planning commission to get developer-friendly?
Our county commissioners are about to appoint two people to the Planning Commission board that makes recommendations on our Comprehensive Plans for growth in our county and its 3 cities. Developers are pushing for 2 of their own to be appointed.
The stakes are high as these new appointees will review a rash of new growth plan amendments which the Tribune cautions against. They will only line developers’ pockets while putting taxpayers on the hook for expensive infrastructure, and sticking us with more traffic-jam-inducing sprawl.
The planning commission is supposed to be independent of political forces so they can impartially review plan amendments like these without considering whose pockets will be lined.
Developers already have some solid supporters on the Planning Commission. While Edward Giunta (a developer himself) and Deven Carty are the most consistently pro-development, there are other board members who side with developers fairly often, including Seth Boots who is one of the two whose terms are expiring. (The other is Giunta, who couldn’t reapply for his county seat since he has moved into Tampa, so the Tampa City Council appointed him to a Tampa seat.) Boots is reapplying for his seat, but apparently, although he is a civil engineer who is certainly not unfriendly to developers, he is not enough of a pro-development extremist to satisfy the demands of the builders’ lobby.
County insiders say a representative of the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA) is bragging that a majority of county commissioners have already committed to appointing TBBA’s 2 chosen candidates. Indeed, commissioner Ken Hagan has been replying to people who write in support of other candidates that,
“several weeks ago, I pledged my support to other applicants.”
Guess which “other applicants.” The two chosen ones are:
1.) Jeffrey Ewing, President of TBBA.
references listed:
- a. Teri McGinnis: former President of TBBA
b. Joseph Narkiewicz: Executive Vice President and CEO of TBBA
c. Dan Bicz: Director of TBBA and CFO of Lexington Homes
2.) Hung Mai, engineer for developer Stephen Dibbs, who spearheaded recent attacks on local wetlands regulations. Last spring, Hung Mai himself spoke out against a Comprehensive Plan amendment that would strengthen wetlands protections with better buffers & setbacks.
references listed:
- a. Ralph Hughes: a MAJOR campaign contributor to most county commissioners, he sells concrete and pushes a pro-builder agenda.
b. Todd Pressman: represents developers like Stephen Dibbs, in land-use issues including Comprehensive Plan amendments. He has personally spoken out against local wetlands protections.
c. Judy James: a land-use attorney who often represents developers seeking Comprehensive Plan amendments, she is a Director of TBBA and their chief lobbyist. (When TBBA gloated over their success in pushing commissioners to eliminate the Livable Communities Element from our Comprehensive Plan without a public hearing, they gave credit for that lobbying effort to Judy James & her husband.)
At the recent EPC wetlands hearing, county commissioner Jim Norman railed against the public perception that most of the commissioners are unduly influenced by developers.
“… so we’re in the pockets of developers. That’s hilarious to me.”
Well, we’re not laughing, so here’s a perfect opportunity for commissioners to prove the TBBA is not pulling their strings. Commissioners need to put people who will speak for the citizens’ interests on the planning board, which already has plenty of strong voices for the builders’ interests.
My favorite of all the applicants is Pam Prysner, who I know well. She is knowledgeable about planning & transportation from a community perspective, and she is unaffiliated with special interests. I have asked the BOCC to appoint her (and so can you!)
I’ve uploaded copies of all the applications (individual links below) so you can see them for yourselves and recommend YOUR choices for this board that plays a critical role in managing growth throughout our county. Or you might just tell them we expect them to choose fairly and wisely, and we’ll remember come election time whether they favor us or developers.
The developers’ favorites: Jeffrey Ewing & Hung Mai
Others with obvious ties to developers:
- Seth Boots (lists a TBBA director and developer as references)
- Miller Dowdy (partner in Metro Area Properties)
- Anne Madden (previously employed by the developer of “Little Harbor,” which is featured in Dee Hood’s YouTube videos, these photos of their destructive practices, and a recent video of the shoreline damage done for their condos in Ruskin. She publicly supported that developer’s hotly contested plan for MORE condos on the Little Manatee River. She now works for a builder of affordable housing and lists a powerful developers’ attorney as a reference.)
