Development Code chaos? An opinion

By Faith Ross
June 22, 2018 12:40 p.m.

Recently I was asked, “When will the City start purchasing “Open Space” or “Conservation” land?” And “when was the City Commission going to stop approving all these developments? And why were the Commissioners allowing all the trees to be cut down?” After all, I am a City Commissioner’s wife. I should know these things, right?

To answer these questions, some explanation is likely necessary for what is presently happening with development decisions made in the City. Although most of the public believes that the City Commissioners can order things to just “happen” in development, this is only somewhat true. Unfortunately, in this case, it’s all about the legal process.

When a request for a zoning change, or change in density request is made, the Commissioners generally follow the Planning staff’s recommendation. There is a reason to do this. Zoning and density changes require a “Quasi-Judicial” (legal) hearing. “Findings of Fact” must be entered into the record at the hearing to support a Commission’s decision. To add “Findings of Fact” to the record for the City, the Planning staff’s report is entered to defend against a legal challenge. Unless a member of the public or Commissioners provide “opposing facts” to the Findings of Fact in the report, a judge will rule in favor of the applicant (developer) when the staff report supports approval. Under state law, the Commission must state legal reasons for denials (such as not being in compliance with the City’s Comprehensive Plan) to prevail in court.

So the question must be asked, how does the City Commission get the Planning staff to write a report reflecting “facts” which support denial? Since the City’s Charter does not allow the Commission to direct staff, the Commissioners and Planning Board must provide a Land Development Code (LDC) that definitively conserves land and open spaces. The staff must follow code.

Also, to illustrate the woeful deficiencies in our Land Development Code, did you know that in the City’s Land Development Code (LDC) the term “Open Space” is not even defined or even listed in its definitions? In a recent zoning change, a planned unit development (PUD) used the word “civic space” in its documents. The City has no definition in its LDC for “civic space”. Even the State of Florida mandates that Community Development (Planning) Departments provide planning that “Preserves open space and natural lands and provides for public open space and recreation needs.” (FS 163.3177 9b(VI)) And if anyone should take the time to read the City’s Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan, it becomes apparent that enhancing and preserving the natural environment is selectively not represented in the LDC. The City’s Comprehensive Plan offers conservation, but the Land Development Code that implements it does not. As a result, the Planning staff usually recommends approval of density increases or zoning changes with little to no regard for open space or land conservation.

For the Commissioners who wish to honor the needs of the respondents who answered a recent City survey, they may want to initiate code changes that acknowledge a need to provide open space and land conservation. When the survey asked what the focus of the community should be in the next two years, a whopping 90% of the respondents said that the “quality of overall natural environment” was “Essential” or “Very Important”. And when asked how important it was for the City to do strategic planning for specific items, a resounding 82% stated that “Environmental Conservation” was “Essential” or “Very Important” for their overall quality of life. (This may also explain to puzzled Commissioners and staff alike why people get so upset when the trees come down.)

So to answer the not-so-simple questions above, the City Commissioners will need to provide a staff and code that complies with a wish for a real “Community Development” Department, one which preserves our natural environment and requires environmental conservation, not one that just plans where to put the buildings. Citizens may wish to remind their Commissioners and Planning Board members with calls, Emails or Facebook messages. To see changes, it is necessary to write code that does not leave a Planning staff in charge of “interpreting” our Comprehensive Plan. The City needs a responsive Land Development Code that reflects the needs of its citizenry.

Editor’s Note: Faith Ross is a community activist and is married to Commissioner Chip Ross.