Punta Gorda holds workshop on new land-development rules as residents raise parking, height and flooding concerns

Punta Gorda City staff presented proposed updates to the city's land development regulations at a public workshop on Feb. 25, 2025, and many residents used the meeting to press officials for clearer limits on height, density, parking and flood protections.

Rachel Berry, the city's zoning official, described the relationship between the city's comprehensive plan and the LDRs and walked attendees through new district names, base residential allowances and development mitigation rules. "The comp plan is the what and the LDRs is the how," Berry told the workshop, summarizing how the plan's goals are implemented through the zoning code.

Why it matters: The proposed rules change base density allowances in several neighborhood types, add specific "missing middle" housing categories such as rowhouses and fourplexes, and create a system by which developers may earn additional height and units in exchange for public benefits. Residents said the changes will affect parking demand, pedestrian space, and the character of historic neighborhoods already damaged by recent storms.

What staff described - New district names and base densities: Staff said the downtown core will carry a base allowance of 25 dwelling units per acre (with a higher "missing middle" allowance in some contexts); Village Center and Flex Commercial Corridor were shown with higher base allowances than before in many places. Several residential districts that had lower numeric density labels were consolidated or retitled. - Development mitigation: Berry said certain…