Swimming Pool Wetland Setback Encroachment Update

For many years, Hillsborough County has routinely administratively granted wetland setback encroachments for swimming pools, decks and screen enclosures. This has been done to eliminate the requirement to apply for a wetland setback encroachment through the Land Use Hearing Officer (LUHO).

Recently there have been some administrative setback encroachments that were approved which resulted in walls and structures being constructed within the wetland setback. There has been much discussion between Development Services managers and representatives both for and against the administrative approval of wetland setback encroachments. This has resulted in questions regarding what the Land Development Code allows.

Development Services staff is currently reviewing the code and determining how to proceed from this point forward and whether an amendment to the LDC will be required to allow the administrative approval of wetland setback encroachments to continue. Until this is resolved, the current staff position is that pools and pool deck encroachments can be approved administratively, but the screen enclosure encroachment must be approved through the LUHO process.

The challenge with the LUHO process is there is cutoff once a month (either the 3^rd or 4^th week of the month) and the final decision from the LUHO is not rendered for three to four months. This could result in the approval of a screen enclosure setback encroachment not being rendered until well after home construction being completed. To look at the current LUHO schedule for submittal dates, hearing dates and date of UHO decisions, paste the following address in your web browser:   

http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/10952

 

If you have a lot that will have a pool setback encroachment, make sure you apply for the screen encroachment as soon as possible.

We will continue to work with County staff on this matter and keep you advised of any changes in policy. If you have any questions, I can be reached at eem@lesc.com.

Everett Morrow

Chair, TBBA Horizontal Codes Committee

What’s going on with your permit?

If you are building in Hillsborough or Pasco County right now, you know that TBBA is working hard to ensure your projects are not being delayed. In Hillsborough, you can expect to get a single family building permit in less than 10 days.  A “new policy” enacted by Hillsborough County last month eliminates your ability to call for time specific inspections – we know how that affects you and are we are working with Hillsborough to address the problem and remove this policy. Our goal is to help ensure the level of service is maintained, not reduced.

In Pasco, rollovers of inspections are of top concern and permits are trickling out at a pace of 30 days. We understand that overtime has been authorized and hope this helps the flow of permits and inspections as we expect activity to continue to rise throughout the year.

Please know that the staff in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties are working hard to help you get through the process quickly and efficiently. Do your part, help all of us by ensuring your permit applications are complete when submitted and your work is ready to be inspected. Having trouble or have questions? Email Jennifer Doerfel at jennifer@tbba.net. 

TBBA Advocacy Program: Political Committees

This is the second article in a three part series.

The TBBA’s Advocacy Program is a three-pronged approach to help ensure that your voice is heard with regards to relevant governmental affairs, political action, and building industry issues. This issue of the Building Barometer discusses political committees and how they work for our members.

TBBA’s political committees are organized to permit the accumulation of contributions from consenting members’ dues to be used to fund contributions to candidates and related political activities. Each of our committees is organized as a corporation controlled by TBBA’s Board of Directors, files reports with the state elections division as a Committee of Continuous Existence (CCE), and is considered by the Internal Revenue Service to be a 527 political organization. They are corporations for basic business liability purposes, file as CCEs in order to avoid reporting all members’ contributions from dues individually, and are 527 organizations the same as every form of political committee. Our political committees are for state and local candidates only, not for federal candidates which are considered by NAHB. Our committees are also set up to make contributions to candidates only, not to conduct direct campaigns for or against candidates or issues.  As with individuals or organizations, our contributions are limited to $500, although there is state legislation pending this year to increase this amount as well as to abolish the CCEs used by organizations like TBBA.

The TBBA has 3 political committees, one each in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. The goal of these political committees is to identify and support candidates that support the legislative or executive goals of the building industry, or support those that are “pro-housing”. These future decision makers must understand our perspective and how, if elected, their decisions affect our industry and community. Not every candidate values housing or what this industry means to the local economy. Because some candidates are anti-growth, we have a responsibility to educate our members on who we believe are the pro-growth, pro-housing candidates, and our political committees helps us achieve these goals.

During an election year, our political committees will spend hours interviewing potential candidates, both to get to know them and to educate them about our industry. We look both for the candidates who support the builder community, and also look for electability. Though many qualified and well-intentioned candidates vie for these positions of leadership, only a few have the public appeal and the support to win on Election Day.  Once our political committee selects candidates, we can not only make a contribution to their campaign, but also publicize our endorsement and even begin to go to work with them on their campaigns. At best, we can establish win-win relationships that will last for years to come, and continue discussions with our winning candidates at Governmental Affairs forums and issue-specific meetings.