LARGO – A city commissioner questioned Dec. 2 whether the city has enough hurricane evacuation centers to serve the city.
Commissioner Robert Murray said in reviewing the city’s comprehensive plan for growth “it kind of caught my attention that there are two evacuation centers in the city of Largo.”
Arrow Woodard, comprehensive plan project manager, said there’s only one that’s actually in the city, at Largo High School.
Murray expressed concern because he said the city has 76,000 people and many mobile homes, even though evacuation is a county function.
There are some programs that the city and county are working on to identify new buildings as shelters, Woodard said, but they have to meet windloads and other criteria. Efforts also being made to find businesses having employees who live in nonevacuation zones and who are willing to provide shelters in their homes for friends.
Commissioner Rodney Woods complimented city officials on their work on the plan, which he said tells what “our hopes and goals and dreams are for this city.”
He encouraged anybody who wants to know what this city wants to accomplish to look at the document, which is now posted on the city’s Web site at www.largo.com.
After the discussion on the large document, commissioners adopted amendments to the state-mandated comprehensive plan.
Some of the changes that were made by city officials based on a recent state review pertained to portable water supply, even though the county provides the city water.
“The city is required to conserve portable water and also do projections on portable water use as we look into the future 10 years,” said Woodard.
Stormwater level of service standards for the city were clarified to be in line with what the state requires for flood control and water quality, Woodard said.
The state requires the city to update its plan every seven years. After the state review of a city report to evaluate the status of the plan’s goals, objectives and policies, the city held workshops from September 2007 through December 2007 to get public input.
As a result, four major initiatives were identified during the process: strategic plan, quality city services, neighborhoods and green city.
Quality city services ranked high in the community workshops both of its importance for the future quality of life and satisfaction with the current level of achievement. The services identified include solid waste collection, sanitary sewer service and parks and recreation, among others.
Clean and safe neighborhoods ranked high in importance in the community values exercises but low in satisfaction with the current level of achievement. The city has begun to implement a principle called “Engage the Neighborhoods” through a Neighborhood Partnership Program, which is designed to further the development of strong and active neighborhoods within the city.
Policies are included in the comprehensive plan that recommend “revitalizing and reconnecting the community through the creation of the new scale of urban development” in the strategic plan. This is represented by activity centers, community streets, engaged neighborhoods and mixed use corridors.”
Green city initiatives are included in several comprehensive plan elements such as housing and solid waste. Policies in the initiative are directed toward protecting natural resources.
The Pinellas Planning Council also reviewed the plan. The board, among its comments, addressed incorporating the county’s new historic preservation program, documenting the city’s role as a retail customer in providing data to assist the county in its development of a 10-year portable water supply work program and revising the definition of coastal high hazard area.
The City Commission’s final hearing and approval of the plan Dec. 2 authorizes city officials to submit the plan to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, which is expected to issue a final order confirming that the amendments comply with state law.
