UPDATE: Blight ordinance and Mike Moore's traffic thoughts

By Matt Wiley and Gary Nager

Dist. 2 Pasco County commissioner (and Wesley Chapel resident) Mike Moore says that dilapidated businesses soon will no longer have a place in the county, now that the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has adopted new rules to eliminate local eyesores. Moore told the 20 people in attendance at the Nov. 12 Wesley Chapel Republican Club (WCRC) meeting (held at Wesley Chapel Hyundai on S.R. 54) that the so-called “Blight Ordinance” (which is actually called Pasco’s “Commercial Property Maintenance Ordinance”) he sponsored was passed unanimously (5-0) on Oct. 20 by the Pasco Board of County Commisioners (BOCC).

The ordinance gives Pasco the right to issue fines and even possibly put property owners who let their commercial properties become dilapidated in jail. Moore said the new law gives the county more power to clean up and even get rid of those dilapidated properties in order to attract new businesses, clean up the county’s image and help prevent the crime that occurs in buildings that aren’t maintained.

Moore noted that the ordinance, which was modeled after a similar Hillsborough County law, won’t go into effect until May 1, 2016, but at that time, property owners whose properties are abandoned and/or in disrepair a 30-day notice to get their blighted buildings repaired, or be subject to a fine. They will then be given another 30 days to fix the problem.

If the problem persists beyond those 60 days, the property owners will be subject to a fine of $500 per day until the problem is fixed. If it’s discovered by the county attorney that a business owner has the means to fix the problem or demolish a blighted building and still chooses not to, that person could even face jail time.

“What we’re trying to do here is tell people, ‘You need to fix the problem,’” Moore told the WCRC members in attendance. “Fix the problem or you’re going to get fined. It’s not good for the surrounding property owners, it’s not good for the community and it’s not good for the people of Pasco County.”

Moore also says that business owners have told him that areas that have vacant and rundown structures do not promote local business growth, they bring down property values and discourage other local businesses that are maintained properly.

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a Sept. 30 town hall meeting about the ordinance that it also is important because it will help reduce crime — including drug use, squatting and other illegal activities — in the abandoned or run-down structures. He said the U.S. 19 corridor gets by far the most calls about crime at various rundown businesses, but that U.S. Hwy. 41, S.R. 54 and U.S. 301 also prompt calls by residents and other business owners, too.

“From a law enforcement standpoint,” Nocco said, “(ordinances like this) are things that we need. If we can limit the places crimes can occur, we can push crime somewhere else. And, we’re trying to push it out of Pasco County.”

Meanwhile, Moore said he is convinced the ordinance will deter current and future businesses from letting their storefronts and surrounding area from becoming unkempt.

“It doesn’t matter what corridor it is,’’ Moore said. “This ordinance will be a deterrent in the hopes that future commercial property owners will realize that if they let their properties become dilapidated, they’re going to get fined.”

According to Pasco’s senior assistant county attorney Kristi Sims (who appeared at the same Sept. 30 town hall meeting where Sheriff Nocco spoke), the new ordinance shifts the burden to the property owner to force them to spend their own money to either repair or tear down their dilapidated properties.

Also On Commissioner Moore’s Agenda…

Although he didn’t discuss the 2016 presidential election during his presentation to the WCRC, Moore did provide updates on a number of other topics, including the extension of S.R. 56 to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills, which he said he strongly supports.

He noted that he believes that shortly after this issue reaches your mailbox, the State Legislature could approve the plan proposed in April of this year by Dist. 38 State Rep. Danny Burgess and Dist. 17 State Sen. John Legg to build a four-lane extension, rather than just the two lanes that are currently funded.

Moore added that he is a strong supporter of the Florida Department of Transportation’s concept of a “diverging diamond” to better handle the traffic at the S.R. 56 exit of I-75. “I’ve told my friends in Tallahassee that this has to happen way sooner than (the current plan of) 2021-22,” Moore said. “We need relief now.”

After being introduced by current WCRC president James Cracchiolo, Moore (the group’s president the previous two years) touted his support of stricter sexual offender rules in Pasco and the new indoor athletic complex in Wiregrass (see pg. 1) during his hour-long chat. He also noted that he’s still studying the proposed Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Bypass Loop Rd. concept discussed in our Sept. 26 issue.

The WCRC meets at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel (27000 Wesley Chapel Blvd.) the second Thur. of each month at 6:30 p.m., with the next meeting scheduled for Thur., Dec. 10. The club welcomes new members and guests. For more info, visit WCRepublicans.com.