A Letter to Pasco County Florida Neighbors


by Michael Coppola
and Nancy Williams

Dear Neighbor,

You may have seen the many media reports of destructive flooding that has occurred in the Tampa Bay area over the last several years. You may have also seen flooding in your local neighborhood and along the roads as you drove through Pasco County. This is evidence that the effectiveness of our current storm sewer and retention pond system, which is required to be in place on all new developments, is not working to prevent flooding. 

Climate change brings greater rainfall over a shorter period of time and often over a much larger area. This more frequent and more severe flooding has been made worse by the poorly planned growth in development that has been going on in Pasco County, Florida, and the surrounding counties.

The main focus of the insurance industry is to assess risk, and the risk of flooding is a top priority. They have determined that this risk has increased and will continue to get worse and as a result have expanded flood zone maps. This is why they have begun adjusting their policies by recommending additional flood insurance, escalating basic premiums, not renewing policies, and not taking new customers, while some have chosen to leave the state.

At this time there are many developments in Pasco that have had their impact fees deferred for ten years. These fees are levied to provide funds for any additional county services needed because of the increase in population such as, policing, schools, and infrastructure. The costs of many Pasco developments have been added to your tax bill because these fees have not been paid.

It is time to vote for Pasco Planning Commission members who will evaluate the effect new developments will have on the flooding of your homes, and to do so before they approve a developer's plan, as well as ensuring developer fees are collected at the time the plan is completed.


Lisa Moretti, Janine Duffy, and Tom Celotto are running for seats on the Pasco Planning Commission and will work to ensure no new development will be approved if it increases the risk of flooding. They have promised to move to collect developer fees without delay. Please consider voting for these candidates who have dedicated their time to working for a better and safer life for you and your family.

Lisa Moretti, www.votelisamoretti.com, and Tom Celotto, www.votecelotto.com will be on the General Election ballot, Janine Duffy must be written in on the ballot. 

Everyone in the county votes on all the commission seats, not just the person running to represent your district.


You can check if you are registered to vote at: https://registration.elections.myflorida.com/CheckVoterStatus

You can register to vote at:

Florida Online Voter Registration System (registertovoteflorida.gov)


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