Council asks staff to review regional resiliency action plan after Tampa Bay presentation

Cara Sarah, director of resiliency at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, told the New Port Richey City Council that the council-area coalition has 33 member governments and more than 100 partners and that the plan is a voluntary, science-based menu of actions intended to help cities address flooding, heat and storm resilience. "The plan is not regulatory," she said, adding that the council's coalition has developed tools including a model shoreline ordinance and a resilience roadmap to help local governments coordinate and apply for state funding.

Council discussion focused on whether New Port Richey should adopt the regional plan or simply review it for grant and implementation opportunities. Council member (speaker 5) moved that the city manager and staff review the regional action plan and bring recommendations back to council and to the environmental committee; the motion was seconded and approved. The motion included direction that staff share the plan with the environmental committee so the committee can make a recommendation if time allows.

Supporters on the council said they valued the coalition's emphasis on science and the opportunity to present joint, regionwide projects for state funding. The presentation included invitations to a regional resiliency summit May 15'16 in Palmetto and examples of capacity-building options such as model ordinances, vulnerability-assessment support and neighborhood-level pilot projects.

Next steps: city staff will review the regional action plan, coordinate with the environmental committee, and report back to the council with recommendations and any suggested implementation steps.