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Council adopts mixed-use zoning ordinance, requires drive‑throughs as conditional use
Summary
The Sebastian City Council approved Ordinance O-25-08 on second reading to add a mixed‑use zoning district to the land development code, with a late change to treat restaurants with drive‑through facilities as a conditional use.
The Sebastian City Council on May 28 adopted Ordinance O-25-08, creating a new mixed‑use zoning district in the city’s land development code and amending associated standards. Council approved the ordinance on its second and final reading after amending the text so restaurants with drive‑through facilities would be allowed only as a conditional use.
City planning staff said the zoning text in the packet (shown on pages 54–55 of the agenda) originally listed restaurants as a permitted use. Staff briefed the council that across the rest of the city’s code restaurants with drive‑through facilities are treated as conditional uses and are subject to article 6 standards such as landscaping, screening and setbacks from residential areas.
At the meeting a council member asked whether permitting drive‑throughs as a permitted use would limit staff’s control over vehicle circulation and other site‑specific safety concerns. Planning staff agreed that treating drive‑throughs as conditional uses would be more consistent with the rest of the code and would allow the city to apply the usual site‑design requirements.
On second reading the council directed staff to change the ordinance so that restaurants are listed as permitted uses but “restaurants with drive‑through facilities” are added under conditional uses (with the same changes applied throughout the mixed‑use section of the draft code). The city attorney confirmed the changes as shown in the revised packet were acceptable.
The council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance as amended. Mayor McPartland, Vice Mayor Jones and council members Dixon, Dodd and Nunn recorded “yes” votes on the roll call.
The ordinance text will be codified into article 5 of the land development code; staff said similar broader code updates are under consideration with a future consultant‑led rewrite.
Staff and council characterized the change as an effort to keep mixed‑use project review consistent with city standards for site layout and protection of adjacent residential areas. Council requested a future workshop before broad code rewrites are finalized.
The ordinance becomes effective following standard codification and publication procedures.
