Pasco County officials debated proposed policies in Pasco ADAPT that reference evacuation level of service and the county’s hurricane mitigation fee and shelter capacity obligations. The debate focused on whether the draft chapter overstates county standards for review of plan amendments in the coastal high hazard area.

Commissioner John Moody and others asked why the draft cites the county’s hurricane mitigation ordinance (11‑03) without cross‑referencing land development code section 11‑03 requirements for public information and evacuation planning. Morgan Dean, County Attorney, summarized the statutory compliance test for comprehensive plan amendments in coastal high hazard areas and advised rewriting the policy to be consistent with that statute rather than implying a new or higher standard.

Andy Foss, Pasco County Emergency Management Director, said the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) evacuation study sets the operational evacuation time standard used in the region; he urged retaining a reference to the study so the comp plan tracks the latest adopted evacuation modeling. Commissioners and staff discussed two numbers in the draft: a current measured evacuation time cited as 42.5 hours (TBRPC 2025 study) and a county goal cited as 38 hours. Commissioners asked staff to phrase the policy so it relies on “the latest Tampa Bay region hurricane evacuation study” and to publish the 2025 numeric values as the current reference year rather than codifying numbers that change frequently.

On shelter funding, staff and legal counsel explained the hurricane mitigation fee ordinance funds communication, shelter retrofits and capacity expansion, but counsel cautioned some restrictions apply and that school districts receiving school impact fees may not be eligible to double‑charge developers. Commissioners asked staff to clarify whether ordinance funds can be used for school shelter hardening or whether interlocal agreements would be required.

The nut graf: emergency management supported keeping evacuation‑time references tied to the regional study; county attorneys recommended redrafting the plan amendment compliance policy to mirror the statute’s compliance test and to recognize mitigation payment as one acceptable option. Staff agreed to revise the text and to confirm how shelter mitigation funds can be applied to school facilities or other public infrastructure.

Ending: Staff will redraft the evacuation and coastal high hazard amendment language to reference the regional evacuation study and to align plan amendment requirements with state law; staff also will research and report back on permissible uses of the county hurricane mitigation fee and any interlocal options with the school district.