City staff seeks to remove Parking Management Advisory Board from in‑lieu parking review; Planning board recommends approval to commission

The Planning and Zoning Board voted to recommend that the city commission approve a Land Development Regulation amendment to remove the Parking Management Advisory Board from reviewing in‑lieu parking fee requests. City staff told the board the change is intended to speed project reviews and follow direction from the commission. "PMAB was created in the 90s ... in July, the commission directed staff to prepare an amendment to eliminate the rule of PMAB," Rebecca Dawson, planning staff, told the board. Dawson said applicants were sometimes delayed for a month or more while waiting for a PMAB meeting and that the city has adopted clearer, objective measures for evaluating in‑lieu requests. Those objective standards, she said, make PMAB review less necessary. Board member Judy Malika moved to recommend approval to the city commission; Price Patton seconded. The motion passed (roll call) with one member voting no. Board members who spoke during the discussion noted that PMAB was useful in earlier years but that downtown conditions and internal review structures have changed. Dawson said valet agreement approvals and other downtown parking matters will go directly to the city commission or other existing bodies such as the Downtown Development Authority or Community Redevelopment Agency, depending on geography and subject matter. The Planning and Zoning Board's recommendation advances an ordinance change (city‑initiated) to remove PMAB's role for in‑lieu parking fee requests; final approval will be decided by the city commission. No public commenters spoke on the item at the board meeting.