LPA approves mandatory rezoning of nearly 1,913-acre Palm City tract to AR-5A

The Local Planning Agency on Aug. 7 approved a mandatory rezoning for 38 parcels totaling approximately 1,913.23 acres in Palm City, changing zoning from A-1 (small farms) and A-2 (agricultural) category C districts to AR-5A (agricultural ranchet).

Brian Elam, principal planner in the Growth Management Department, told the agency the A-2 zoning is inconsistent with the property's agricultural-ranchet future land-use designation and therefore the rezoning is mandatory. "The property's future land use is agricultural ranchet. The A-2 zoning district is inconsistent with the underlying future land use map ... Therefore, this request to rezone is considered mandatory," Elam said during the staff presentation.

The application, filed by 456 South Ocean LLC and presented by attorneys and consultants with Gunster and Hart Howerton, requested AR-5A because it aligns the zoning code with the comprehensive plan policies and current development patterns. Taylor Pankonian, a planner with Hart Howerton, described the site as adjacent to Interstate 95 and the Florida Turnpike and bordered to the southeast by the St. Lucie River. She said AR-5A provides an appropriate transition from higher-density properties along the Turnpike to more rural lands to the west.

Elam and the applicant noted two standard category A zoning options that implement the agricultural-ranchet future land use: AR-5A (one unit per five acres) and AR-10A (one unit per 10 acres). The AR-5A designation requires a five-acre minimum lot area, while AR-10A requires 10 acres; the PUD (planned unit development) option was also presented as a possible alternative offering design flexibility but requiring additional county benefits and controls. Staff reported that the application complies with applicable regulations and recommended approval of the AR-5A rezoning.

Gunster attorney Bob Raines also announced the applicant had submitted proof of mailed notices to surrounding property owners and told the board the proposed change better reflects the property's historic zoning context dating to 1967. Raines asked the board to accept staff's recommendation.

Elam pointed out a separate scrivener's-error correction would come forward as a consent agenda item to fix portions of the future land-use map and zoning map that omitted some abandoned rights-of-way during earlier map production.

After the presentations, an LPA member moved to approve the rezoning; the motion was seconded and the LPA approved the mandatory rezoning unanimously. No substantive public opposition or contested testimony is recorded in the transcript for this item.

The AR-5A rezoning updates the official zoning map for the affected parcels; any future development proposals on those parcels will continue to require the standard site-plan and public-facilities review and any additional permits required by county regulations.