LPA recommends approval of 9 GEMS future land-use change and rezoning to public conservation

The Local Planning Agency on Jan. 16 recommended approval of a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment (CPA 24-21) to redesignate approximately 1,533 acres known as 9 GEMS from agricultural to institutional public conservation, and recommended concurrent rezoning of the same area from A-2 agricultural to PC (public conservation).

County staff said the property is co-owned by South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Martin County and was purchased with funding from the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) with deed restrictions that require recreation and conservation future land-use designations for the parcels covered by that grant. Amy Offenbach, planner with Growth Management, presented the amendment and explained the green-hatched wetlands-reserve areas are not included in the amendment. Staff concluded the amendment meets statutory criteria (including provisions of Florida Statutes Chapter 163 regarding comprehensive-plan amendments and anti-sprawl criteria) and recommended approval.

Michael Houston, senior project manager in the county Environmental Resource Division, explained the 9 GEMS property is central to the Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project, part of larger Everglades restoration planning, and that the Florida Communities Trust concurrence required changes to the future land-use designation and revisions to management plans in order to add the hydrologic restoration plan. Houston said other nearby parcels are held under different funding instruments and that FCT only required the blue and red parcels to be changed; the county cannot change parcels not covered by the FCT concurrence without the other stakeholder’s concurrence.

Board members asked whether other adjacent WRP (Wetlands Reserve Program) properties owned by SFWMD and the county could be processed together; staff and Houston said the FCT grant and deed restrictions limited the current amendment to the parcels required by that grant, and that other federally-held conservation easements remain in place. Staff presented the concurrent rezoning report noting the only consistent zoning district with the institutional public conservation land-use designation is PC public conservation; staff recommended rezoning to PC.

There was no public comment at the hearing. The LPA moved to recommend approval of the comprehensive-plan amendment and the rezoning; both motions passed unanimously. The items will proceed to the Board of County Commissioners as transmittal and adoption hearings under the statutory procedures for large-scale comprehensive-plan amendments and for zoning changes.