- Tuyen Tran (Civil Engineer with King Engineering)
The rest: Herold Lord, Pam Prysner, Julius Ray, Kenisha Roney, Connie Smaldone, Jon Trombetto
Ask your commissioners to appoint someone (or two) you recommend. Or you can simply ask them to choose 2 who are not tied to special interests. I’ve been told the decision will be made on Wednesday, although it does not appear on that agenda.
Tags: county, development
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September 16th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Remember the chess game and play all the pieces to the empth degree.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I’m afraid we’re about to get ridden over by a developer’s bulldozer. I believe our planning commission has been way too developer friendly with Seth Boots and Guinta III on the commission. I’ve heard Guinta make comments such as, “land that does not have a plan for development is of little value to Hillsborough County”. My God, we cannot have people with that slant planning our future!!! We must have independent people that have no ties to the building industry. We can’t let the Gang of 4 set us up by appointing any candidate that has ties to the building industry. To me, that creates a serious conflict of interest. Our planning commissioners have to review comp plan amendments based on strict adherence to the goals of our comp plan. Our county has done a terrible job enforcing/implementing our comp plan so far - that’s why so many citizens are pushing for Hometown Democracy. Examples of the ineffective growth management are countless (Lake Hutto, Shops at Lithia, Tampa Palms, etc, etc). These blunders were aided by decisions at the front of the approval process. If we get a solid group of individuals at the front of the process advising the BOCC on an objective basis as to adherence or non-adherhence to the comp plan, it will put more pressure on the BOCC to “do the right thing” and follow the comp plan goals. The Gang of 4 want to stack the deck so that they get recommendations from the planning commission that focus more on a reasonable profit for developers instead of comp plan adherence. That way they can approve more changes favoring developers and then whine, as Chairman Norman does, that they don’t have much of a choice - they have to go along with the planning commission. And yes, I would like them to go along with the planning commission’s recommendations - but only if the planning commission’s recommendations are based on compliance with comp plan goals. We’ve got enough decision makers in the process that are developer friendly, we certainly don’t need any more stacking of the deck!!!
I would like to see Pam Prysner get selected. She is fair. She certainly has no ties to any development group and, at the same time, is not developer-phobic either. We need to get behind one of these non-special interest applicants and push for them. If we don’t. If we don’t we may end up worse than we are today, if that’s possible.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Mariella I am glad you posted this. I had no idea this was going on and I thought I was on top of things….
I will contact a few Commissioners on Monday
September 17th, 2007 at 10:09 am
During a recent discussion with some of the Apollo Beach Civic Association members, we concluded that top dollars was spent on consultants to work with residences on the Apollo Beach Community Plan and led participants into thinking the county would follow through.
At the last AB community plan workshop the citizens were advised, if any element of this plan were to be implemented, the community would be required to form a special taxing district to fund these initiatives. Other words, a CDD would get the county off the hook for the cost of improving infrastructure, solving safety issues and promoting the community sustainable elements.
So, why isn’t the developer footing some of the cost, as well as our tax dollar?
The planning commission is supposed to be independent of political forces so they can impartially review plan amendments and wisely spend residence’s tax dollar.
The community plans should reflect decision making that shares impact costs with developers and county to repair, improve and maintain infrastructure, while addressing safety issues and livable elements.
Developer should not be allowed to line their pockets with money and leave residents with urban sprawl and high expense for maintaining infrastructure. What about our generations to come?
Therefore, the Hillsborough County Planning Commission needs to be as unbiased as possible, not developer friendly.
I recommend Pam Prysner and Julius Ray.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Mariella is this meeting open to the public/ Are we allowed to vote and how/I am going to give you my votes and vote for the best ones-I am not for builders they will run over our chess stragety- remember you have to think three moves in advance-do not let them maneuver in 0ne inch.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Typical and predictable…………the only way they will make a good decision is if we are there pressuring them to as in the EPC meeting and Dover mine thing. Are these decisions made at a public meeting? Can we attend and speak for our favorite candidate and then see how they vote? I think publicly exposing them is our only option so thank you for the article! I also think the “gang of four” is most likely a mob of 6. Don’t forget the spin Sharpe put on Lake Hutto and it seems poor Higginbotham just wants us all to get along. Now be nice and let them put a subdivision in or a beltway over your house. Pathetic.
