Plant City Observer
y Observer
YO UR HOMETOW N. YO UR NEWSPAP ER .
YOUR HOMETOWN. YOUR NEWSPAPER
VOLUME 6, NO. 158
. YO UR NEWS PAP ER .
FREE • THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2021
PUBLIC HEARINGS AHEAD
A variety of public hearings at next week’s city commission meeting highlight the city’s focus on prepared and planned growth.
BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
A handful of public hearings will be held next Monday at the city commission meeting, including one that will potentially create a new future land use category in response to the city’s projected growth. The population of Plant City is growing at an exponential rate and the Imagine 2040: Plant City Comprehensive Plan projects that by its horizon year there will be more than 70,000 people calling the municipality home. As the growth continues, there is a need to create a larger swath of future land use plan categories “to implement the vision and devel-
opment pattern desired by the residents of Plant City,” according to the city. Currently Plant City has just over half of the future land use plan categories available for consideration as the City of Tampa. Planning Commission staff has developed several new categories over the years, including Light Commercial/Office and Mixed-Use Gateway and Residential-9 — which filled the gap between Residential-6 and Residential-12 since they were the maximum allowable densities at the time — and now they are prepared to present another category. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE AGRI-BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a federalstate-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences; and to make that knowledge accessible to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. The UF/IFAS mission is state-wide but this Agribusiness award recognizes the contributions of UF/IFAS to our local agriculture community. Hillsborough County is among a few Florida counties in which all UF/IFAS functions exist; Teaching, Research, and Extension. Plant City is one of several statewide locations through the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) offering degree programs. Students can earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida without moving to Gainesville and giving up a job or family. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) at Plant City has programs in Agricultural Education and Communication, Food and Resource Economics, and Geomatics. There are two UF/IFAS research facilities in Hillsborough County. The Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, in Balm, develops knowledge and technology that will assist Florida’s producers to be competitive, both nationally and in the world economy. The Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, in Ruskin, supports the tropical ornamental aquaculture industry in Florida. The Hillsborough County Extension Office is one of the most comprehensive in Florida. Its 14 Extension Faculty provide education programs in all the major topic areas including agriculture and natural resources, urban and commercial horticulture, family and consumer sciences, and 4-H youth development. These programs are available to all county residents, businesses and organizations.
BIOS PROVIDED BY THE GREATER PLANT CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Photos courtesy of Vicky Saunders
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3