In its role as the Countywide Planning Authority, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners voted today to approve Pinellas by Design: An Economic Development and Redevelopment Plan for the Pinellas Community.  The decision continues the countywide momentum of proactive planning for the challenges of growth.  Pinellas by Design (www.PinellasByDesign.org) is a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Pinellas Planning Council (PPC) and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners.  Rather than focusing on codes and rules, the plan recommends that each jurisdiction work within a framework of best redevelopment practices for Pinellas County, choosing the areas of the plan that best fit each community’s needs.

“In Pinellas County, our challenge was to create a system that focused on the structure necessary to lay a good foundation for the future growth we expect, while allowing flexibility because of the diverse nature of our municipalities. Pinellas by Design is flexible by nature; it incorporates input from the citizens, businesses, planning professionals and elected officials,” explained David Healey, executive director of the Pinellas Planning Council.

The PPC and Pinellas County sponsored three Redevelopment Summits from 2002 – 2005 to engage the community and solicit ideas for charting Pinellas’ future development.  Especially relevant to the discussion was the fact that the county is nearly 98% built out, meaning that developable greenfield land has become very scarce, making redevelopment essential in Pinellas County.  Cleaning up older, underutilized parcels and repurposing these lands to meet the needs of the community is one of the goals of Pinellas by Design.

Mike Meidel, director of Pinellas County Economic Development, feels the plan is important for maintaining Pinellas’ economy: “Pinellas by Design is critical to economic development in Pinellas County. In order to ensure our mission of more and better jobs for Pinellas County citizens, we must have the ability to keep Pinellas’ growing companies here rather than taking jobs elsewhere. We’ve asked for input and received direction from citizens and the business community.  This plan is a result of that effort.”

The next step for Pinellas by Design is to receive approval of this framework by each of Pinellas County’s twenty-four municipalities.  The appropriate implementation steps for each jurisdiction will be approved separately, allowing for more public input.

Pinellas by Design is a continuing effort. Additional information and updates are available at www.PinellasByDesign.org. 

For more information about the Pinellas Planning Council, please phone (727) 464-8250 or visit www.co.pinellas.fl.us/ppc.

For more information regarding this release, please contact Stacey Swank at Pinellas County Economic Development, (727) 464-7425, sswank@pinellascounty.org, or visit www.pced.org.

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