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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 1, 2007

CARROLLWOOD - A year-long exercise that will guide the redevelopment of the Carrollwood area is getting ready to launch.

Hillsborough County planners are recruiting residents for a committee to help draft the Carrollwood Community Plan, a customized planning document that regulates the growth, look and feel of a community.

The county's community-based planning program began in 1998 and gives each community the chance to tailor its goals and visions to what is unique in each geographical area. Community plans have been developed in Town 'N Country, Northwest, Lutz and Keystone-Odessa.

As a mature community, Carrollwood's plan likely will address similar issues tackled by the urbanized area of Town 'N Country, said Lisa Silva, project manager with the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission.

Major issues likely will be traffic and addressing the retail-heavy North Dale Mabry Highway commercial corridor, she said.

An open house, where planners will gather the primary concerns of the community, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Carrollwood Cultural Center Annex.

Planners are looking for 20 to 30 residents to participate on the committee that will draft the community plan. The group will meet once a month for 12 to 18 months beginning in January.

Once completed, it will take another six to nine months for county and state planners to review the community plan and for county commissioners to adopt it into the county's long-range comprehensive plan.

The plan's study area covers the greater Carrollwood region and includes parts of Northdale, Egypt Lake, Lake Magdalene and Forest Hills.

Its general preliminary boundary is the Veterans Expressway on the west, Hillsborough Avenue on the south, Interstate 275 on the east and Van Dyke Road on the north.

Silva said it will be up to participants to define the study area.

"We're purposely large and expansive when we begin something," she said. "It's better to start big and come back down. A lot of people get concerned about the boundary. It's just a study area."

At the open house, there will be several stations where residents can mill around and share their concerns on a specific topic. No formal presentation is planned.

Each booth will have maps and focus on issues such as transportation, code enforcement, zoning, and crime, Silva said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Open House for the Carrollwood Community Plan

WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Carrollwood Cultural Center Annex, 13345 Casey Road, Carrollwood

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

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