Flood Risk to Resilience
Hold the Dates for June 11, 18, & 24th
Community Listening Sessions
The Tampa Bay region is a flood-vulnerable area, facing extreme risk from storm surge, sea-level rise, and heavy rainfall due to its low-lying geography, extensive coastline, shallow continental shelf, and dense development. Both coastal and inland flooding threatens the safety, property, and livelihoods of Tampa Bay’s communities.
The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council is developing the Tampa Bay Coastal Master Plan (TBCMP)—a comprehensive, four-year, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant-funded initiative in Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. It spans more than 2,200 square miles of coastal and inland communities, estuaries, rivers, wetlands, and barrier islands.
The Coastal Master Plan aims to strengthen regional flood resilience by addressing the impacts of sea-level rise, storm surge, extreme rainfall, and high-tide flooding through a coordinated, data-driven, and community-based process. The 2026 focus includes hosting public listening sessions to identify flood-vulnerable communities, prioritize restoration and flood-reduction projects, and guide long-term adaptation strategies with a strong emphasis on equity, innovation, and collaboration.
As partner/collaborators in this effort, Sierra Club Adventure Coast Group, Hernando Audubon and other community organizations will host three listening sessions as follows:
Thursday, June 11th 5pm—6:30 pm at the George Washington Carver Community Center, 95 Three Sisters Springs Trail, Crystal River. The facilitators will be Sierra Club’s Robin Orlandi and Maxine Connor in cooperation with Hernando Audubon and other community-based organizations. Refreshments will be available.
Thursday, June 18th 5pm-6:30pm at the Weeki Wachee Area Club, 7442 Shoal Line Boulevard, Hernando Beach. The facilitator will be Sierra Club’s Taylor Masnjak in cooperation with the Weeki Wachee Area Club and local long term recovery management efforts.
Wednesday, June 24th, 5pm-6:30pm at the Ridge Manor Community Center, 34240 Cortez Boulevard, Ridge Manor. The facilitator will be Lynn Gruber-White, President of the Ridge Manor Property Owners Association in cooperation with Joe Murphy of Sierra Club and Hernando Audubon along with other stakeholders. Refreshments will be available.
These efforts ensure that local governments, community organizations, residents, and technical experts all contribute to shaping the plan. This year, the Coastal Master Plan will develop a Regional Flood Risk Assessment that will provide a scientific and analytical foundation for all future project recommendations. By 2027, the focus will be to design, screen, and evaluate projects in priority areas based on community feedback. In 2028, the plan will be released.
What you can do now: Save the date and plan to attend a workshop in your area. Sierra Club Adventure Coast Group and Hernando Audubon participated in the recent Flood Listening Session Facilitation Training and will engage as non-profit stakeholders in the process for Citrus and Hernando Counties. Contact us at sierraclubadventurecoastcc@
Citrus County Considers AI Data Center
at expanded Holder Industrial Park
First of three Hearings June 18th
On March 5th, 2026, the Citrus County Planning and Development Commission (PDC) heard two applications from Deltona Corporation. One to amend the county’s Comprehensive Land Development Code (LDC) to add the uses of Information Processing, Data Center Utilities and Data Storage, and other changes. The second application was to expand the original, planned Holder Industrial Park by 813 acres, potentially to accommodate a Data Center. Deltona failed to identify a data center client. The PDC recommended continuance due to insufficient application details. See https://www.thecitrusinsider.
On May 12th, a motion for a year-long moratorium on the construction of data centers was introduced and approved by Citrus County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to allow the county time to add restrictive language to the LDC for data centers. Final BOCC vote is May 26th during the regular BOCC meeting. The BOCC discussed holding a public workshop and seeking additional input. During public comments, Robin Orlandi, Co-chair of the Sierra Adventure Coast Citrus Conservation Committee, offered to provide qualified information and recommendations from Sierra Club experts. The county’s current version of the amendment relies on the industry expertise of one individual; other expert peers and the public should be engaged in this critical process.
The BOCC has requested a Land Development Code amendment regarding data centers be considered at the July 18, 2026 meeting of the PDC and the BOCC August 25, 2026 meeting at 5pm.
Meanwhile, Deltona’s request for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment was continued on March 5th and is on the agenda for the June 18th, 2026 meeting of the PDC and the July 14th, 2026 meeting of the BOCC at 5pm. Deltona has also requested placement for a companion application (CPA-2025-00012) on the June 18th agenda that would expand the Planned Service Area to accommodate this application, however no new information has been submitted. These existing applications may be heard by PDC PRIOR to the county having a completed development code section governing data centers that would apply to this site.
It is safe to say that consideration of a Holder AI Data Center should be denied outright, given risks to the surrounding residents, water resources, and environment, or continued until the county has adopted restrictive language in the LDC specific to data centers. Please plan to join us at these hearings and speak out if you are concerned. Sierra Club is developing a position on AI Data Centers nationally that includes mitigation for potential impacts that will inform our comments and recommendations. More info at: https//www.citruscounty.gov/
Citrus Hearing on Proposed Asphalt Plant
Postponed to November 19th
A 22-acre Asphalt Plant on Citrus Ave /Co Rd 495 has been proposed in a rural area of Citrus that requires a zoning change to industrial. The site is near hundreds of residences just north of the Suncoast Parkway's final extension that will cross Citrus Avenue and terminate to the West at Hwy 19/98, around 5 miles south of the proposed Barge Canal /Port Citrus site.
Please plan to attend and speak out! The application PDC hearing has been postponed from April 2nd to April 16th at 9am at the Lecanto Government Building, 3600 W. Sovereign Path, Room #166 Lecanto, FL 34461. There are 1700 signatures on a petition to oppose this application already.
Learn more at Channel 10 Tampa Bay article: https://www.wtsp.com/article/
Curtiss Bryant's Citrus Insider blog summarizes the application here: https://www.thecitrusinsider.
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