Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission amends policy and rezones corridor parcels to allow commerce uses on Congress Avenue
Summary
Following a staff study, the commission adopted a comprehensive plan text amendment and a related zoning change to allow the "commerce" land use designation to be used south of Atlantic Avenue and approved a privately initiated land use and rezoning request for 975 S. Congress Avenue to accommodate light industrial/commercial uses.
The Delray Beach City Commission on June 3 adopted a city-initiated comprehensive plan text amendment and a companion zoning text change to increase flexibility for commerce and mixed industrial-commercial uses along Congress Avenue, and it approved a privately initiated land-use map amendment and rezoning for 975 South Congress Avenue.
Staff explained the changes follow the City's Congress Avenue strategic study and market analysis, which found a cluster of legacy light-industrial, home-improvement and trade-related businesses that no longer fit the mixed residential-office-commercial (MROC) zoning adopted in 2007. The change removes a policy restriction that had limited where the city could apply the commerce land-use designation and thereby allows commerce to be considered in the corridor where physical buildings and long-standing uses are already industrial in form.
The privately initiated request (975 S. Congress Avenue) proposed reclassification from Congress mixed use to commerce on the comprehensive plan map and rezoning from MROC to MIC (Mixed Industrial Commercial), matching the built condition and long-term use of the site. The applicant argued the existing zoning made it difficult to keep or attract viable tenants and cited a CBRE/street-sense market study documenting the mismatch.
Staff said the shift reduces theoretical vehicle trips for maximum build-out compared with the existing designation because commerce/MIC allows lower residential density than the current MROC designation. Planning & Zoning recommended approval 6-0, and staff circulated the plan amendment to state review (Department of Economic Opportunity) which issued a letter of no objection. The commission adopted the city-initiated text amendments and approved the private map amendment and rezoning by roll call votes.
Ending
The approvals align the plan and zoning with the corridor's existing built form and allow owners and tenants to continue trade-oriented activities with clearer zoning authorization. Any redevelopment will continue to be subject to standard site-plan and development standards and required public review.
