County continues work on PDRP

Sarasota County is working to update and further develop its post-disaster plan.

Joseph Kraus, an environmental specialist for the county who has been involved in the planning, gave a presentation to the Sarasota County Planning Commission about the current stages of the Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan, which has been under development since 2008. In 2013, staff revisited the draft of the plan to update it and gain citizen input.

“We need a long term plan,” Kraus said.

The plan is not just in case of a hurricane, but a variety of natural disasters such as fires, tornadoes and floods. The idea is to have a solidified plan to adapt to long-term rebuilding after a tragedy.

Kraus compared the plan to Sarasota 2050, in that it was not required to be adopted and was not a regulatory tool but was developed to be a guidance tool.

“We’re not changing property rights or zoning,” Kraus said.

Staff wants the county to adopt the core plan for unincorporated areas, and then municipalities can adopt the plan and mold it to fit their needs, he said.

The next step in the plan development is to update information such as updating the county’s Fitch Rating and evaluate the action steps in the plan to see if they will be effective after a disaster. Staff also wants to hire a PDRP coordinator in the future when the document is fully vetted and adopted.

“This is an incredibly thorough document. You should be applauded,” Commissioner Vanessa Carusone said.

She suggested putting in some of the major roads and highways into the figures and maps of the county so that when people were looking at the plan, they could orient themselves.

Commissioner Michael Moran suggested the plan include models for post-disaster recovery both with and without federal funding.

The commission was not required to take action on the PDRP at this time.

The planning commission’s Sept. 4 meeting is cancelled.