April 2020 – The first two weeks of March were a busy time for the Wimauma Community Plan Update, Wimauma Village Residential-2 (WVR-2) Land Use Study and Residential Planned-2 (RP-2) Land Use Study. These projects held stakeholder meetings, feedback sessions, open houses, presentations to community groups, and online surveys.

With the emergence of the COVID-19 public health emergency, Plan Hillsborough has been following social distancing guidelines and continuing operations from home. Our work on both projects has not stopped, but it has shifted our public engagement strategy from in-person meetings to a virtual format that allows residents to continue participating in key discussions and workshops online. We have successfully utilized a number of virtual meeting programs including Microsoft Teams, GoToWebinar, GoToMeeting, Zoom, and YouTube.

We will continue to provide updates through email and the project web pages. We hope you will join us online where we continue to work with you to improve your communities.

Wimauma Community Plan Update

The well-attended March 4 open house provided the community the opportunity to meet with county staff and project consultants from the University of South Florida School of Architecture and Community Design. After a short presentation and Q&A session, residents went to different stations around the room to write down their comments and ask questions. The three-day charrette following the open house allowed the public to provide specific community design information, resulting in a work session between county staff and the consultant where we interviewed residents, business owners, and other stakeholders.

With staff, consultants, and community stakeholders now working from home, we have been exploring ways to communicate with each other virtually. In place of a public open house, a video was produced recapping the charrette process and instead of handwritten comments, an online survey was designed to gather more community input to inform the plan update. All of these materials have been developed in both English and Spanish and are available on the agency website.

Virtual community engagement will continue to receive input on recommendations. Concluding open houses that were to be held at the end of April will be rescheduled for date(s) in the coming months. Continue to follow the project page and the Plan Hillsborough calendar for the latest information.

Click here to go to the Wimauma Community Plan Update project web page

Residential Planned-2 Land Use Study

The Land Use Study kicked off with the March 11 open house where staff and the consultants from Kimley-Horn met with members of the community to answer questions and get feedback. Our team facilitated a variety of activities designed to provide specific input and data for the land use study. Residents shared their wish list for their community, things they like, and the issues most important to them through written comments and marking key areas on maps with stickers.

Like the Wimauma study, we began adapting these in-person meetings to a virtual format. Stakeholder interviews originally planned to take place in the community have been held by phone or teleconference. An online survey was designed by incorporating prior community input with potential policy recommendations. Additionally, a community workshop originally scheduled to take place at Summerfield Elementary on April 7 occurred virtually by providing a video presentation followed by an online questionnaire.

Virtual community engagement will continue to receive input on recommendations. Concluding open houses that were to be held at the end of April will be rescheduled for date(s) in the coming months. Continue to follow the project page and the Plan Hillsborough calendar for the latest information.

Click here to go to the Residential Planned-2 project web page