Consultant outlines plan to steer growth into infrastructure nodes at Levy County workshop

Chris Primo, a consultant with Infrastructure Consulting Engineering (Tampa), told attendees at a Dec. 8 Levy County workshop that the county's 2050 comprehensive‑plan update should emphasize directing growth to nodes where infrastructure exists rather than attempting blanket "no growth" limits.

Primo led a mapping exercise and presented a color‑coded matrix of public input. Orange dots on the public maps mark areas residents identified as suitable for additional growth, red dots mark areas the public wants to keep off‑limits, and blue dots indicate potential economic‑development corridors. "We will translate those items into a map that will show what the residents told us," Primo said, and promised the raw map data and worksheets would be uploaded to the county website for public review.

Why it matters: the consultant said Levy County is largely rural—three land‑use categories account for about 93% of unincorporated land—and that row‑by‑row down‑zoning could expose the county to legal challenges. He recommended a strategy of "control growth"—steering development to areas with sewer, water and roads while protecting wetlands, spring sheds and coastal surge zones.

The workshop highlighted several technical constraints that will shape any land‑use changes: wetlands and spring‑shed boundaries, FEMA flood zones and storm‑surge vulnerability, and limited county‑owned wastewater service. Primo noted that county‑owned treatment serves only a public safety complex and the jail, and that most residential sewer connections come from municipalities such as Wilson, Chiefland and Cedar Key.

Participants raised specific concerns and suggestions. Residents urged stronger protections for cultural and natural lands, added comp‑plan language to restrict sand and limestone mining in rural residential areas, and recommended steps to protect gopher tortoise habitat. Attendees also proposed expanded trade‑school programs for nursing, agriculture and mechanical skills to build local workforce capacity.

On intergovernmental coordination, Primo contrasted municipal service districts (MSDs), which are primarily infrastructure overlays, with joint planning areas (JPAs), which create interlocal agreements for shared land‑use decisions near annexation boundaries. He recommended JPAs in places where county and municipal plans conflict.

The consultant encouraged public input: attendees can submit comments to the county planning email (Planning@leedycounty.org) and sign up for follow‑up sessions. The next workshop will focus on economic development.

The meeting closed with a reminder that all submitted comments will be cataloged and appended to the comprehensive‑plan update; there were no formal votes or ordinance actions at the session.