Planning Commission recommends City Council approve Seagrass Phase 2 final plat (SRC012025)

The Planning Commission on July 28, 2025, voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve final plat SRC012025, the Phase 2 final plat for the Seagrass development, at a meeting in the Community Room, 120 Lashley Court.

Zoning official Rachel Berry said the property is west of Indian Springs Cemetery Road, south of Jones Loop Road and northeast of Tamiami Trail, and that the site is zoned Planned Development Village. Berry said the subdivision regulations relevant to the application are located in Chapter 20A of the city code and that the approval process for subdivisions follows a four‑step sequence beginning with a pre‑application meeting.

Berry told the commission the pre‑application meeting occurred in January 2022, the preliminary plat for the entire subdivision (phases 1 and 2) was approved in September 2022, construction plans were approved at that time, and the final plat for Phase 1 was recorded in June 2024. She said Phase 2 divides five tracts into the remaining 117 lots already approved by the planned development zoning change and that construction is basically complete on site.

As required by the subdivision regulations, Berry said the applicant provided a surety bond equal to 110% of the engineer’s opinion of probable cost for construction of roads, utilities and other required improvements; staff recorded that bond at $2,350,000. Todd Reebel of Atwell Port Charlotte, the applicant’s agent, confirmed the submittal and said the final plat is primarily a recordation of lots and infrastructure already constructed.

Following a sworn quasi‑judicial hearing procedure, the public hearing was opened and closed with no public speakers recorded on the transcript. A commissioner moved to find the request consistent with the city of Punta Gorda’s comprehensive plan and to recommend City Council approval; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The chair read the standard appeal notice that a party seeking to appeal must ensure a verbatim record of the proceedings.

The commission’s vote was recorded as an affirmative voice vote; no individual roll‑call votes were recorded in the transcript. Staff noted the final plat and surety are on the record and that the City Council is the next decision‑making body for formal plat approval and recordation.

The applicant and staff were present to answer questions; no substantive changes to the plat or conditions were requested at the meeting.

Procedural note: the commission opened the session with a reminder that quasi‑judicial decisions must be based solely on evidence presented at the hearing and must rest on competent, substantial evidence and the applicable approval criteria.