General public comment on non-agenda items
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
It is a stretch of the recording that this archive identified as a separate matter — a call to order, a recess, or something taken up that the agenda does not list. There is no official title, no staff recommendation and no disposition, because the county never recorded one. Everything below is inferred.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Planning Commission, Oct 5, 2023
The published PDF. Its text could not be extracted — it is an image-only scan — so nothing in it is searchable here, but it reads normally.
The county’s minutes for Planning Commission, Oct 5, 2023
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 13m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 86% of 74 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Okay. All right, so um if uh we uh most of you probably have phones, this is a good time to silence it, please. Put it on silence so it doesn't ring when somebody's speaking. And uh before we start the meeting Uh we want to open the meeting for public comment on any items not appearing on the agenda. Um so if you uh want to speak on an item not on the
agenda, this is the time to do it. The there is an item That is what appear to be on our agenda today, what it isn't on the agenda for comment. So if you want to comment on it I want you to do it now instead of at the end. So this is the Greater Lacucci Plan presentation. Anybody want to speak on that?
Yeah.
Hello, my name is Lisa Moretti and I live off of [address removed] here in Dade City.
Okay, what's your address?
[address removed].
Okay. And uh Uh since you're gonna give testimony I wanna let's go ahead and swear everybody in. Anybody that plans to give testimony today, if you'll stand, raise your right hand and be sworn.
give is the truth to help be God. So
he'll
be
God.
Under penalty of perjury, of course.
I'm sorry.
Under penalty of perjury.
Okay. Go go to it.
Great. Um so I'm really happy to see that the Greater Lacucci Plan is coming forward. I think that the county invested in some significant time, money and energy in asking residents what they wanted out there. I think that's really important. I have looked at the draft plan. online. Um I was really happy to see that The consultant group seemed to really listen to what the residents were asking for, which was to stay rural, be part of the rural overlay. As they have been. Uh I am concerned
though that I see things in there that look a little high density and a little over ambitious in bringing more and more development in and also Working to slowly gut the northeast rural area. When you start bringing in um your water and your sewer and all that good stuff that makes us rural because we're on well in septic. Or sorry, yeah, swell and septic. Then you start to negate the reason that we have a rule overlay. And
I'm very concerned about that part. I'm also a little concerned about it being non binding when we've invested so much time and money. Why would we go through all those hoops to then have something that we aren't gonna hold our feet to the fire on? So I would hope that you would consider those things and I would also ask that maybe you could put some teeth into the Greater Riccucci Plan.
All right. Is there anybody else that would like to speak?
Yeah, I think you asked for 30 seconds, right?
No, I did
not.
Um also this isn't necessarily about the Lucucci clan. Are you still gonna let me speak? Yes. Oh thank you. Nancy Hayswood, [address removed]. [address removed], Dade City. Okay, so first off I gotta receive and file. Um
Motion. I have a motion.
Second. Can I ask what we're receiving the file on? What is this? What do you ask what are you asking us to receive in the file?
I'm gonna explain that, but I thought I could explain that while I'm handing it out.
I just don't like them receiving the file any documents they've
got
to do.
Okay, this is a document not a document actually. It's what we came up with, Jennifer Sini in particular, when we first started the Northeast Rural area plan that reminds you of what Northeast Rural is.
Okay.
Can we receive and file please, sir?
Confinement.
Second. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay. Thank you.
And are you going to remind us?
Yes.
So Um that said, I think it's timely with the the new plan coming up. But I watched the the Planning Commission when you went over the 2050 update uh last time you met, and Mr. Goldstein was saying we did not want to pay higher taxes. But you didn't say what kind what those higher taxes were for, at least I didn't get it if he did. And if he's saying that we don't want
to pay higher taxes. Taxes for infrastructure for the sprawl that's going on with thousands of houses, he's right. But we would like to be in the Northeast Rural Area Plan actually asked if we would pay higher taxes to preserve Northeast Rural. I don't think it's going to cost as much as other places. And if we could partner with the county and make sure that we got a strong rural plan that doesn't Go south. When
the developers are dro drooling all over it, we'd appreciate it. Um
But that's all I've got to say. Is that twelve seconds?
Yeah, that's more than thirty. Boy, how was generous. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Okay, is there anyone else that would like to speak on something that's not on today's agenda?
Or
item control. Or P12, which is what we just talked about.
