The Pasco County Commission has approved a landscaping grant program. Half a million dollars has been set aside to help businesses plant new trees and improve landscaping. The grants are available for commercially-zoned properties in designated areas of Pasco County where more than 25 percent of the households are low and moderate-income. The program covers tree removal and planting.
According to a memo from David Engel, the county’s economic growth manager, several business owners have delayed or canceled landscaping projects because they couldn’t afford to bring their project up to current code requirements.
Under the program, business owners can apply for up to $20,000 in grant money but will have to match at least 20 percent of their grant. Businesses must also provide the county with the landscaping plan, including the specific trees and plants to be included. Funds cannot be used for labor, dirt, mulch or irrigation systems, according to the program rules.
The program is funded by fees collected when developers cannot fully compensate for trees removed from a site with new landscaping. Additional funding sources are being considered.
For more information contact the Pasco Office of Economic Growth, at (727) 815-7092.
Photo by Xavier Coiffic