September 17th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Don’t worry. We have lots more developers in Manatee County than we need, all of them busily building homes no one who actually works for a living can afford.
We’ll happily send you a few. Heck, if you ask politely, we’ll send you ALL of them!
Robin Miller
Bradentucky, Fleriduh
September 17th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Great blurb on the way things are and always have been in the Bay (and FL). I moved the hell out but it’s great to see competent proactive people fighting the good fight.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Since when was the Sierra Club not considered “Special Interest”?
Thank you to Mariella for bringing all the applicants to our communities attention, it’s a shame though that she had to use a website such as sticks of fire to be heard.
What she has failed to recognize is that she has positioned our own local officials to now be viewed as being in the pockets of the Environmentalist and the other special interest group, The Sierra Club.
Good job Mariella!
September 17th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
That last comment was no doubt by one of our fine Hillsborough County Commissioners.
Will no one run against Hagan? Even Redner wants to run against Blair now….Northeast Hillsborough County also needs salvation!
September 17th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Good discussion! Thanks all!
Wendy: thanks for being involved!
Junior & Kelly: these appointments are not made at a public hearing, where people could address commissioners about them at the same time they are considering the issue and then voting on it. (Kelly, we’ll get back to that beltway soon.)
County commissioners do not interview the applicants publicly, as the Tampa City Council does, (they balked at commissioner Ferlita’s suggestion that they should) and the appointment doesn’t even appear on Wednesday’s published agenda — it looks as if they’re trying to slide it in under the radar.
The easiest way to provide input is to talk to the county commissioners in writing (links above) or by phone (272-5660). Or you could go speak to them all during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting, at 9:00 a.m., when anyone can speak about anything.
The important thing is to let them know lots of us are paying attention to what they do, and we care about this issue.
SHP: Keystone Civic Association President Tom Aderhold has thrown his hat into Ken Hagan’s ring.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Roblimo haunts Sticks! Dude!
September 18th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Mariella,
Re: your comment about Boots: “he is not enough of a pro-development extremist to satisfy the demands of the builders’ lobby.” Do you have a contact inside TBBA meetings? I do and this statement sounds EXTREMELY close to an actual conversation I heard about. How can I contact you to discuss further?
September 18th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I’d love to see Pam Prysner be appointed. She is thoughtful, intelligent, well informed and fair minded. We could use someone like her on the Planning Commission.
Meanwhile, Hillsborough County is being raped, pillaged and plundered by greedy developers with the help of the ruthless gang of 4.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:50 am
Here’s a checklist of what it will take to get appointed to the planning commission today:
1)Member of TBBA
2)Past history of ALWAYS supporting TBBA ammendments/efforts/etc.
3)Assurance to TBBA that you will ALWAYS support their efforts.
4)Member of Republican party (NPA or democrats need not apply)
5)Have the support of Ralph Hughes.
6)Have made donations to commissioners’ campaigns.
I will be greatly surprised if either appointment today does not have ALL of these.
As far as Hung Mai, he has been telling people in the community that he is appointed. Not “could be” or even “likely will be” but “IS appointed”. If the BOCC appoints Ewing AND Mai, then we might as well all give up. With Hometown Democracy likely to pass, this will be the last meaningful terms anyone will have on the planning commission (if it even remains in existence) and it sounds like the BOCC/TBBA have already made their decision.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Am I seeing correctly? Ralph Hughes as a possible appointee? This is the guy who owns Cast-Crete…..a construction firm supplying material to builders in the county!! This is the guy who sends out all of those letters before each election telling us who is on the voters side!!
Gosh. I wonder how he will decide to limit building.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
I hate to say I told you so but. .. the appointees are Hung Mai (TBBA puppet) and Miller Dowdy (developer). Big surprise! TBBA now OWNS 4 seats on the planning commission. This is devastating for our community and unfortunately there is no recourse for us as citizens. Our only hope now is for hometown democracy to pass which should take power away from these people. Sorry to sound so dire, but this is horrific news for our county.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Time to start pushing for Hometown Democracy. With all of our local ignorance and greed, we’ve got no choice.
