Resident asks council to review Palo Garden project for comprehensive‑plan compliance

A resident urged Titusville City Council during the petitions portion of Tuesday’s meeting to take up review of the Palo Garden development and determine whether the project complies with the city’s comprehensive plan.

Dr. Kathleen O’Rourke told the council that city staff approved elements of the project but that the application has not had an explicit council ruling on comprehensive‑plan compliance. She said an administrative appeals board declined to act on citizens’ appeals, and that the council, not staff or the appeals body, must determine whether the proposal complies with the comprehensive plan.

“The comprehensive plan’s the ultimate authority. It does not allow multifamily projects to be accessed on a local road,” Dr. O’Rourke said at the lectern, adding that the project’s proposed access is from a local street and therefore, in her view, violates the plan. She asked the council to add the item to the agenda for the next meeting and make the required vote.

Council members did not take formal action on the request at the time; the public comment was recorded and entered into the meeting record. Members of the public and the speaker asserted procedural and legal concerns about who has authority to interpret comprehensive‑plan compliance — staff, an administrative board, or the council itself. The council did not schedule a vote on the matter during the meeting; staff and councilors would need to follow the city’s agenda‑setting rules to place the item on a future meeting agenda.