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Tampa Comprehensive Plan Takes Giant Leap Forward Toward Adoption
The Tampa Comprehensive Plan Update has been years in the making. A major overhaul of the plan was reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission and Tampa City Council. Next step...the Florida Department of Community Affairs.
Daniel Burnham, the father of American Comprehensive Planning said, “Make no small plans…make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die." These words appropriately describe the mission of the Tampa Comprehensive Plan- Building our Legacy, A Livable City as they give us something to aim for in today’s ever-changing times and the City’s circumstance relative to the rest 
of the world. So with that, Tampa’s new Comprehensive Plan moves forward, ready to meet the demands of the 21st century.
The City of Tampa, by the year 2025, is projected to have an additional 123,000 jobs and 95,000 new citizens. For the first time in its history, the City’s growth will be determined and driven by redevelopment. In order to accommodate this projected growth and be successful in providing a sustainable, vibrant city, Tampa’s Livable City Comprehensive Plan acknowledges the challenging and complex issues of a changing world that the City is faced with: increased competition for limited energy supplies and water, modification of an aged infrastructure, providing adequate housing, schools and public open space and refinement of a dated transportation network.
The once tried and true traditional long range planning methods used to compete with other top American cities in 
attracting jobs and providing thriving, livable communities have shifted, partly due to rapid advancements in technology, which have made global competition a real issue to deal with.
To address these growing and emerging trends, the Plan has been reengineered. The goal in the development of the plan has consistently been the creation of a dynamic document via a collaborative process that provides a clear, effective roadmap towards establishing a truly Livable City that can confidently compete in a global marketplace.
To attain the livable city vision, the Planning Commission and City of Tampa staffs have engaged in a collaborative effort in the development of the new Tampa Comprehensive Plan. Many citizens, professionals and groups that include diverse community organizations, such as the Tampa Homeowner’s Association of Neighborhoods (THAN), the Westshore Alliance and the Tampa Downtown Partnership, have been significant contributors to this plan update.
One of the major parts of the new Plan is the establishment of an effective growth management strategy. This new tool will assist in protecting established neighborhoods, direct growth to areas that offer redevelopment opportunities and take the measures needed to make the City transit-ready.
The City’s challenge is formidable: keeping pace with rapid changes in technology and increasing global competition in order to accommodate new and established citizens as well as attracting and retaining businesses and good jobs. By focusing on the many assets this City offers, the new Plan will guide Tampa toward accommodating future growth in a responsible, effective manner in addition to the social and economic development pressures that accompany growth.
Tampa Comprehensive Plan- Building our Legacy, A Livable City was reviewed by the Planning Commission in May, 2008 and is currently being reviewed by the State for consitency with the Growth Management Act, Chapter 163. Adoption of the Livable Plan is anticipated for January, 2009.