Pasco staff to rework bicycle and pedestrian LDC text after Planning Commission questions

Planning staff presented a rewrite of Pasco County’s bicycle and pedestrian requirements that would consolidate Sections 901.7 and 901.8 into a single standard and expand applicability to all development sites by street type rather than by future land‑use category. The proposed changes would make multiuse paved trails and sidewalks a standard requirement on arterials and collectors, upgrade residential streets to 5‑foot sidewalks and add site circulation requirements tying principal structures to the public sidewalk network; a payment‑in‑lieu option would allow offsite funding where construction is infeasible. Commissioners raised several implementation questions: whether the new applicability should explicitly exempt rural MRS accessways and conservation subdivisions; how the code should direct which side of the road (south/east as proposed) multiuse paths must be built on — particularly near traffic circles or diagonal streets — and the risk that a rigid “shall” requirement would generate numerous alternative standard requests. Staff and county engineers said the intent was to align the LDC with the county’s typical sections and to create continuity across site developments, but that flexibility may be needed for traffic circles, diagonal streets and existing alignments. After discussion the commission voted to continue the item to the Oct. 2 Planning Commission meeting and asked staff to handle rural applicability, clarify how existing alignments are to be honored, and revisit the “south/east side” language to allow practical flexibility while achieving continuous multiuse alignment on at least one side of major roads.