Board Policy - Section Number: 09.03.06.00

Purpose

To establish general criteria and implementation for siting, land acquisition and development activities for public facilities in the County, under the purview of the County Commissioners’ Capital Improvement Program.

Siting and Development Policies, General Criteria and Implementation for Hillsborough County Public Facilities

Statement of Intent

This statement serves as Hillsborough County’s Policy, general criteria and implementation for siting, land acquisition and development activities for public facilities in the County, under the County Commissioners’ Capital Improvement Program. This statement shall be directive to county Staff in the course of planning public facilities, site selection for those facilities, and the development of the facilities which are required by Hillsborough County.

Policies for Siting and Development of Public Facilities

• Policy # 1: The siting of Public Facilities shall comply with the Neighborhood Bill of Rights adopted by the Board of County Commissioners.
• Policy # 2: Hillsborough County will provide notice and meet with citizens and local area residents at the time of the planning and site selection of the project to obtain public and local resident viewpoints on the need, location, character of the public facility, site, and facility design standards and operation of the project. Hillsborough County will include the views and desires of the citizens of the County and local area residents in the development and consideration of alternatives in facility siting and design, and the final decision making process.
• Policy # 3: Hillsborough County shall site county public facilities and acquire land for public purposed using the appropriate technical criteria and judgment for the type of use of the property or facility being sited, including an evaluation of financial costs, functional and site design criteria, environmental impacts, locational impacts, public safety and welfare, and public and citizen viewpoints. Hillsborough County will consider alternatives to land acquisition and siting of facilities as part of the evaluation process of each facility.
• Policy # 4: The development and design of Public Facilities shall comply with the procedures and standards established in the proposed Design Element of the Comprehensive Plan, the adopted Comprehensive Plan and the County’s Land Development Regulations.

Implementation of This Policy

County Administration will implement this policy through the stages of projects in the Capital Improvement Program.

Public Notice

The public at large and local area residents shall be given notice of County actions in the development of draft and recommended plans, County actions in the development and approval of the County’s Capital Improvement Program, and County actions in regard to projects undertaken through the Capital Improvement Program. Notice may be in the form of written information to residents affected by plans, projects or County actions, notices in the newspapers and through other forms of electronic media, and meetings with the public to allow the opportunity for public participation.

Citizen/Resident Participation

Citizens of the County and residents of the local area where a public facility may be sited or land acquisition may occur shall be given notice, information, and will be give the opportunity to participate in the planning, acquisition, design, and development of public sites and facilities. The opportunity to participate includes actions such as community and neighborhood meetings with neighborhood residents, can include public meetings with the County staff in order to take official and formal public comments, and can include public hearings as required by law or directed by the County Administrator or the Board of County Commissioners.

Integration of Public Meetings and Public Information

County Departments shall schedule public information meetings, public meetings and public hearings which are apart of this policy in a manner to fully inform the public and provide efficiencies for public and county staff time and resources. Where citizen and public comment should be made part of local regulatory approvals, meetings will be scheduled and noticed in advance at appropriate stages of plan and project development, and regulatory approval.

Regulatory Actions

County staff shall make project information and a schedule of regulatory actions connected with the siting and development of county Public Facilities, available to the public and local residents. This will include land use and zoning actions, environmental permitting actions, and the process pf regulatory decisions of federal, state, regional, or local agencies to allow the public to be informed and the opportunity to participate in decisions of agencies with jurisdictions outside of Hillsborough County government.

Development of County Facility Plans

All Public plans for facilities including master plans for County utilities, facility plans for specific County facilities, and functional plans for acquisition of lands for public purposes shall be covered under this policy except for the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program. County staff will meet with the public at large and local area residents which are affected by County facility plans and follow this policy statement, and general evaluation criteria as they are appropriate, in the development of public plans.

Capital Improvement Program

The County’s Capital Improvement Program shall be made available to the public annually at the time of its development and adoption. County staff will meet with the public which are affected by the County’s Capital Improvement Program at appropriate times and follow this policy statement and general evaluation criteria in the development of the Capital Improvement Program.

Capital Project development

Information on the development of each project in the Capital Improvement Program shall be made available to the public at large and local area residents prior to final decision making actions at appropriate stages in the project.

