Putting the Great in Greater Lacoochee
*Former County Project Manager: Sonide Simon, AICP
Chris Dougherty AICP
Hayat Mazili CPM, CNU-A
Nick Hill AICP
Nectarios
“Terry” Pittos
AICP, CPM
1 2 3 4 5
HISTORY
THE GREATER LACOOCHEE PLAN
PURPOSE
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE GREATER LACOOCHEE PLAN
IMPLEMEMNTATION
LESSONS LEARNED
The Greater Lacoochee Community
LACOOCHEE
TRILBY
TRILACOOCHEE
11,288 ACRES
History
Once upon a time…
Greater Lacoochee Timeline
1800 Thriving citrus and strawberry industry, cattle ranching .
1887 Construction of the Orange Belt Railway reached Trilby.
1902 Atlantic Coast Line acquired the rail lines and built a freight depot and passenger station in Trilby.
1922 Cummer Sons Cypress Company relocated sawmill operations to Lacoochee (from Sumner, Florida).
1923 Rosewood massacre survivors migrated to Lacoochee.
1959 Sawmill closes due to updated Cypress protection regulations and area declined rapidly.
1960s Plywood company, concrete plant, and a grain mill operated in Lacoochee.
Pasco County’s Planning Efforts
Purpose Plan
The purpose of this Plan was to protect the rural character of the northeastern most area of the County from the rapid encroachment of urban and sub-urban development within the region.
PURPOSE
Consolidate Planning Efforts
Reassess the Community Vision
Create a Foundation
Focused Implementation
Spur the Catalyst
Empower the Community
LACK OF PROGRESS
Re Establish Trust
CYPRESS MANOR
CLOSING THE SCHOOL
Unintended Consequences
No Redevelopment
Assessment for paving roads
Removed from
Roads TIF
14 Years - $60K
Liens Levied
Boys & Girls Club
Not a Community Center
Low Income Community Asset
Engagement Community
May 2022 - April 2023
June 2022 - August 2022
August 2022 - March 2023
PROJECT
May 2022 - April 2023
‘Old Florida’ feel
May 2022 - April 2023
SURVEY
Assess Existing Conditions
Prioritize Improvements for Implementation
INTERACTIVE COMMENT MAP
Identify Locations Specific
Improvements
GROUP INTERVIEWS
LISTENING SESSIONS
June 2022 - August 2022
X Workshops
X Stakeholder Interviews
Project Website
X Virtual Workshops
VISION GENERATION
August 30, 2022
VISION GENERATION
August 30, 2022
VISION REFINEMENT
December 15, 2022
VISION IMPLEMENTATION
March 09, 2023
The Plan Implementation Overview
Pasco County’s Planning Efforts
How’s this Plan Different?
ONE consolidated plan
Priorities over time and according to need
Easy to follow plan that serves the community with whoever available to implement the plan
Action Plan Framework
Strategy Number:
The first letter of each strategy identifies which of the free focus areas the strategy is intended to address.
Estimated Time Frame
Estimated Cost
Potential Partners
5-Year
Priorities
VISION MAP
Catalyst Projects in the Area
Rural residential development in the Residential Transitional Neighborhood
Learned Lessons
Engagement Communication
Flexibility
Community-led Process
Michael Doctor
Navigating the Political Climate
Community Member
Lacoochee
Q&A