Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Comp Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Maitland council votes to transmit comprehensive plan updates that would remove acreage‑based density and eliminate DICE program
Summary
The City of Maitland voted on June 12 to transmit comprehensive development plan amendments to Florida Commerce that would eliminate acreage‑based downtown density tiers and the DICE incentive program and update mobility standards to FDOT’s level‑of‑traffic‑stress metrics.
The City of Maitland voted on June 12 to transmit a set of comprehensive development plan (CDP) amendments to Florida Commerce for state review, moving the proposals into the statutorily required interagency comment process.
City staff described the amendments as a required seven‑year update to align the city’s CDP with state statutory and administrative changes. Mark, a city staff presenter, said the review identified 74 changes in state law since the last plan adoption and that city staff and the consultant filtered those to the items relevant to Maitland.
The proposal before council would remove the city’s longstanding system that assigned maximum residential densities by contiguous parcel size in the Main Street District, eliminate the DICE (development incentives for community enhancements) program that allowed developers to “buy back” density through community improvements, and set a uniform by‑right maximum density in the downtown core. Staff said the parcel‑size rules and DICE had helped create a “buyer’s market” that discouraged redevelopment because developers struggled to assemble three‑acre parcels required for the highest density tiers.
Mark: “The comprehensive development plan sort of acts as the constitution, the land use constitution of the city… Every local government is required at least once every 7 years to evaluate their comprehensive development plan.”
Council discussion centered on the proposed numeric limits and how they would interact with Florida’s Live Local Act, which provides tax incentives and a streamlined staff‑only review for qualifying affordable housing projects. Staff told the council the Live Local Act exemptions had produced measurable fiscal impacts on the city’s budget, citing two recent projects that together reduced ad valorem revenue by about $1 million in the previous budget year, which affected capital project timing.
Council members debated whether to set the same high maximum density that currently exists under the code (67 units per acre for larger, assembled parcels) or to adopt a lower by‑right intensity — a topic some members asked for more time and visual examples to evaluate. Staff noted a pragmatic option: transmit a higher ceiling to the state and retain the ability to reduce the maximum later before final adoption, since raising the maximum after transmission would be more legally constrained.
Councilmember Shady, Councilmember French and Mayor Warren voted to transmit the amendments to Florida Commerce for agency review; the motion to transmit passed on the recorded roll call. Staff said the state review typically takes a couple of months and that any state comments and recommended language changes would return to council for final action.
The amendments also include mobility‑element updates required by FDOT’s move toward level‑of‑traffic‑stress (LTS) metrics for bicyclists and pedestrians; staff explained the new standards will change how the city evaluates the comfort and perceived safety of nonmotorized users and will be used during development and redevelopment reviews.
No final adoption occurred at the meeting. The transmittal starts the state review and does not bind the council to final language; staff said council could adjust numeric limits before final adoption if it chooses.
