniors to keep on the move. Now, no matter what their age, some people love to exercise and others
uh not so much. But the Area Agency on Aging has found a way for seniors to strengthen muscles and have a whole lot of fun all at the same time. Yeah, >> there's music and marching,
stretching and straining, >> pumping and panting. >> This gets harder. >> Everything you'd expect from an exercise class. But there is a twist. >> Something that makes this session more
than just a bodybending bonanza. >> Bingo. >> And we win great prizes. I won the light up toilet seat thing. I love it. I love it. >> Bingo size is a 10week free class. >> Hold for 10 seconds offered at various
locations by the area agency on aging of Pasco Penelis and back down. >> It's designed to get seniors and people with disabilities moving from their fingers to their feet. And inside the Mainlands 2 clubhouse in
Penllis Park, bingo size is a winner. >> It's very fun. Even if you don't win bingo, it's still fun. >> It makes you just feel young. It makes you feel alive. >> I recommend it. Like I said, if if someone doesn't want to do it, it's
going to be their loss. >> The creators of Bingo Size aimed to decrease the boredom of exercise and boost the fun. Do we have any B's? >> And the mix seems to work. Just about the time these seniors need a break,
there's a bingo call. 062 that gives them a breather. >> I love the fact that you exercise for a few minutes and then you kind of get out of breath, so you sit down, you have a little water, you play a little bingo. >> Oh, I got that one. >> And then you get up and exercise again.
So, it makes it fun. The instructors are fun. It's I think it's great. I'd recommend it to anybody. >> The class concentrates on stretching and strengthening muscles important for seniors to help them with everyday activities. We do a lot of like arm
reaches, arm stretches. We do the sitting and standing, which is a big thing I think especially for seniors, myself included, to be able to get up and down easily um without feeling like you're about to fall down. The class is
designed for all levels. Just do what you can. >> Just pull straight out. >> And these ladies say they can feel the difference. >> I don't get out of breath as fast. I just feel uh more energetic. >> I feel the difference when I can't make
class and then when I am in class. So, it's very beneficial and I recommend it to anybody and everybody. One thing that uh my friends have noticed, they've all said, "Oh, are you losing weight?" And I said, "No, I'm not losing weight." But obviously, this is toning my muscles and
I'm starting to look a little better. So, that's a good thing, too. >> And what's good for the body is also good for the soul. Everyone here talks about the camaraderie in the class, the shared laughs. >> Well, I'm reaching for chocolate. and
the shared belief that life is good and better when you keep on the move. We're retired, so we want to make good use of that time. We've been we've been working all these years for this retirement time and you know, if you if you say that
you're just not up to it anymore because you're too old, shame on you because we're just getting we're just getting started. >> Bingo. Joining me now is Stephanie Young. She's the health and wellness coordinator at the Area Agency on Aging, Pasco Penelis.
Thanks for being here, Stephanie. Thank you. >> Now, the the bingo size class I went to was a hoot. The ladies clearly having a fun time. Is that social aspect important to this class as well? >> Oh, of course. I mean, all of our
classes really the social connection that people get out of it. I mean what we know when seniors get older sometimes we want to stay inside and we don't want to do you know anything but our classes really are there to promote you know reducing social isolation I think it
holds people accountable you tell someone I'm going to be at class today >> and you know you feel more obligated to show up I think also >> it's an opportunity that like if they miss class you know people check on them you know and they they bridge these these relationships and these connections that extend outside of the
class and It's really wonderful to see, like you said, with those ladies. How much fun that they're having and they are those Yeah, those ladies are a great group and they are definitely uh social uh butterflies and really do enjoy kind of getting themselves out and moving about
>> and they all did appreciate the exercises. So, with this class, are there some goals like fall prevention that that are a part of it? Yeah. So, bingo size is actually kind of a unique program for us because it's not just one
class that we have. We actually have three different workshop options. So, we provide a falls prevention class, one that incorporates nutrition and then the exercise only, which is the one that you were able to view. Each of them have different focuses of course. Um, for our
falls prevention and our nutrition, there is an health education component. So participants will go through some multiple choice questions each aim to learn something from the class. So for like falls prevention it might be like oh what are you know some things that
could increase our falls risk like having area rugs or improper footwear. For nutrition we talk about things like oh what are the you know upper limits of our sodium intake for the day or reading food labels. But each of those classes
there is that educational component meant to create dialogue and really kind of incorporate some discussion and help participants learn even more than just you know play bingo. Um that being said all of the classes there's exercise. You know we get to play bingo and there is
exercise in all of those classes. So there is an education when it comes to that too. You know, we provide regressions for when people are having difficulty with certain things, but we also provide progressions when things get too easy. We want them to be challenged and we want them to incorporate physical activity into
their, you know, everyday lives more so, you know, but each of them, you're right, they do have a little bit different focus depending on the workshop. >> Okay. And a lot of um science and research kind of went into the development of this class. Someone didn't just say, "Oh, let's bing let's
