Summary
City staff asked the council to continue several land-development items while launching a four-step outreach strategy for Phase 2 of the land development code; council approved continuances and set the first stakeholder meeting for next Monday.
The Palm Bay City Council on a unanimous vote agreed to continue multiple land-development items and endorsed a new public engagement plan for Phase 2 of the city’s land development code update.
Assistant City Manager Jason De Lorenzo told the council that Phase 2 “isn't just about tweaking regulations. It's about…making sure our development standards reflect who we are as a community and where we wanna go.” He described a four-step outreach approach — listen, collaborate, draft-and-validate, then formal hearings — and said the first stakeholder meeting is scheduled next Monday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the City Hall first-floor conference room.
City staff requested that items 7, 8 and 9 tied to the land development code be continued to the January 15, 2026 regular council meeting; the council approved the continuance 5-0. Staff also said three public‑hearing cases related to “Lotus Palm Bay” were continued to the September 18 regular council meeting and the council moved those dates as requested.
De Lorenzo said the Phase 2 effort will prioritize transparency, inclusion, responsiveness and balance: “If someone raises a concern, we'll listen and respond with facts, data, and respect,” he said. He described one‑on‑one listening sessions with council members and stakeholder groups, followed by focus groups, town halls and a public redline of the code showing proposed changes.
Lisa Fraser, Growth Management Director, who will continue to work with De Lorenzo and consultants, reiterated that the formal adoption path will begin with Planning & Zoning recommendations and move back to council for public hearings and final action.
Why it matters: the land development code shapes how and where the city allows housing, commercial development, landscaping and lot design. Council members emphasized the importance of community buy‑in and staff said the expanded outreach is intended to reduce controversy during formal hearings.
Staff said the first listening session is intended to give council members and neighborhood groups an early chance to identify “pain points” in the code; De Lorenzo said the team will publish a redline showing each change and how comments were considered before returning to Planning & Zoning for a formal recommendation.
The council’s vote only set the public-engagement timeline and the continuances; no code text was changed at the meeting. The next milestone will be the stakeholder meeting next Monday and subsequent meetings run by the communications and growth‑management teams.
Provenance: Jason De Lorenzo introduced the outreach plan and requested the continuance (transcript excerpt: "Phase 2 isn't just about tweaking regulations. It's about..."), and the clerk recorded the continuance vote (transcript excerpt: "Passes 5 0").
