Planning Department

Long Range Planning Division

The Long Range Planning Division's mission is to provide direction to the City that maintains and improves the City's position in the metropolitan marketplace.

The Long Range Planning Division creates and administers the City's long-range planning programs that establish the City's goals for the future and ensures consistency among these long-range goals, City policies, and financial decisions. This Division is responsible for all City long-range planning programs: comprehensive planning, rezonings and land use plan amendments, transportation planning, annexation, historic preservation, special area plans/projects and general research. Associated applications are available through forms and applications. The mission of the Long Planning Division is to provide direction to the City that maintains and improves the City's position in the marketplace.

The Division devotes time to coordinating programs with other City departments and participating in policy development with other agencies such as the Pinellas Planning Council, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and the Florida Legislature. The Planners assigned to special projects must also work with interested parties on these projects including citizens, City boards, neighborhood groups and/or special interest groups. Approximately 60 percent of the division’s work is devoted to special projects.

Three comprehensive area plans that the Division developed include: Beach by Design, a comprehensive blueprint with recommendations for the future development of Clearwater Beach; the Downtown Plan, which contains planning guidelines for downtown Clearwater; and the Comprehensive Plan which serves as the policy basis for decision making on land use, transportation, housing, utilities, coastal management, conservation, recreation and open space, intergovernmental coordination, and capital improvements. The Comprehensive Plan is required by the State of Florida for policy and financial decisions made by the City Council.

The Division also prepared two neighborhood area plans as part of the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District which is intended to provide a means of ensuring that infill and redevelopment activities in existing, stable, residential neighborhoods (or those requiring special consideration) are consistent with the protection of the existing character of the neighborhood. The Coachman Ridge Neighborhood Plan and Island Estates Neighborhood Plan were adopted September 17, 2001 and August 22, 2002, respectively.

More Long Range Planning Information

• Frequently Asked Questions
• 2008 Schedule - Application Review Schedule (PDF)
• Annexation: Review Annexation of Properties or call (727) 562-4626, (727) 562-4836 or (727) 562-4553
• Clearwater Beach Planning: Review Beach by Design
• Comprehensive Plan: Review the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan or call (727) 562-4626
• Downtown Planning: Review the Downtown Plan or call (727) 562-4587
• General Information: Call (727) 562-4579
• Historic properties: Call (727) 562-4836
• Neighborhood plans: Call (727) 562-4587
• Population and demographics: Call (727) 652-4626
• Purchasing Planning Department documents: Review Plans and Documents or to purchase, call (727) 562-4579
• Re-zoning and land use plan amendments: Call (727) 562-4626, (727) 562-4553 or (727) 562-4836
• Transportation Planning: Call (727) 652-4626