TAMPA, Fla. — How will Tampa help those living south of Gandy Boulevard whose homes are threatened by flooding? The city is almost done with a long study on land use, coastal flooding and possible changes to curb development.
There has been a lot of residential development over the last ten to fifteen years and people who have been living here a long time say that is the reason for their flooding problems now.
Michelle Mastrototaro has lived in her home in Port Tampa for the past fourteen years, along with her five children including one who is blind and has autism. The past nine months she's seen two major floods come to her door, with Tampa Bay rolling up past her picket fence.
“I looked like I was part of the ocean. You didn't see nothing but water,” she said.
Mastrototaro blames the development of nearby apartment complexes for the new flooding just as much as the rising sea level. She says the complex across her street used to be where stormwater gathered.
She and her neighbors said the same thing at a meeting Wednesday night with the city to go over the update for its coastal area action plan.
"We all know we have sea level rise, we all know we are susceptible to storms, and this is really about a long-term view of how to make our communities more resilient,” Evan Johnson, Tampa’s chief planner, said.
Cutting back on residential development is one idea the city is considering recommending to the city council, including prohibiting land use density increase amendments in the coastal high-hazard area that encompasses much of the area south of Gandy.
Other changes the planning department may recommend to city code would be to require more homeowners to provide on-site stormwater management and to prioritize the purchase of flood-prone properties and turn them into green spaces.
City officials told residents here tonight that there is no silver bullet to fix their flooding problems south of Gandy, and that it will likely take a combination of efforts, including from neighbors and homeowners themselves to solve the long-term flooding woes.
“It's getting scary,” Mastrototaro said. “The more they keep building, the more it's going to keep impacting the residents here.”