do some bingo games along with some jumping jacks." I mean, there was some research done in this. >> Yeah. Well, I mean, I I think from what I understand, so it was created at Western Kentucky University um by a gentleman named Dr. JasonRandle. He is a professor of exercise science and
kinesiology. And he kind of did just want to create a program that got people moving, but also incorporated like something that people all love. And so it kind of did stem from the like, well, what would we do if we put bingo and exercise together? Um, but then after
that, of course, just like, you know, all the other classes that we provide with the health and wellness programs, it's evidence-based, right? We have to be evidence-based for the Older Americans Act and where our funding comes from. And it means, you know, you're right. They've all gone through scientific research. They've
done evaluations, >> before and after kind of thing. >> Exactly. Trials, clinical trials, all those things. they had proven the results and it took years you know I mean the program's been around for quite a while um I think 10 or 15 years and it
like you said they're yeah all based in science so it it started with that kind of idea of trying to get people moving more but then they did the research and they're constantly updating with all of that data that still comes in from all the classes that are around the country >> so proven results
>> yeah exactly >> and and Maybe it it goes without saying, but maybe you can expand like why is it important for seniors to exercise? What are the health benefits? >> I mean, it's like all people. >> Yeah. >> All people, not just seniors, right? >> But, you know, I think one of the
biggest pieces of information that people hear in our seniors is, oh, falling, those things, they're just a normal part of aging. I'm going to fall. And like that's it's not true. You know, we try to really educate them that that really the biggest detriment to their health is physical inactivity. And so
providing those opportunities, I mean, we're talking about, you know, the different health benefits, whether it's, you know, maintaining their strength, their balance, coordination, uh their heart and lung health, you know, cardiovascular, but also that that increase in blood flow like your brain
health. I mean, it helps our memory. It helps us to focus, our cognitive functions like decision- making or problem solving skills. We can manage chronic conditions. I mean people that have you know type two diabetes or high cholesterol, high blood pressure,
arthritis, osteoporosis, all these conditions can be managed by increasing their physical activity and you know like we talked about earlier with the social impact. >> Yes. The mental health. >> Exactly. I mean exercise just it boosts our mood, right? We feel better when we move around. Sometimes we get up and
we're like I don't want to do it and then we do it and we feel so much better for it. >> And laughter is the best medicine. There was so much laughter at that class. >> I know. Oh gosh. I know. Those ladies are so great. I like can't wait to go back. They're just
I love them. >> So, I know uh we we talked about the video and there this was a group of ladies, but men are encouraged to do bingo size as well, right? >> I know. I know. Group a lot of group exercise, you know, a lot of it's like women because they like the social
connection. But yes, we really do want it doesn't matter uh you know who you are. We always encourage people to come out, you know, for the agency. I mean, you do have to be over 60, but um but yeah, men, women alike, it I think I mean, if you have those ladies in a class, you're going to have fun regardless of uh Right.
>> Yeah. Right. So, if there is a senior out there who thinks, "Oh, that looks like fun." How can they find out if there's a bingo size class near them? >> Yeah. So, they can contact our health and wellness programs. I can be reached uh at our agency number at 727-570-96-96
and I'm extension163. Uh they could also email me health and wellness at aap.org and I can give you more information, tell you if you got a class coming up in your area uh or even you know information on hosting a class, >> right? Yeah. Say, "Hey, I want this in
my community. I'm going to get a bunch of people to join." Yeah. >> Yeah. That's how honestly it happens like that often. and they're like, "Oh, we didn't even know these programs existed." They're all offered free at no cost to the participants, at no cost to the site. Really, we just need the space and the people to come to us. So, you
know, any place that that feels, you know, inclined can uh contact us that way. >> It's a win-winwin. >> Yeah, exactly. We appreciate it. >> Thanks for your time today. Really appreciate all that info, Stephanie. Now, the two programs we talked about
today, Shine and Bingo Size, are just a couple of the many services available to seniors in our area. The mission of the Area Agency on Aging is to help seniors live safely in their homes longer. We also serve individuals with disabilities
and caregivers. So, if you need some help at home or know someone who could use assistance, call the area agency on Aging's helpline. That number is 1 800-963-5337. We get a lot of calls, so you may have
to leave a message, but you will get called back. That helpline is the doorway to services. That number again, 1 800-963-5337. Thanks for joining us today for Aging on the Sun Coast. I'm Katherine Burch. Live
well at home. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. You know, maybe we should think more about what we do with our house and our yard. I was reading the other day that all the chemicals that we put in our yard, the stuff you wash off the
driveway, even walking the dog, all those things can result in pollutants that end up in our waterways, like our rivers, our streams, even the bay. >> Well, I guess it makes sense that when it rains, all that stuff gets washed away. I guess it's got to end up somewhere.
>> That's true. And we're all contributors. It's a shame. We love living near the water, but it's us that ends up polluting it. Well, then maybe we should learn more about these pollution sources and what we can do to reduce our contribution. >> It sounds like a great idea.
It's hard to think about Florida and not think about water. Water defines this state. The ocean, the Gulf, our bays, our thousands of rivers, lakes, and ponds. They're all a huge part of life in Florida. A chance to
live, work, and play on or near