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Planning staff proposes narrow town-center code updates for Coquina West after storm impacts
Summary
Staff briefed the Planning Board on a targeted review of town-center land-use and zoning standards — focused on the Coquina West blocks — to address redevelopment barriers and repair constraints exposed by recent storms.
City planning staff outlined a focused review of town-center zoning and comprehensive-plan provisions in response to storm impacts and to help property owners and businesses on the Coquina West blocks redevelop or repair damaged structures.
Brandon, a planning staff presenter, said the current land development code and special-area plan (adopted in 2011) promote block-level consolidation for mixed-use redevelopment and include bonuses tied to parcel assembly. He told the board that the Town Center 1 and Town Center 2 districts align with existing land uses, but some redevelopment barriers were revealed or exacerbated by the recent storms.
Staff identified several recurring constraints: a high density of legal nonconforming uses (residential, temporary lodging, storage, older drive-through/gas station configurations), strict rules that prevent rebuilding or elevating nonconforming structures without changing the use, buffer and setback requirements that can make small-parcel redevelopment infeasible, and parking and on-site drainage requirements added since mid-20th century development.
"With nonconforming uses, the city's current regulations are very strict. They don't allow for any kind of rebuilding. They don't even allow for elevation of nonconforming structures," Brandon said, adding that property owners who wish to elevate may be forced to change a property's use to a conforming one.
Staff recommended the board focus initial code amendments on the Coquina West (three-block) area rather than a citywide re-visioning. That work could require coordinated updates to the comprehensive plan, the land development code and the special-area plan, and would be presented through community meetings to capture owners' and residents' priorities.
Board members asked whether certain parcels — such as the library site and former church property — were rezoned according to existing uses or future visioning. Staff said some zoning traces to earlier districting choices and that property-owner-initiated rezoning remains an option, while city-initiated rezoning could be challenging in the near term if it would remove vested rights.
No formal amendments were adopted at the meeting. Staff said next steps would include targeted outreach to Coquina West owners and residents, drafting narrower code amendments to address parcel-level redevelopment constraints, and presenting proposed changes to the board and commission for review.
