City planning staff told the Fort Lauderdale Planning and Zoning Board on Wednesday that two zoning-related ordinances will move to the City Commission for consideration: an administrative variance process for de minimis variances and a change to the board’s voting threshold.

Dwayne (staff) told the board that the first ordinance would allow the zoning administrator to approve minor, administrative variances where there is no public opposition; any application that draws opposition would be forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Board for a public hearing. The aim, staff said, is to provide an expedited, administrative path for very small deviations while preserving board review when neighbors object.

The second ordinance, Dwayne said, would amend the board’s approval requirement from the current “majority plus one” rule to a simple majority if the commission approves the change. In conjunction with the administrative variance process, staff said the city would establish an appeal path to the city commission for applicants denied administratively, rather than sending an initial appeal directly to circuit court.

Board members asked for the proposed ordinance language and for staff to provide hearing dates; staff said the items will appear before the City Commission in October and that planning staff would circulate the draft ordinance text. Staff emphasized that administrative approval would not create a quasi-judicial review at the staff level: administrative approval would be available only where no opposition had been registered.

The board did not take a vote on these proposals at the meeting; staff asked board members to expect the items on the commission agenda and to provide any comments during the public process.

Planning staff said they will provide the board with proposed ordinance language and meeting dates; the commission’s consideration will establish whether the administrative pathway and voting-threshold changes become part of the city’s land-development rules.