Subject:
Title
Adoption of Amendments to Chapter 62, Article II, Division 3, “Planning and Zoning Board,” Brevard County Code of Ordinances, Specifically Amending Section 62-182, “Membership; Appointment and Term of Members,” Section 62-184, “Officers; Rules of Procedure; Quorum,” and Section 62-185, “Records; Regular and Special Meetings,” and Repealing and Reserving Section 62-183, “Alternate Members.”
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Fiscal Impact:
None
Dept/Office:
Planning and Development
Requested Action:
Recommendation
Board approval and adoption of amendments to Chapter 62, Article II, Division 3, “Planning and Zoning Board,” Brevard County Code of Ordinances. Specifically, it is proposed to amend Section 62-182, “Membership; Appointment and Term of Members” to increase the number of regular Planning and Zoning Board members to fifteen (15), modify the voting privileges of specified members, and to modify certain terms of appointment; perform cleanup and clarification within Sections 62-184, “Officers; Rules of Procedure; Quorum,” and 62-185, “Records; Regular and Special Meetings;” repealing and reserving Section 62-183, “Alternate Members.”
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Summary Explanation and Background:
Currently, under Sections 62-182 and 62-183, Brevard County Code of Ordinances, the makeup of the Planning and Zoning Board (and by extension the Local Planning Agency), consists of two regular members appointed by each District Commissioner, a voting member from the Brevard County School District, a non-voting member from Patrick Space Force Base, as well as an alternate member from each county commission district. The alternate members shall be entitled to vote in the following circumstances:
(1) The regular member appointed to the same county commission district as the alternate is not in attendance.
(2) The vote of an alternate member does not make the total vote on any matter exceed ten votes, regardless of the fact that both regular members appointed to the same county commission district as the alternate are in attendance. The chairman, or in his absence the vice-chairman, shall designate which alternate member or members may vote if such designation is necessary to maintain a maximum of ten votes on any one item.
For a variety of reasons, this membership structure has proven to be difficult to implement in practice, particularly as it relates to alternate members. For instance, whether an alternate can or cannot vote sometimes changes depending on conflicts of other members. Additionally, this structure can lead to alternate members choosing not to attend meetings when they may have been able to vote on certain items during a meeting, because it is difficult to forecast the makeup of the board at any given meeting in advance, let alone any given agenda item. This leads to reduced input on items coming before the Board of County Commissioners, and a heightened risk of a lack of a quorum.
Therefore, it is proposed that Brevard County Ordinances be amended to allow for three full members to be appointed by each district commissioner (rather than two) and remove the alternate members entirely. The quorum requirement would remain the same as it stands currently (six). In essence, there would remain the same number of total members (15 Board-appointed members + two additional members), but all Board-appointed members would be permitted to vote at all times.
Additionally, it is current practice to allow members who have completed their term to remain on the Board until a reappointment or new appointment has been made. However, the Code currently only explicitly states this is the case for those members whose term has expired due to the expiration of the appointing commissioner’s term. It is proposed to modify Section 62-182 to specify that “upon expiration of a term, a member may continue to serve until he or she is reappointed or until a new appointment is made.”
On September 17th, 2024, the Board issued legislative intent and permission to advertise these amendments. As part of its motion, it further directed staff to “make the necessary changes to align the voting membership of the [planning and zoning] board with the minimum requirements found in Florida Statute Section 163.3174 and relevant interlocal agreements.” Staff has identified one difference between the current voting membership and the minimum requirements found in Florida Statute and interlocal agreements. Under Sec. 163.3174, Fla. Stat., the “county shall include a representative of the school district appointed by the school board as a nonvoting member of the local planning agency or equivalent agency to attend those meetings at which the agency considers comprehensive plan amendments and rezonings that would, if approved, increase residential density on the property that is the subject of the application.” Currently, Brevard County Code does not designate the School Board-appointed member as a non-voting member. Similarly, the relevant interlocal agreement with Brevard County Schools states that the County “will include a nonvoting representative appointed by the School Board on the local planning agencies, or equivalent agencies, to attend those meetings at which the agendas consider comprehensive plan amendments and rezonings that would, if approved, increase residential density on the property that is the subject of the application. The . . . County may at their discretion grant voting status to the appointed School Board member.” As such, staff has included language in the proposed ordinance stating that the School Board representative “shall serve as a non-voting member.”
Finally, it is proposed to perform non-substantive cleanup and clarifications to the various Sections of Chapter 62, Article II, Division 3, “Planning and Zoning Board.”
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Once ordinance is filed with the State, please return two copies to Planning & Development.