Palm Beach County planning staff secured unanimous approval Friday for a county-initiated comprehensive plan amendment to expand opportunities for farmworker housing in the Glades tier.

The proposal, presented by Bryce Van Horn, senior planner with the county planning division, would remove the comprehensive-plan restriction that confined farmworker housing to sites accessory to bona fide agriculture and to certain agricultural future land use designations. The amendment would allow farmworker housing as a principal use in the Glades tier on any future land use except conservation, transportation/utilities, and park; it would retain the 25-acre minimum only for the county’s Agricultural Reserve (AGR) designation.

Van Horn told the panel: "This proposed comprehensive plan amendment before you today is the farmworker revisions, farmworker housing revisions. This is a county initiated proposed text amendment to revise several elements in the comprehensive plan in order to allow for additional opportunities for farmworker housing in the Glades tier." Staff recommended approval.

Most substantive details remain to be set in the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC). Zoning-division staff said the plan-level change intentionally removes plan-level land-use hurdles and leaves technical limits — including how many beds or units are allowed per acre and development standards — to the ULDC. "Right now, we have in the ULDC for the farmworker quarters, we have 4 beds per 25 acres," the zoning staff member said, and added that staff is "still finalizing" the appropriate cap and a multiplier to apply when housing is proposed off-site from farms.

The amendment would also (1) consolidate existing farmworker-housing language into a single housing-element policy, (2) add a new definition for farmworker housing to allow an off-site principal use while retaining the existing farmworker-quarters accessory definition, and (3) revise future-land-use policies for the Glades tier to permit the use broadly within the tier (with the exceptions noted above). Van Horn said the change is intended to "remove the hurdles for the ULDC amendments that were initiated to move forward."

Commissioners asked how the county will prevent large, inappropriate conversions or unregulated development. Planning staff said the ULDC will include property-development regulations, a special-permit process (described as a Class A conditional use during the discussion) and monitoring provisions; staff mentioned the possibility of annual special-permit renewals and health-department permitting and inspections. Van Horn said proposed policy language also would require that any conversion of farmworker housing to other housing types meet comprehensive-plan density requirements so such conversions are consistent with the plan.

On design and durability, zoning staff and planners said the code will clarify acceptable housing types and that temporary structures would not be allowed. Planning staff told commissioners that dormitory-style, manufactured homes and mobile homes are existing housing types in the Glades and will be regulated, with life-safety and health approvals required. "No temporary structures will be allowed," a staff member said.

The panel voted unanimously to approve the staff-initiated amendment and to direct staff to proceed with drafting ULDC language and regulatory standards to implement the plan change.

Discussion points
- Plan change removes requirement that farmworker housing be accessory to bona fide agriculture and opens the Glades tier to on- and off-site farmworker housing, except in conservation, utilities/transportation and park future land uses.
- The 25-acre minimum remains only for AGR (the Agricultural Reserve).
- The ULDC will establish density/cap, unit-per-acre multipliers, quality/design standards, permitting pathway (Class A conditional use/special permit), monitoring/renewal, and health inspections.

Direction to staff
- Prepare ULDC amendments to define density, development standards and monitoring; coordinate with the health department and other agencies.

Decision
- Motion to approve the proposed comprehensive plan text amendment as recommended by staff; outcome: approved (unanimous).

Speakers
[{"name":"Bryce Van Horn","role_title":"Senior Planner, Planning Division","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Palm Beach County Planning Division","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:05:53","transcript_line_range":[353,360]}},{"name":"Zoning division staff","role_title":"Zoning division staff","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Palm Beach County Zoning Division","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:16:35","transcript_line_range":[995,1002]}},{"name":"Ankur Patel","role_title":"Commissioner (participant)","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Palm Beach County","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:14:37","transcript_line_range":[877,884]}},{"name":"Rick Stobec","role_title":"Commissioner (participant)","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Palm Beach County","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:24:37","transcript_line_range":[1411,1418]}},{"name":"Rafael","role_title":"Commissioner (participant)","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Palm Beach County","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:19:24","transcript_line_range":[1164,1172]}}]

Authorities
[{"type":"policy","name":"Comprehensive Plan (Palm Beach County)","referenced_by":["Bryce Van Horn"]},{"type":"code","name":"Unified Land Development Code (ULDC)","referenced_by":["Bryce Van Horn","Zoning division staff"]}]

Actions
[{"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Approve county-initiated comprehensive plan text amendment to expand farmworker housing opportunities in the Glades tier as recommended by staff","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":null,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":null,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":true,"notes":"Vote recorded as unanimous by the panel"},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Staff to draft ULDC amendments to implement the change; Class A conditional use and special-permit process discussed; monitoring and health-department oversight expected."}]

