Consultants present Palatka comprehensive plan update draft; data analysis meets state grant deadlines

Consultants from J.D. Pro briefed the Palatka Planning Board on progress toward the 2025 comprehensive plan update, reporting that the project’s data and analysis phase has been submitted to meet state grant deadlines and outlining the next steps for public engagement and code updates.

Nick and Kathy of J.D. Pro explained the two core components of the update: a factual data/analysis base and the policy component (goals, objectives and policies). The consultants said they used U.S. Census Bureau data and the University of Florida population projections to build a population forecast and that Palatka’s functional population is currently about 11,000 and projected to be roughly 13,000 by 2045 — an increase of about 2,000 residents (approximately 20 percent).

The consultants said roughly 21.9 percent of the city’s land — about 1,200 acres — is currently classified as vacant; after subtracting floodplain and wetlands to estimate developable acreage, the consultants estimated capacity for roughly 3,000 additional housing units under the current future land use map. They noted that the population projection the consultants and staff used (about 2,000 new residents by 2045) is substantially smaller than the theoretical maximum capacity of all developable vacant land under existing future land uses.

The project is grant-funded, and consultants said they met the first deadlines: the data/analysis submission and delivery of an initial draft. They described the grant schedule as compressed: after the data analysis is approved, the grant requires a draft of goals/objectives/policies within about a month. Consultants told the board they will continue community outreach — digital engagement, a public workshop and planning‑board workshops — before the package goes to the city commission and the state review process. The anticipated schedule described to the board calls for starting formal adoption steps in August, followed by a 60-day state review period for the transmittal package.

Board members asked about discrepancies between the comprehensive plan, zoning, and the land development code; the consultants and staff said the comprehensive plan update will identify inconsistencies and that a subsequent land development code update or targeted rezoning program would normally address them. Consultants said they are available for follow-up meetings and that staff (named Lorenzo in the record) will be the point of contact for board members and the public.

Several board members thanked the consultants for the work and emphasized the need for public-facing explanations of technical materials during later workshops.