September 19th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I saw the votes today on HTV22. Ferlita and Sharpe were the only ones to cast votes for Pam. I thank them very much for that support but they are only two on a board of seven.
Plan B: Go to flhometowndemocracy.com download the petition, fill it out and put a stamp on an envelope and send it in. Then be prepared for the big manila envelope that screams “URGENT” asking for you to revoke your signature on that petition. Folks, it’s time for action in the community. Think of it this way, if bad plan amendments get a majority approval on the remade planning commission board, at least the voters can reject it. That feels good!
September 19th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Wow…Mariella Smith should be commended for her never ending short tirades about builders and developers. When you all move out of your homes that were built by BUILDERS…and out of your communities that were developed by DEVELOPERS you would have credibility. Let’s just say that “it’s all about me” applies directly to Mariella and her special interest group of “I have mine so the rest of you go away” group.
Good job Mariella. Brilliant.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
James H: Ralph Hughes was listed as a reference for Hung Mai, not as an applicant. Sorry for the confusion.
Steve G: Thanks for the update. Will have a whole new post up on the results soon. And yes… you were right. Honestly, I had hoped they might change their minds if we shined some light on this.
anon: If you leave your real name and phone number on this web site’s Contact Form, I can call you.
I’m really heartened to see the never-say-die enthusiasm in some of these comments.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Mr. Hart:
Actually, today’s concept of what “builders” and “developers” do, even those exact terms, are a post-World War II invention.
Pre-WW II, “development” was by and large “planner-led” which meant that town planners (or architects) were commissioned by a municipality to create a master plan with citizen input (which is today called a “charrette”). This process is called community building.
Post-WW II, “development” was by and large “developer-led” which meant that developers purchased an affordable piece of land (generally outside cities) and without citizen input built whatever the market would bear and which would turn a profit. It is totally free market and does not attempt to balance the Public Good with the Individual Right as did Pre-WWII development. This process is called sprawl.
Pre-WWII was more of a community approach as “builders” were called “craftsman”, “artisans”, “carpenters”. “Developers” were called “town-builders”, “place-makers”, “visionary’s” and they were at the top of the status ladder and much revered. This is compared to today’s myopic “developers” who are much maligned, and rightly so.
Why the shift after WWII? Today’s town planners compare it to a stroke from which we forgot how to create places worth caring about. Others blame it on the military industrial complex created during the war and turned to home building.
For those lucky enough to live in communities planned and built pre-WWII (which are generally the most valued and valuable places today); your homes were NOT built by “BUILDERS”; your communities were NOT developed by “DEVELOPERS”.
Keep up the good work Mariella…
September 19th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Mariella please tell us who received the nominations,and if the public can have an open meeting.Why do not these individuals have to be put on the ballot and run,the commisioners did/
September 19th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
A response is needed to Mr Hart’s comments.
Here goes -
Yes, builders build houses and developers create plans for the building of subdivisions/communities etc. They produce a product(and/or service) that’s needed by the general public and they do it for profit. So do plumbers, electricians, landscapers, jewelers, restaurant owners, PC repair shops, carwashs, food stores, dept stores etc etc. All of these producers hope to maximize their profits. All of them are governed by some form of rules that regulate their operation so as to protect the public.
Here’s the problem: The builders (our suppliers) want to maximize their profits as most businesses do, but they are limited by the rules that govern how and when homes can be built. In seeking to maximize their profits the builders want the rules to coincide with their business plans. Citizens on the other hand don’t care about the builders business plan. What citizens care about is maximizing their quality of life and not destroying what they love about their current surroundings. So we have a true dichotemy.
Do we let someone who’s profit margin is dependent on how the rules are written/interpreted/implemented oversee that function for us? It follows the same logic as asking the fox to guard the henhouse.
Following that same logic, do we let electricians, plumbers, roofers etc write the rules that govern their operation? Of course not. It would be foolhardy. No one in their right mind would do that.
