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City council approves first reading of comprehensive-plan amendments; coastal flood and wetland buffer changes included
Summary
Council approved first reading of Ordinance 25-728 to update multiple elements of the City of Port Richey Comprehensive Plan following the 2023 evaluation and appraisal review; the amendments strengthen coastal resilience and peril-of-flood policies and reduce a Category 1 wetland buffer from 30 to 25 feet.
Tammy Vrana of Vrana Consulting presented proposed updates to the City of Port Richey Comprehensive Plan and council voted to approve Ordinance 25-728 on first reading with an amendment setting the base flood elevation to 3 feet.
Vrana told council the update responds to the city’s 2023 evaluation and appraisal review and to statutory changes since the plan’s prior update. “The purpose of this public hearing is to review the goals, objectives, and policies for elements of the city's comprehensive plan,” she said, and she walked the council through changes to the conservation and coastal management element, the transportation element, the infrastructure element, the intergovernmental coordination element and the capital improvements element.
Among the changes, Vrana said the city’s coastal-conservation section was substantially revised to add required peril-of-flood policies and bolster coastal-resiliency planning. She said the city reduced the wetland buffer for Category 1 wetlands from 30 feet to 25 feet to match the handling used by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pasco County. Vrana also described required coordination items, mapping of coastal-high-hazard areas (the area below the state storm-surge model, commonly called SLOSH) and a mandate to maintain a 10-year water-supply facilities plan tied to regional water planning.
Councilmember motion language amended one policy and set the base flood elevation to 3 feet during the first-reading vote. The ordinance passed first reading by voice vote; council and staff noted the amendment and that the ordinance will be transmitted to state reviewing agencies for their review. Vrana said the state review may take up to 60 days; state agencies (including the state land-planning agency, Southwest Florida Water Management District and Department of Transportation) may return comments that the city will address before a second-reading public hearing.
Why it matters: The comprehensive-plan amendments change how the city plans for coastal hazards, water supply, concurrency and capital improvements; they also affect long-term development guidance and where the city will focus resilience and infrastructure investments.
What’s next: The ordinance will be sent to the state for review; council will consider any state comments at second reading and may adopt final amendments then.
