The Palm Beach County Planning Commission approved staff-recommended text amendments to the county's Recreation and Open Space element (ROWS) of the comprehensive plan to align the element with the Parks and Recreation Department's recently adopted parks master plan and to update several policies and maps. The planning commission approved the changes based on staff recommendations; the motion passed unanimously.

The ROWS element, first adopted in 1989 and revised 11 times, had not been updated since 2012. County staff told the commission the changes are largely editorial and policy clarifications intended to reflect the new county parks master plan adopted earlier in the year and to set planning horizons and level-of-service standards through 2045. Planning staff said the amendments revise park-type definitions, update the map series, formalize green-infrastructure goals, and add policies to support long-term maintenance and additional funding avenues such as a newly formed Parks Foundation.

Bob Hamilton, director of park development for the Parks and Recreation Department, told commissioners the ROWS updates are intended to align the element with the department's master plan and current conditions; staff also noted the element is voluntary under state law but is a primary tool for establishing park goals and service standards. Staff proposed new planning horizons of 2025, 2035 and 2045 and clarified that neighborhood parks generally are under 1 acre and community parks generally range from about 2 to 10 acres, while distinguishing county-managed facilities from privately provided neighborhood or community amenities. Staff also recommended a policy to seek additional funding sources and to institute a recurring master-plan update cycle.

Commissioners asked about the level of historical detail in the element, why certain municipally operated parks were removed from the county-managed map series and whether advisory committees should be listed. Edgar asked about lease terms for county-owned properties managed by cities; staff said the county retains ownership on some properties but leases operations to municipal parks departments and that the leases include terms that limit nonresident fees (with a limited 20% surcharge allowed at one property as an exception) and require county approval for improvements.

The commission also heard a description of the recently formed Parks Foundation of Palm Beach County. Jennifer Sorel, representing the foundation, described its board membership and early fundraising. Sorel said, "They actually have the Gorski Family Foundation, which is pledged to match the first $350,000 they raise." She told the commission the foundation raised its $50,000 first-year goal in under a year and has funded projects including about $23,000 for beach-access mats and is considering funding AEDs and other accessibility and safety measures at parks.

Staff said the ROWS changes will also inform a later update to the Unified Land Development Code and that the county is required by Florida statutes to undertake an evaluation and appraisal report of the comprehensive plan at seven-year intervals; that requirement provides an additional review cadence for elements such as ROWS.

The commission approved the text amendment based on staff's recommendation. Staff said the element will be revisited periodically for minor updates such as park-name changes and map corrections and that the department anticipates preparing its next master plan on a roughly 10-year cycle.

Details clarified during the discussion include that the ROWS element is advisory and not mandated by state law; the proposed planning horizons (2025, 2035, 2045); the distinction between county-managed parks and municipally managed parks on the map series; and specific lease terms that maintain public access and limit increased nonresident fees in most cases. Staff noted updates to the map series will remove a small number of county-owned but municipally managed properties from the county-managed inventory, while the county's leases keep those properties open to county residents.