Department Procedures

Departments under the County Administrator shall evaluate their current practices for the siting and development of public facilities using this policy statement. Each Department shall prepare a written Department procedure, for Administration approval, covering their activities in the siting and development of public facilities covered under this policy, within 120 days after the adoption by the Board of County Commissioners.

Evaluation Criteria for Public Facilities

Government facilities and land acquisitions will be evaluated on the basis of the general criteria set forth below. These criteria will be used as guidelines in the planning, land acquisition, site design, and development of the project or the public facility.

• Basic Factors of Public Purpose and Necessity: The evaluation process and criteria used must meet the requirements of public purpose and necessity that all reasonable alternatives are reviewed and cost, environmental factors, safety, and consistency with Long Range Plan are taken into account. This will allow the Board of County Commissioners to establish that the basic factors of Public Purpose and Necessity are being met.
• Facility Characteristics/Technical Requirements: The technical requirements for each public facility shall be examined. These requirements can range from evaluation of a type of transmission or pumping facility (size, function) which is part of a larger system, or may be a land acquisition project for environmental purposes which requires certain characteristics (e.g. soils) for activities such as environmental mitigation banking or there may be legal requirements (e.g. jail siting)
• Safety Criteria: Safety criteria for facilities and sites will be identified and all appropriate and applicable standards met.
• Locational Criteria: Locational criteria for facilities and sites will be identified. This criteria includes site locations, consistency with Land Use Plan and Zoning requirements, accessibility requirements, soils, slope, site size, shape of the parcel or Right of Way requirements, and characteristics of the project which may be defined as being part of a large system (connector roads or system hydraulics, as examples).
• Site Characteristics/Functional Design: This criteria includes the facility use of the site for the function/activities which will take place. Sites will be evaluated for their functional utility geotechnical capabilities for the siting and operation of the public facility. All reasonable alternatives shall be reviewed.
• Site and facility Design Standards: Facility design standards shall be used, including facility site orientation to enhance conformity with surrounding land uses, architectural conformities, shell or facade requirements, and locations of supporting parking, access facilities, or environmental enhancements for compatibility with surrounding land uses.
• Architectural Standards and Review Advisory Board: An Architectural Standards and Review Advisory Board is recommended to be developed in the Design Element of the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Regulations to provide guidance to the County for considerations including but not limited to site design standards in regard to buffering for compatibility and noise impacts, visual screening, landscaping
• or open space requirements, and xeriscape and water conservation consideration.
• Financial Analysis: Public facilities and land acquisitions shall be analyzed for their costs and comparative utility for acquisition, functional costs in facility design, and costs for operation and maintenance.
• Facility Design/Compatibility: Public facilities developed by the County will take into account the natural features and need for compatibility with surrounding land uses.
• Environmental Impacts: The onsite and adjacent environmental impacts will be evaluated for siting of public facilities, including stormwater, land alteration, vegetative cover, and effects to any environmentally sensitive lands.
• Legal Requirements: Federal, state and County legal requirements, including requirements for eminent domain, will be evaluated for each siting of a public facility. Land use regulations such as the Comprehensive Plan land use and policy requirements and Land Development Code requirements will be evaluated for any siting and design criteria, and public notice and regulatory requirements for land use decisions required by state and local law.

Scope of Coverage

This Policy addresses the siting of all types of public facilities in the County under the purview of the Board of County Commissioners’ Capital Improvement Program, except for the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP), and minor projects such as sidewalks, signals, intersections, regular traffic control installations, and similar routine projects. Examples of the types of facilities included are:

• Highways - Roadways which are constructed through the County’s Capital Improvement Program.
• Public Buildings and Facilities - jails, children’s facilities, libraries, museums, animal control facilities, County Offices, park facilities, fire stations and similar types of facilities in the County’s Capital Improvement Program.
• Treatment Facilities - Wastewater treatment plants, water treatment plants, sludge processing facilities, and solid waste processing facilities.
• Pumping Facilities - Wastewater treatment plants, water treatment plants, sludge processing facilities, and solid waste processing facilities.
• Storage/Handling Facilities - Sludge handling facilities, solid waste community disposal centers, water system storage tanks, reclaimed waste system storage tanks, and public works/road and street materials storage yards.
• Disposal Sites - Reclaimed water spray fields, landfills, trashfills, and materials disposal or reclamation sites.
• County Owned Lands - Sites for wellfields, land reclamation, environmental mitigation, lands purchased for environmental protection, and lands for any other County purposes.