Flagler County planners seek board direction on comp plan updates; Senate Bill 180 could limit later changes

Flagler County planners briefed commissioners at a June 2 workshop on a draft comprehensive plan update and asked for direction before transmitting the plan to state review. Staff emphasized that an awaiting state bill could limit what changes the county can adopt.

Simone Kenny, the county planner leading the update, told the Board of County Commissioners the draft revises multiple elements and attempts to show how housing, future land use, transportation and capital improvements interlock. "Your housing options are very much dependent on your diversity of future land uses," Kenny said as she described proposed changes linking land use, transportation corridors and the capital-improvements program.

Key draft proposals and board feedback included:

- Future land use: Staff proposed keeping a per-lot maximum impervious limit near 70% for commercial parcels but allowing up to 80% where a developer submits a master stormwater plan. Kenny said the board asked staff to clarify the definition and implementation trigger for a "master stormwater plan." Commissioners also discussed mixed-use low density (now shown with a maximum of up to 7 residential units per gross acre) and asked staff to clarify how that density would apply in sensitive areas such as the Hammock.

- Coastal and conservation elements: Staff proposed clarifying a policy that had required parcels between designated scenic roads and wetlands/open water be zoned to the "lowest intensity" allowed by their future land-use category. Kenny and commissioners discussed ambiguity in the old wording and suggested a clearer formulation: parcels east of State Road A1A to the Atlantic Ocean should be limited to the lowest intensity or density for their future land-use categories. That change aims to reflect historical intent focused on barrier-island parcels and view-shed protection.

- Recreation and beach access: The draft raises the county's stated beach-access goal from one access point per mile to one every half-mile for future development and redevelopment, which drew questions about implementation on long undeveloped parcels.

- Process and timing: County Attorney Sarah (last name not stated) warned the board about Senate Bill 180, which had passed the Florida Legislature and was awaiting the governor's signature or veto. "It provides that you cannot adopt any amendments to the comprehensive plan or the land development code that is more burdensome," she said, reading language from the bill and explaining staff would need to evaluate each proposed change for "more burdensome" impacts before adoption if the bill becomes law. Kenny and staff said they still plan to transmit the draft to state reviewers but that the bill could affect the county's adoption timeline and the scope of changes that can take effect.

Public commenters at the workshop raised questions tied to the draft language. Jody Bollinger, a Hammock resident, urged a finer-grain approach for the Hammock area and asked how mixed-use density (7 units per acre) would affect large parcels in the Hammock; Bollinger said some parcels would not meet the description of lots that extend from A1A to the ocean, so she urged policy language that works for parcels west of A1A and along the Intracoastal.

Richard Hamilton, another commenter, asked staff to produce clearer, parcel-level guidance because the draft's current wording covers many different parcel types between A1A and the ocean and may not reflect the variety on the ground.

Next steps staff described: planners will prepare a transmittal hearing for the county's comprehensive-plan update and transmit the draft to state reviewing agencies, but they will also analyze how Senate Bill 180 would affect adoption and prepare language and an implementation roadmap (including revisions to the land-development code) to follow the plan update. Kenny said some map corrections and parcel-specific changes will follow adoption; staff also flagged the county's interest in incorporating regional compound-flooding and sea-level-rise data when available.