Our Work
Providing support to the citizens and counties of our region and seeking ways
to improve the quality of life of the citizens of the Heartland.
Since 1974, the CFRPC has provided services to citizens and local governments of DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee, and Polk Counties to improve quality of life, including emergency preparedness, transportation, economic development programs and facilitating regional planning and convening.
Resiliency
The CFRPC provides resiliency planning to the Region's jurisdictions through technical assistance. Resiliency planning includes the following but not limited to: vulnerability assessments, staffing the Heartland Resiliency Coalition, developing the military installation resiliency review, and supporting the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape.
Regional and Local Planning
The CFRPC provides assistance to the Region's jurisdictions through Planning Advisory Services (PAS). PAS include the following, but not limited to: zoning changes, land use changes, development review, water supply planning, evaluation and appraisal reports, land development code and comprehensive plan creation and rewrites, community visioning, and parks planning.
Economic Development
The CFRPC serves as the Economic Development District (EDD) for the Central Florida Region. An EDD is a designated planning office that is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration to provide technical assistance for application processing, administration of awarded projects, and identification of regional funding opportunities. The CFRPC also developed and maintains the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy(CEDS) for the Region. The CEDS Plan highlights the Region’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges and provides a set of guiding principles for community leaders to set common economic development goals and priorities for action. The CFRPC is a partner in the Region's Broadband Initiative.
Transportation Planning and Transit
The CFRPC provides the staff services for the Heartland Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO). The HRTPO coordinates transportation plans for the Heartland region, including the six counties of DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee, and the urbanized area of Highlands County, including the cities of Sebring and Avon Park. The CFRPC also is the designated official planning agency for the Transportation Disadvantaged Program in Hardee, Highlands, and Okeechobee counties and operates at the local level to provide staff to the Local Coordinating Board, procures and recommends a Community Transportation Coordinator to the Commission, and coordinates and conducts transportation planning at the local level.
Emergency Preparedness
The CFRPC collaborates with first responders and emergency management personnel at the federal, state, county, and municipal governments, private sector and non-governmental organizations to ensure that communities are well-prepared and inter-agency workflows are streamlined during times of emergency events. Council staff assists first responders and emergency managers in the areas of, but not limited to:​ Emergency Operations Center Activations, Hazardous Materials Planning, Training and Exercises, Hazardous Waste Inspections, Regional Evacuation Study, Post Disaster Redevelopment Plans, Local Mitigation Strategy Plans, Comprehensive Emergency Management Plans, Business Disaster Resilience, and After-Action Reports for Real World Incidents. The CFRPC also serves as staff to the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
The CFRPC provides GIS assistance to the Region's local governments, community organizations, stakeholders to collect, analyze, and disseminate geospatial information for a wide range of applications to include the following but not limited to: Municipal and County Official Zoning and Land Use, Transportation, Sidewalk Inventory, Transportation Modeling, GIS Hosting and Interactive Web Mapping, GIS Training, Planning Analysis, Extreme Rainfall Modeling, Evacuation Modeling, Vulnerability and Risk Assessments.
Environmental Planning
The CFRPC also oversees the Heartland Brownfields Revitalization Partnership assisting local governments in cleaning up and generating economic development on abandoned or underused commercial and industrial sites.
Regional Convening
The CFRPC's long-term vision for the region can be found within the Heartland 2060 Plan. Through a collaborative and creative process, the CFRPC has developed a regional blueprint to guide growth and development over the next 40 years. The CFRPC through various projects brings the region together to discuss specific topics as needed.