Subject:
Title
Transmittal of the Evaluation and Appraisal Review (EAR) based amendments to the Comprehensive Plan (24LS00002) to the State land planning agency (Florida Commerce) for review under the State Coordinated Review process established by Section 163.3184(4), Florida Statutes.
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Fiscal Impact:
None
Dept/Office:
Planning and Development
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners review the EAR based amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and approve transmittal to the State land planning agency for review under the State Coordinated Review Process pursuant to Section 163.3184(4), Florida Statutes.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
Chapter 85-55, Laws of Florida, amended the Chapter 163, Part II, Florida Statutes, that required local governments to comply with the amended requirements. On September 8, 1988, the Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida approved Ordinance No. 88-27, adopting the 1988 Brevard County Comprehensive Plan, that has been amended from time to time.
Section 163.3191, Florida Statutes, requires each local government to evaluate its comprehensive plan every seven years to determine if plan amendments are necessary to reflect a minimum planning period of at least ten years or reflect changes in state requirements adopted since the last update. This process is known as the Evaluation and Appraisal Review (EAR). The state land planning agency (Florida Commerce) established December 1, 2023, as the deadline to complete the EAR.
Brevard County reviewed the requirements of Section 163.3191, Florida Statutes and determined that amendments to the comprehensive plan would be necessary to comply with the statutory requirements. The County notified Florida Commerce of its determination on November 28, 2023. The County now had one year to prepare and transmit the necessary amendments to Florida Commerce for review pursuant to the State Coordinated Review process (Section 3184(4), Florida Statutes). Florida Commerce has established December 1, 2024, as the due date for transmittal of the EAR based amendments.
Planning and Development, along with its consultant, Bonnie C. Landry and Associates, has prepared EAR based amendments for each of the fifteen elements in the Comprehensive Plan, with the exception of the Historic Preservation Element and the Property Rights Element, which did not require amendment. The amendments consist of proposed new goals, objectives, and policies and/or revisions to previously adopted goals, objectives, and policies for the following elements: Conservation; Surface Water Management; Recreation and Open Space; Housing; Potable Water; Sanitary Sewer; Solid Waste and Hazardous Materials; Transportation; Coastal Management; Future Land Use; Intergovernmental Coordination; Capital Improvements, Public School Facilities; and the Glossary. The amendments propose a new element (Part XVI) to the Comprehensive Plan establishing goals, objectives, and policies relating to the Brevard Barrier Island Area.
Planning and Development, along with its consultant, has coordinated the preparation of the proposed amendments with the affected departments.
Once the EAR based amendments have been received by Florida Commerce, they will issue an Objections, Recommendations, and Comments (ORC) Report within sixty days of determining that the transmittal package is complete. The County will then have 180 days to make changes to address the ORC Report and adopt the EAR based amendments.
On October 14, 2024, the Local Planning Agency (LPA) heard the request and unanimously recommended approval. It should be noted that the LPA recommendation included an “Exhibit 1” circulated by an LPA advisory board member at the meeting. This “Exhibit 1” was not reviewed by staff, was not included in the agenda packet, was not available to other advisory board members in advance of the meeting, and was not seen by the public. The inclusion of “Exhibit 1” would arguably strip existing conditional development rights from some affected properties in a manner not required by Section 380.0553, Florida Statutes, and could result in significant unfounded liability to the County. For these reasons, the requested action before the Board does not include the “Exhibit 1” document appended by the LPA.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Have the Vice Chair sign the transmittal letter to Florida Commerce.