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Commissioners weigh 20- vs. 60-foot buffer to protect Merrick Industries as Marina Island proceeds
Summary
At a Lynn Haven workshop developers and commissioners debated buffer widths between new Marina Island development and existing Merrick Industries; city attorney said the commission may set a 60-foot buffer now or leave it at 20 feet and expand at the development-order stage.
Commissioners and developers traded proposals at a Lynn Haven workshop over how wide a landscape buffer should be between the Marina Island development and adjacent Merrick Industries.
Commissioner Peebles, who said he is “very pro Marina Island,” urged the commission to protect Merrick Industries and its roughly 150 employees and recommended a 60-foot buffer rather than the 20-foot buffer shown in the mixed-use overlay.
Developers and their representatives acknowledged the need to be good neighbors and proposed noise mitigation measures such as berms, trees and eight-foot backyard walls for residences closest to the industrial site. A Marina Island representative said, “We are not gonna put any house 20 feet,” and described plans for walls and landscaping to reduce noise.
City Attorney Amy Myers told the commission it has discretion. “If it is your pleasure to set a 60 foot buffer, you may do so,” she said, adding the commission could also keep a smaller buffer now and expand it later at the development-order stage or allow the developer to seek a variance during the development-order process.
The nut graf: The choice of buffer width affects landscaping requirements, planting density and lot layouts. Under the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) as explained at the workshop, a mixed-use land use adjacent to industrial typically triggers a C buffer; the narrowest required C buffer is 20 feet, the widest is 30 feet, and wider buffers may change the required plantings per 100 linear feet. Commissioners asked whether the city could require a larger buffer now and later amend the overlay if the larger buffer proves too restrictive; Myers confirmed that is legally possible.
Commissioners voiced differing priorities: several emphasized protecting longtime industrial operations and their employees; one commissioner said she prefers leaving policy in writing and supported 60 feet because “what’s on print is what goes.” The developer said it would consider refined language to require secondary sound delineation devices and will accommodate the city’s reasonable requirements.
Ending: The commission must decide at the formal hearing whether to set the buffer in the overlay or defer certain requirements to the development-order stage; staff and counsel outlined paths for either approach.