But for some unGodly reason, we have allowed this twisted logic to be used in letting our plans for growth be written and interpreted by the very businesses that will profit from the implementation of those plans. It is truly insane!!!!
Mariella, myself and the majority of citizens throughout this state are in agreement as to whether it is in our best interests to let businesses that profit from growth be the ones to write the rules. You can infer that we are part of a special interest group if you’d like, but the difference between this group of citizens and the building industry lobbyists that struggle to control our destiny is that we don’t have a financial interest in the outcome. They do, and that quest to maximize profits will supercede all else, including our wellbeing!!
September 20th, 2007 at 9:58 am
I have been an observer/participant/etc. in numerous public hearings for both the BOCC and planning commission over the last several years. I have heard lots of emotion and passion (poetry read at hearings?!?!?) from citizens that oppose developers. What I have almost never heard is arguments made in a manner as logical, thorough, and articulate as what George and GKR wrote above. In order to win over the few objective members left on these boards (especially after yesterday) and give them something to refute the developers, arguments must be made in this way. I appreciate the passion of many of you, however, without logical data/information in conjunction with a calm, controlled presentation; your comments can easily be dismissed as raw emotion without substance. Please everyone keep this in mind when you are involved in these settings and as always, keep up the good work.
September 20th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thanks anon, if you think about it, it is impossible to imagine today’s broken builder/developer sprawl machine creating from scratch local historic places as fine as Hyde Park, Ybor City (think about the dismal failure of the newly minted Central Ybor), or more far flung places like Coral Gables, Charleston, Savannah, etc..
All of these places were “Planner-led” which means a planner created a plan (often w/ citizen input) first, and then, and only then, it was built.
The sprawl model in place today could never create new places 1/8 this good, largely because there is no planning at all in the front end (and no citizen input).
Even Westchase and Fishhawk, which are the local poster children for good growth, are only noteworthy because the rest of the new development in this county is largely mindless crap.
Today’s sad sprawl scenario is only builder/developers making money as fast as possible and moving on to the next parcel of farmland or woodlands.
Other than New Urbanists, Green Builders, or SmartGrowth advocates, not many in the land development community today could be bothered about the creation of real community.
It’s too hard and they don’t know what it is.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
GKR, you clearly are very knowledgable and I agree with most of what you have said. The only thing I disagree with and something that has always bugged me is calling Hyde Park “historic”. I will no doubt get hammered for this opinion but here’s why I see it this way. Hyde park is beautiful but it is “historic” due to the fact that the rich live there, maintain their houses well, and want to say they have a historic house. There are no historically significant qualities to Hyde Park remotely on par with those of Charleston or Savannah and without that, you are left with structures that are a dime a dozen anywhere in the northeast, midwest, etc. I do agree with Ybor as historic though because of the unique ethnic heritage, history, etc.
Your last paragraph is unfortunately true. The problem is with the cost of building things. New Urbanists, Green Builders, and Smartgrowth advocates typically do not have the funding to be able to build communities. Unfortunately, the developers and homebuilders do but they are driven by a desire for profit, not betterment for our community.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Anon, I think you are correct regarding Hyde Park, I threw that area in as most folks around here recognize it as “historic”, thus it’s identifiable. In its favor, it is “planned”, though not masterfully. And it is planned on a grid, which New Tampa can only dream about. Perhaps, much like Westchase and Fishhawk, it is noteworthy because of the area’s planning and architecture mediocrity? (I don’t want you to get hammered alone)
This mediocrity is largely due to thoughtless demolition. If you look at 1920s postcards of the area, there was a real Place here once, and it had mass transit we now don’t have. I actually think West Tampa and Plant City have more historic merit. Hyde Park is by and large just a residential subdivision.
Though scarce, progressive planners and architects are plentiful compared to progressive developers. Not many see the merit of balancing the public good with the rights of the rights. Of course, it’s the citizenry’s job to DEMAND that they do.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
That last sentence should read
“Not many see the merit of balancing the public good with the rights of the individual. Of course, it’s the citizenry’s job to DEMAND that they do.”