Executive Director’s Message

Welcome to our first online edition of the Planning Commission's Partners in Planning Newsletter.  We hope you find our new digital version easy to read and navigate as well as providing important information on current trends. 

In the next several months you will see the Planning Commission begin adopting and promoting “GREEN” principles.  Part of the greening by the Planning Commission is to rely more heavily on digital information.  By converting documents to digital form, we can increase the visibility of the Planning Commission by reaching a far wider audience and at the same time reduce our need for printing and mailing.  This will lead to a cost savings and help reduce our impact on the environment.  Over the next year other Planning Commission produced newsletters and reports will go online as well. 

In the next 10-15 years we will see "green" building take over as the predominate form of construction with green design and planning becoming part of an overall strategy to promote sustainable communities.  "Green" living promotes compact development which encourages urban infill, reuse of older buildings, and use of alternative forms of transportation.  The Planning Commission fully supports these concepts and will continue to advocate for better green planning to impact our environment positively.

While Hillsborough County will continue to grow and there will be a need for further development, we must also work to limit sprawl which is costly to governments and brings with it a loss of agricultural land and open space, degradation of our water resources, segregation and unequal opportunity for our citizens, traffic congestion, and air pollution. 

The Planning Commission recognizes the importance of the “green” movement and is taking a lead in local government by not only promoting "green" building and design, but as always, promoting sustainable communities in the Tampa Bay area.  The Planning Commission is committed to promoting the “GREEN” movement and will work with our clients to ensure that our communities remain sustainable and "green." 

We believe that in order to promote "green" living we must practice what we preach and this online newsletter is one way the the Planning Commission is demonstrating that.   Through local action and a combined effort we can make a difference. 

Once you read this edition of Partners in Planning, we hope you will take some of the suggested steps to green your own homes and offices.  True change starts at the individual and local level. 

Robert B. Hunter, FAICP

Executive Director