Planning board backs major land‑use and zoning changes to add thousands of housing units and create an affordable‑housing bonus overlay

The Planning and Development Board on May 20 voted to forward multiple coordinated land‑use and zoning proposals to the City Commission that, together, would significantly increase the city’s residential capacity in targeted corridors and create a new zoning overlay to incentivize affordable housing.

Actions recommended to city commission include: (1) allocation of 1,000 flexibility units to the Regional Activity Center (RAC) from the citywide pool; (2) a local land‑use plan amendment proposing an additional 8,000 mid‑ and high‑rise residential units in the RAC; (3) a local land‑use plan amendment proposing an additional 4,379 mid‑ and high‑rise residential units in the Transit‑Oriented Corridor (State Road 7 Activity Center); and (4) a zoning text amendment establishing an Affordable Housing Bonus Density Overlay (article 4, new §4.25) to allow bonus density in exchange for affordable units and related design requirements.

Staff planning manager Anand Durham and project consultants explained the package as a coordinated effort to address measured growth shortfalls in activity centers, support transit‑oriented development, and incentivize affordable housing while maintaining no‑net‑change commitments for infrastructure capacity. Durham said the RAC had an original capacity (per the comprehensive plan) of about 16,100 units including a pre‑existing 1,000 flexible units,…