Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Conservation Rezoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Palatka planning board rezones two city-owned parcels to conservation after flood-risk testimony
Summary
The Palatka Planning Board unanimously approved amending the future land use map and rezoning two city-owned parcels (about 2.39 and 0.12 acres) to a conservation designation after staff cited wetland mapping and residents raised flooding concerns tied to Osceola Creek.
The Palatka Planning Board on a unanimous vote approved an amendment to the future land use map and rezoned two city-owned parcels — approximately 2.39 acres and 0.12 acres — from multifamily residential (R3) to a conservation designation.
Staff told the board the western portion of the larger parcel is classified in the National Wetlands Inventory and that the city owns both parcels. Staff cited the city code review requirements and referenced the criteria the planning board must consider under the applicable sections of the city code and state planning rules as part of its recommendation process.
During public comment, resident Earl Wallace said the ravine on the larger parcel drains to Osceola Creek and warned that filling or development there could increase flooding to the south and to nearby Hank Bryant Park. Another resident, identified in the record as Miss Kitchens of 1027 South Twelfth Street, Palatka, said springs under the nearby underpass and an artesian well feed Osceola Creek and argued the ravine should be preserved to prevent “massive flooding” if filled.
Board members asked staff whether the conservation designation could be reversed in the future. Staff replied the classification is not permanent in perpetuity: a future land use or zoning change would require the same statutory process under Florida law and the city’s code.
A motion to amend the future land use designation for the two parcels to conservation carried unanimously; the board then voted unanimously to rezone both parcels from City of Palatka Multifamily Residential (R3) to a City of Palatka Conservation designation.
The board’s action standardizes the parcels’ future land use and zoning to match staff recommendations. Staff noted the city currently owns the parcels and stated it has no current intention to develop them for residential uses.
Board members and staff said further technical work on floodplain and wetland mapping would remain part of any later permitting or proposal if the city or another applicant sought a different use.
