Issue 28 | January 2016

What's new...

The look of this newsletter, along with the Planning Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Hillsborough River Interlocal Planning Board & TAC, and our combined Plan Hillsborough logos, have all been updated to a more modern, bold, and clean look that better represents the brighter future we are planning together... with you!

Read more ť

Welcome our newest Commissioner! Nigel M. Joseph was sworn in as a representative of Hillsborough County at the Planning Commission's November meeting. A resident of Hillsborough County since 1990, Mr. Joseph has a Bachelor of Design Architecture from the University of Florida, a Master of Architecture with Distinction from Lawrence Technological University, and is a current Ph.D. student at the University of South Florida. With professional experience in both architecture and planning services, he plans to apply his knowledge and experience in service to the positive development of the great Hillsborough County community.

Meet all of our 2016 Planning Commissioners ť

Hot off the press and onto our web

Fact and Figures 2015 takes a look at Hillsborough County's population, covering:

Families & Housing
Health
The Cities
Education
Income & Employment
Construction

Facts and Figures 2015 ť

Economic Summary : National, State, and Local Trends - An overview of economic conditions for the United States, the State of Florida, the Tampa Metropolitan Statistical Area and Hillsborough County (where available). These indicators provide perspective on past economic performance as well as indicators for possible future performance. Some of the factors analyzed include: unemployment and employment data; hours worked, labor demand, labor force participation, job loss, and wage data.

Economic Summary report ť

2015 - A year filled with changes and accomplishments

2015 was full of achievements for the Planning Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Hillsborough River Board. Imagine 2040 continued to receive awards and recognition, as the results were incorporated into the plan updates for Tampa, Temple Terrace, and Plant City. All three of their Comprehensive Plans were updated to the new horizon year of 2040, transmitted to the state for review, and are anticipated to have final adoption in early 2016. Read more about our many successes in this report.

2015 Year in Review ť

Info BBQ speaker draws crowd focused on Vision Zero

Heather Rothenberg, PhD

The January 5th Planning Commission InfoBBQ (Brown Bag Quarterly) drew nearly 50 planners and citizens concerned with bicycle and pedestrian safety in our region. Dr. Heather Rothenberg, a nationally recognized expert in safety data systems and performance measures, spoke about Vision Zero, an approach to road safety that began in Sweden in 1997.

At the core of the worldwide Vision Zero movement is the belief that death and injury on city streets is preventable. For the most part, these are not accidents. Collisions are often the result of poor behaviors and unforgiving roadway designs. Dr. Rothenberg approached the problem from multiple angles - street designs that emphasize safety, predictability, and the potential for human error, coupled with targeted education and date-driven enforcement.

TPC InfoBBQ

The Planning Commission Info BBQ is a quarterly educational series featuring topics relevant to planning and our local community. The series will continue with new topics for discussion and may rotate to various locations throughout Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and Hillsborough County. This public event is always free. Participants are invited to bring their own brown bag lunch to enjoy. Watch for more information in future issues of Beyond Today, at planhillsborough.org, or contact us at 813.272.5940 or email planhillsborough@plancom.org with your comments or suggested topics for future sessions.

Have you received our annual quality of life survey?

The Annual Quality of Life Survey has been sent to 20,000 residents randomly selected from Hillsborough County's registered voters. If you are a recipient, it's important you complete the survey and return it to us. Since improving our resident's quality of life is an underlying principle of all appointed or elected bodies and the county's four comprehensive plans, the survey helps the Planning Commission determine whether or not, in the opinion of the average registered voter, the quality of life in Hillsborough County has increased or decreased from 2014 to 2015.

For consistency, the survey continues to use the eighteen factors originally identified by a focus group of residents in 2002. It was the consensus of the group that these factors represent the quality of life in Hillsborough County:

Economic opportunities	Government services	Education system
Growth management	Transportation system	Healthcare
Local government utilities	Security	Environmental/natural resources
Non-governmental social services	Entertainment	Neighborhood and family support
Affordable housing	The arts	Public parks and recreation
Racial, religious, and ethnic acceptance	Presence of local government in our lives	Historic preservation

If you have questions, please contact Tatiana Gonzalez at 813.273.3774 x320.

View previous survey results ť

Take this important survey by January 31st!

The Community Health Assessment Survey is being conducted on behalf of several local hospitals and your local health department. It will take about 10 minutes to complete. Results will be used to help understand your community health concerns so that improvements can be made. You must be 18 years of age or older to complete this survey. Your answers are completely anonymous. If you have questions, please contact the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County at 813.307.8015 x6607.

Take the survey now ť

In accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other
nondiscrimination laws, public participation is solicited without regard
to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status.

Read more about the our commitment to non-discrimination and other requirements.