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Consultant offers recommendations to liven up west Pasco

 
Published Sept. 20, 2014

NEW PORT RICHEY — Create a "real downtown." Make better use of the waterfront. Cooperate with cities. Encourage more pedestrian traffic. Market bundles of events.

Those were a few of the recommendations from a federally funded consultant to help Pasco leaders redevelop the county's heavily populated but blighted west side.

"Pasco County has made a good start in preparing for a prosperous and sustainable future with the work that has been done," according to the report from Smart Growth America, a nonprofit agency that encourages urban, walkable communities.

"The challenge now is to realize the vision."

Among the recommendations:

•Work to make one small area a hit. The consultants recommended an area of between 25 and 75 acres.

• Enact rules that bring in businesses that create foot traffic. The more attractive an area, the more it draws activity, which means more taxes.

• Make use of the rivers, not just the Gulf of Mexico. "Waterfront and waterways are being used creatively for placemaking all around the world, with strong economic performance," the report said.

• Coordinate with the cities of Port Richey and New Port Richey.

• Capitalize on New Port Richey, a city with "good bones:" a fairly complete street grid, a few historic buildings, a theater. Consultants said creating four "continuous walkable blocks" should be a short-term goal.

Senior county planner Matt Armstrong said the report is far from complete and that county staff would seek more advice and examples of successes elsewhere.

"We said it's really important we get something out of this we don't already know," he said. "We want to keep the momentum going."

A community open house will be scheduled next month to share the final report.

Contact Lisa Buie at lbuie@tampabay.com or (813) 909-4604. Follow @Lisa_Buie.