Jacksonville Beach staff review near-complete land development code rewrite at workshop

Jacksonville Beach planning staff and consultants presented a near-final rewrite of the city’s Land Development Code (LDC) at a workshop, laying out changes to definitions, zoning districts, parking rules, short-term vacation rental registration and enforcement, and other technical standards.

At the workshop, Kimberly Horn, staff presenter, told planning commission members the update is essentially a full replacement: “Every section of this LDC has been touched in 1 way or another,” Horn said, calling the document “almost a rewrite” and noting a new, expanded definition section and an updated zoning map.

The rewrite, which staff described as the product of multiple workshops dating back to 2022, to bring the code into alignment with state law and the Florida Building Code, focuses on several substantive areas. Staff emphasized process and clarity changes (public notice tables on page 74 of the draft), land-use definitions, conditional-use criteria, dimensional standards for existing single‑family lots, and new administrative enforcement tools.

Why it matters: the LDC governs what property owners and developers may build and how. Staff framed the changes as implementing the comprehensive plan and the council’s strategic priorities (including preserving single‑family neighborhood character) while updating the city’s 316‑page code to modern standards.

Major changes described

- Definitions and organization: Horn said the project reorganized the code and created a large new definition section early in the document so users can look up terms. Staff also corrected statutory and internal references.

- Conditional uses and variances: Staff added clearer standards and base…