Mr Chair, I do have um Margaret Saint James that has signed up to speak for general public comment. Okay. She's here in person, according to me.
Uh good afternoon. Um my name is Margaret Saint James. [address removed]. I want to speak on behalf of a friend of mine. There was an article in the September, I believe it was 28th or 26th Tampa Bay Times called Pasco Residents Want Rural Character, Natural Resources, Not Rampant Growth. And my friend uh
wrote a letter to the editor which was published in um a in the newspaper following that article. She could not be here today, so I'm reading this letter uh for her. My parents moved to East Pasco County in 1965 and I came in 1978. We have been voting and telling our elected officials that we want to keep the rural character of Pasco since we've been here. The powers that be don't listen. And
this is a quote from that article. People can't buy those 40-foot lots fast enough. End quote. They aren't the current residents of Pasco. They want cheaper housing no matter what it does to the area. Planning Commission Chairperson Charles Gray says that we don't understand where the money to run the county comes from. Maybe if we retained our rural atmosphere, we wouldn't need so much money for increased schools, roads, police presence,
etc. And I thought the taxes and impact fees from all the development were supposed to pay for the increased public needs. Your vote matters. Please look long and hard at where you place development. We are stuck with the results. And that was from uh Fern Williams of Zephyrhills. And I see I have a little bit more time, so I'm gonna read a couple of comments that have been on social media. These are not from left wing tree hugger
kind of sites. They're from like the Zephyrhills community sites. This is from Lorraine. The planners build first, create traffic jams, and then ten years down the road, upgrades and additions are planned. Meanwhile, we all have to live through the traffic and overbuilding. And when are they going to finish the fifty-two forty one intersection in lane expansions? Enough already. By the time we finish, we will need four lanes in both directions. Here's
another one comment from someone named Regina. We over-developed and underplanned for the increase in number of students coming into the community. There's only so many schools. Infrastructure is not in place to handle this. And here's one from Janae. OMG, when is the madness going to stop? WTF? I'll never understand people who like these HOA subdivisions. They look more like prison compounds. They are built with the cheapest labor in a bidding war. They
all look alike. They have no character, no charm. They're priced like mansions and built like paper dollhouses. And I only have five more seconds. This is your opportunity to do it right. Once it's built, it's too late. Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else?
Mr. Chair, can we check on WebEx because there are three people on here that I'm not fam or four people that I'm not I'm not familiar with.
Okay. So can
I call their names?
Yes, please.
Um Mr. James Shannon, are you here to speak um in on public comment on something that is not on today's agenda or um on item P tw A P twelve, A P C twelve.
Um also someone by the name of Aaron, Aaron, are you here to speak on something that is not on today's agenda or item? A t a P A P C Twelve.
Thank you. Are you the you're the applicant? Okay, thank you. Um last person is Tia. Tia, are you here to speak on public comment or on item A P twelve?
Tia?
Tia, can you please unmute yourself? Are you here to speak on something um that is not on today's agenda on public comment or or on item A P twelve?
Okay, she's not answering but she does have the she has been promoted and does have the ability to unmute herself.
Okay.
So we'll just move her back to the area. Thank you.
That's fine.
So is there uh anything else, anybody else would like to speak on something that um Yeah, I I just wanna I don't want my comment to be mischaracterized. I think what I said in terms of the money for the county was the county has no money. The the county's money is our money. So when you ask the county when you s want things done, you have to be willing to pay for 'em. They have to it's the only place they're gonna get the money is from us. So the county has no money
unless it comes from us. That was what I said.
And I'd like to make it clear that when they buy those homes on the forty foot lots, and I don't personally like 'em. In fact I'm been one of the guys that's been the biggest opponent of that. then they are residents. And they do get the right to vote and they get to participate and they get to decide on what happens. And I noted That's right. the person you were speaking for. Didn't say they were born here. They came here from somewhere else too, just like almost everybody else in this room.
Do does one need to be born here to
Ma'am you can't you can't speak from there. You know ha you had your chance to speak. Yeah, no. No, no one has to be born here. The p but the point is, is that at what point do you say, I'm sorry, you can't come here? You can't live in Florida. At what point do you do that? At what point do you tell somebody they can't use their property the way they want 'em to use it when they pay taxes on it? You haven't paid
taxes on it. You've benefited from it. So Let's let's Be a little clear thinking in this in this regard. Oh okay.
And uh