Discussion_decision
{"discussion_points":["Remove plan-level land-use limits so ULDC can provide standards for off-site farmworker housing","Retain 25-acre minimum only for Agricultural Reserve","Allow farmworker housing in Glades tier except conservation, transportation/utilities, park"],"directions":["Draft ULDC text to set density, unit limits, property-development regulations, special-permit process and monitoring"],"decisions":["Commission approved staff-initiated comprehensive plan amendment to expand farmworker housing opportunities in the Glades tier (unanimous)"]}

Clarifying_details
[{"category":"acreage requirement","detail":"25-acre minimum to be retained only for AGR (Agricultural Reserve)","value":25,"units":"acres","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Bryce Van Horn"},{"category":"existing ULDC limit","detail":"Current ULDC allows 4 beds per 25 acres for accessory farmworker quarters","value":4,"units":"beds per 25 acres","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Zoning division staff"},{"category":"tier geography","detail":"Glades tier generally west of 20 Mile Bend out to Lake Okeechobee, including Pahokee, Belle Glade, South Bay","source_speaker":"Bryce Van Horn"},{"category":"conversion policy","detail":"Proposed future land use policies would require any conversion of farmworker housing to other residential uses to meet comprehensive-plan density requirements","source_speaker":"Bryce Van Horn"}]

proper_names
[{"name":"Palm Beach County","type":"agency"},{"name":"Glades tier","type":"location"},{"name":"Agricultural Reserve","type":"location"},{"name":"Unified Land Development Code","type":"other"},{"name":"Lake Okeechobee","type":"location"},{"name":"Pahokee","type":"location"},{"name":"Belle Glade","type":"location"},{"name":"South Bay","type":"location"}]

community_relevance
{"geographies":["Glades tier","Palm Beach County","Lake Okeechobee region"],"funding_sources":[],"impact_groups":["farmworkers","agricultural employers","rural communities"]}

meeting_context
{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":7,"duration_minutes":22,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2023-05","note":"Board directed zoning staff to bring back ULDC amendments to expand farmworker housing opportunities in the Glades region."}]}

searchable_tags
["farmworker housing","Glades tier","ULDC","Agricultural Reserve","Palm Beach County","comprehensive plan"]

provenance
{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"t353.385","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"Morning, Bryce Van Horn, with the planning division. So this proposed comprehensive plan amendment before you today is the farmworker revisions, farmworker housing revisions.","tc_start":"00:05:53","tc_end":"00:07:53","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"t1659.4401","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"Anyone opposed? Okay. Passes unanimously.","tc_start":"00:27:39","tc_end":"00:27:43","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

salience
{"overall":0.75,"overall_justification":"Policy change removes plan-level restrictions and enables regulation in the ULDC that affects housing for a vulnerable workforce across a substantial rural geography.","impact_scope":"regional","impact_scope_justification":"Applies countywide within the Glades tier and affects multiple municipalities adjacent to Lake Okeechobee.","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Local/regional relevance; likely interest to agriculture stakeholders and housing advocates.","novelty":0.60,"novelty_justification":"Reframes where farmworker housing can be located; not a new policy type but a notable expansion of allowable locations.","timeliness_urgency":0.45,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Staff will next draft ULDC language; implementation steps remain.","legal_significance":0.50,"legal_significance_justification":"Alters plan text; implementation depends on later code changes and conditional-use processes.","budgetary_significance":0.10,"budgetary_significance_justification":"No direct budget appropriation reported in the meeting.","public_safety_risk":0.15,"public_safety_risk_justification":"Life-safety and health inspections will be required; no immediate public-safety threat reported.","environmental_impact":0.20,"environmental_impact_justification":"Potential impacts depend on siting and development standards to be set in ULDC.","affected_population_estimate":1000,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Estimate: farmworker households across the Glades tier could be affected; exact number not specified.","affected_population_confidence":0.20,"affected_population_confidence_justification":"No population or unit estimates were provided at the meeting.","budget_total_usd":0.0,"budget_total_usd_justification":"No budget figures provided.","decision_deadline":"not specified","decision_deadline_justification":"No firm ULDC adoption date was provided at the meeting.","policy_stage":"committee","policy_stage_justification":"Plan text amendment approved by the panel; ULDC drafting remains.","follow_up_priority":8,"follow_up_priority_justification":"Staff drafting of ULDC language is the essential next step to implement this change.","fact_check_risk":0.10,"fact_check_risk_justification":"Article is based on direct staff statements and a recorded unanimous vote.","uncertainty":0.30,"uncertainty_justification":"Key details (caps, multipliers, site standards) are unresolved and will be decided in subsequent code drafting.","source_diversity":0.45,"source_diversity_justification":"Primary sources were planning and zoning staff and several commissioners; no third-party stakeholders presented at this item.","stakeholder_balance":0.40,"stakeholder_balance_justification":"Discussion included county staff and commissioners; farmers and farmworker representatives were not present to testify at this item.","alert_flags":["missing_sources","high_uncertainty"],"alert_flags_justification":"Implementation details and unit counts are still under development; limited stakeholder testimony at this hearing."}