Pensacola planning board hears kickoff for two-year Land Development Code update

The City of Pensacola Planning Board received an update Jan. 14 on Phase 2 of a comprehensive update to the city’s Land Development Code (LDC). Cynthia Cannon, Planning Department staff, told the board the city has executed a contract with Inspire Placemaking Collective to lead a 24-month implementation and reorganization of the code.

The Phase 2 work is intended to reorganize and consolidate conflicting or duplicate sections of the LDC, clarify definitions, streamline development review processes and update obsolete regulations. Cannon said Inspire completed a Phase 1 audit in 2024 that produced a stakeholder matrix with roughly 300 comments and that Phase 2 will focus on implementation and public engagement.

“The Phase 2 is now the implementation stage of that,” Cannon said, describing the consultant’s scope and outreach plans. Cannon told the board the contract was executed in December 2024 and the project team plans regular updates to the planning board throughout the process.

Cannon outlined early public-engagement steps: a city council kickoff meeting on Jan. 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in this room (to be livestreamed and recorded), a February public workshop (date to be set after the February planning board meeting), and additional workshops and open houses spread across the 24-month timeline. She said Inspire set aside 90 minutes for the Jan. 22 council session for an interactive question-and-answer format.

Staff negotiated to include an interactive zoning-visualization platform, identified in the presentation as GritX, that converts zoning text into parcel-level visuals; Cannon said the city prioritized securing that technology during contract negotiations. The project will also host a project website, an online survey of about 12 questions, an idea wall, an interactive map where users can drop pins and comment, and a project email, pensacoladc@citypensacola.com, for direct submissions.

Board members asked about timeline, outreach and how other advisory boards will be engaged. One member asked whether the planning board will be the body making recommendations to city council; Cannon confirmed that the planning board will make recommendations to council and said staff will encourage attendance and input from the Architectural Review Board, Environmental Advisory Board, Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and others. Cannon said consultants will not attend every advisory-board meeting as part of the contract scope; staff will brief boards and compile feedback.

Cannon said staff intends to compile public comments and bring a monthly summary to the planning board and that meeting materials, survey responses and posted comments will be publicly available on the project website. She also noted budgetary trade-offs in the contract: in order to include the visualization technology the team reduced some in-person consultant time, shortening some on-site workshop days and supplementing with virtual engagement.

The board did not take a policy vote on the LDC update at the Jan. 14 meeting; the item was presented for information and to solicit board questions. The meeting did include a single procedural vote to approve the minutes of the November planning board meeting; the motion passed unanimously.

Votes at a glance - Approval of Nov. meeting minutes — Motion to approve (mover and seconder not specified in the record). Vote: unanimous; tally: 4 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain. Outcome: approved.

The presenter encouraged the public and advisory boards to engage via the website, the Jan. 22 council kickoff and the forthcoming workshops. Cannon and staff committed to monthly updates to the planning board as the two‑year project proceeds.