NORTH PORT – Just 65 years ago, North Port was called home by 21 individuals. Today, it is the second fastest-growing city in the United States.
North Port is one of the largest cities in Florida with a land area of 104.1 square miles. This has facilitated its speedy growth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, North Port’s population in July 2023 was 88,934. That is an 18.9% increase from April 2020 and a 55% increase from 2010.
But many have developed strong opinions regarding this exponential growth.
“I just hope that we get a handle on the growth and find a balance,” former City Commissioner Debbie McDowell said.
McDowell has been a North Port resident for 36 years. She said she saw North Port go from cow pastures and one lane roads to a booming city.
“There was nothing here when I got to the area in 1989. I think there were only two or three stoplights in town,” McDowell said. “Then when big corporations decided to call North Port home is when I kind of went, wow, we’re on the map now and they see us.”
Centrally located between Tampa and Fort Myers, for years North Port has boasted affordability, a strong sense of community and a great quality of life for all ages.
“When we moved there was one elementary school, so we knew that the city was going to grow,” McDowell said. “I liked that it was quiet, and I knew that it was going to be safe for raising a family.”
For longtime residents, it seemed like their city grew overnight. The same is the case for newer residents.
“When I first purchased my house in 2023, almost every house in the neighborhood had an empty lot on at least one side. Two years later, nearly every one of those lots has been purchased and had a house rapidly built and sold,” North Port resident Michael Brown said.
Brown was set to buy a home in either Sarasota or North Port. He ultimately chose North Port due to its affordability.
The average home value in Sarasota is approximately $437,000, while North Port’s is $328,353, according to Zillow.com. Even with a growing demand, North Port’s average home value is still cheaper than the average home in Florida by more than $50,000.
Growth is at the forefront of city leadership. One of the seven pillars of their 2022-2025 Strategic Vision Plan is “Economic Development & Growth Management.”
“We can’t stop the growth. The population keeps coming,” Mayor Phil Stokes said. “There has to be a balancing act, and that’s how you can create this kind of sustained growth. You can’t compromise public safety for infrastructure. You can’t promote quality of life and wreck areas at the expense of infrastructure or public safety.”
North Port is home to several parks, reserves and recreation areas that are loved by its residents.
“To have to experience this kind of growth is not an easy thing for existing citizens. The challenge is to do it in a way that retains the character of the city,” Stokes said.
Stokes said that 30% of North Port’s land area in the city is still either open space or conservational land, making it a place with a wonderful suburban feel.
But growth is far from easy and possesses many challenges. One of the biggest complaints among residents: traffic. More people equal more vehicles on the road.
“Most of the roads around the city are small two-lane roads, which contribute to a massive amount of backed up traffic along a lot of major roadways,” Brown said.
“Traffic is horrendous. When I-75 shuts down, then U.S. 41 backs up and then Price Boulevard backs up,” McDowell said. “It’s just a hot mess.”
The city has plans to widen the roads, but that doesn’t come so easily in North Port.
North Port is the only city in Florida that does not have the ability to borrow any money without voter approval. That is the way it has operated since North Port was incorporated in 1959. In order to go through with projects such as widening the roads, the city must save up all of the money needed to fully fund a project if they are not granted the approval to borrow.
The widening of Price Boulevard, for example, one of the thoroughfare roads in North Port, was originally proposed more than a decade ago and would have cost less than $3 million. But because the city did not have the money saved, nor the approval to borrow the money, they were not able to go through with the project. It wasn’t until November 2022 that voters approved up to
$80 million in bonds.
Price Boulevard will widen from two lanes to four lanes between Toledo Blade and Sumter boulevards. However, major roadwork is set to start early this year and is not estimated to be completed until fall 2027.
“It really is a macro approach that involves addressing all the different needs and priorities, and marshaling your dollars efficiently all the time,” Stokes said. “It’s not a controlled growth; it’s a managed growth, and it’s not always so easy.”
An important consideration, though, is that the growth of a city may increase the risk of flooding. According to FloodSmart.gov, new developments, more concrete and limited or outdated
drainage systems are flood risks within cities. North Port is also already highly susceptible to flooding because it is situated within a watershed that receives water from the north/northeast.
“Most of the roads around my home struggle to handle even small amounts of rainfall. I have days in the summer and fall where I literally cannot leave my neighborhood because there is a small lake at the entrance and the drainage system is not up to par,” Brown said. “Even my wife had her car totaled last summer because she was caught in deep standing water on a roadway.”
The Department of Public Works has implemented a 10-Year Stormwater Management Plan for the fiscal years 2020-2030. Because the original infrastructure components were constructed in the late 1960s, the Water Control Structures (WCS) need to be maintained. The most recent WCS replacement took place last month. It was the 13th structure replaced out of 64.
“I believe North Port will one day rival the likes of Sarasota. [North Port] is taking the right steps, but I just believe it will take time before those benefits catch up with the growth of the community,” Brown said.
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