 Maricela Medrano, a native from Aguascalientes, México, was hired as Ombudsman for the Hillsborough County Planning and Growth Management Department in April 2003.
She holds a Bachelors Degree in Urban Planning from the “Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, México”, and a Masters Degree of Public Administration and graduate certificate in Transportation Studies from the University of South Florida.
Maricela has more than 13 years experience as an Urban Planner in the United States. Prior to her current position, she was an Urban Planner for the City of Tampa for almost six years. In her role with the City, she carried out management and planning functions in connection with Ybor City, a National Historic Landmark District.
During her seven years as the PGM Ombudsman, more than a thousand citizens have visited Maricela’s office, with more than 700 land use applications for citizens and small businesses completed and approved. The applications include variances, rezonings, special uses, subdivisions, conditional uses, determinations of non-conformity, administrative waivers, and vacating petitions and appeals (records available upon request). Hundreds of code enforcement cases and citizens’ complaints have also been resolved, and thousands of information requests from citizens have been addressed.
Providing assistance to citizens and citizen groups that have difficulty understanding the land use and permitting process is a main function of Maricela’s job. These citizens are not able to hire an attorney or planning consultant to represent them or provide assistance in completing their applications. A significant percentage of these include low income, elderly, and minority citizens and those with language barriers.
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