Resiliency Initiatives
With nearly 600 miles of coastline, pristine ecosystems and some of the nation’s top beaches, Pinellas County is a popular place to live, work, play and visit. Unfortunately, many of the same factors that make the county such a beautiful home and destination also put us at a greater risk when it comes to man-made and natural disasters.
Pinellas County is reducing our vulnerability to these threats through both community services and internal governmental practices. With limited unused land available and a quickly growing population, we aim to make the most of our resources and implement long-term solutions to support the economy, the environment and society.
County Accomplishments:
- Completed and the County’s first Resilient Pinellas Plan
- Developed and adopted the Comprehensive Plan
- Aligning goals and leveraging resources through the Pinellas Sustainability and Resilience Network
- Supported the development of a Regional Resiliency Action Plan through the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition
- Implemented and integrated the results of the critical infrastructure vulnerability assessment into departmental processes and programs
- Founding member of the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition
- Passed an administrative directive to integrate resiliency into future capital improvement projects
- Achieved a Class 3 designation in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating, placing Pinellas County in the top 1% nationwide and resulting in nearly $8 million in annual flood insurance savings for residents
- Built two LEED-certified buildings
- Installed eight publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations
- Received a Gold designation through the Florida Green Building Coalition’s Green Local Government Standard, recognizing the County for outstanding environmental stewardship
- Attained a 3-star rating with Sustainability Tools for Assessing and Rating (STAR) Community Rating System
- Received Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Community Preparedness and Resiliency Award for the Flood Resiliency Tool
- Achieved an ENVISION rating of Bronze for infrastructure projects in the McKay Creek Watershed
- Joined the American Flood Coalition to help make the county more resilient to flooding through partnerships, new knowledge and access to the best available data and science
- Developed the Energy & Water Conservation Program to establish a framework for achieving County energy and water consumption reduction goals
