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The Economic Competitiveness Committee, which was formed by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, broke up on Valentine's Day.
But the planned disbanding of the committee wasn't heartbreaking. In fact, the 19-person group of local business leaders presented a strategy to help Tampa hang with the likes of Raleigh, N.C., and Dallas.
When Buckhorn formed the committee in June, the goal was to expedite the permitting process and ease regulatory burdens on builders. So the ECC included leaders representing the groups the regulations effect: Tampa Bay construction firms, developers, attorneys and architects.
According to the city, its Construction Services Center is supposed to be the “one-stop shop” for permitting needs. But members of the ECC had some recommendations to make the city more development-friendly.
In the report, available on the city's website, there is an entire page dedicated to trimming regulations related to trees and landscaping. The committee also suggested merging entitlement and permitting staff into one office.
Another notable suggestion was to “create a work environment that instills a 'Can-Do' attitude.”
The committee's recommendations, along with the Urban Land Institute's advice on how to develop the land around the Hillsborough River, have the mayor as excited as a high school football coach at halftime. “Three-and-a-half years from now I want to look back and say 'this was our time,” Buckhorn said.
The challenge, as always, is implementing the recommendations. Coffee Talk looks forward to seeing what the city “Can-Do.”
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