Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tamarac presents 2040 comprehensive plan update; commission to hear transmittal presentation Wednesday
Summary
City staff introduced a revised Tamarac 2040 Comprehensive Plan that targets future growth to major corridors, adds implementation and urban design elements, and will be transmitted to state and regional review following the transmittal hearing.
City staff presented a draft update to the Tamarac Comprehensive Plan on May 12, describing new policy chapters and a strategy to concentrate future development along major corridors rather than in single‑family neighborhoods.
"This is our long awaited, comprehensive plan," Deputy City Manager Maxine Callaway said during the agenda review session. Callaway and staff described the plan as a policy and implementation document to guide growth through 2040, align the city with Broward County planning (Broward Next) and make the city more competitive for future grant opportunities.
Why it matters: Florida law requires municipalities to maintain comprehensive plans that guide future land use, infrastructure and capital improvements. Callaway said the proposed plan updates reflect recent demographic shifts in Tamarac, aim to preserve single‑family neighborhood character while directing density to corridors such as University Drive, McNab and Commercial Boulevard (U.S. 441), and introduce new implementation and urban design chapters to support execution and placemaking.
Key changes described
Plan structure and new elements: Staff said the draft is organized in two volumes — policy goals, objectives and policies (Volume 1) and data inventory and analysis (Volume 2). The update adds an implementation element that assigns responsibilities, priorities and timelines and an urban design element intended to guide the physical character of corridors and support walkability and placemaking.
Targeted growth approach: Callaway said the city is largely built out and staff recommends concentrating future growth on major corridors and near transit hubs. The plan also retains required elements for future land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure, conservation, recreation and intergovernmental coordination, while updating the economic development and housing elements to respond to an identified deficit in market‑rate and attainable housing.
Public engagement and process
Callaway summarized a public engagement program that started in 2023, including district‑style community meetings and other outreach. Staff will present the draft to the commission Wednesday in a transmittal hearing; the city will then transmit the draft to state and regional review agencies (including Broward County, the Water Management District and the Florida Department of State). Reviewing agencies have 30 days to comment; staff expects agency comments will be addressed by the consultant and returned to the commission for adoption either before the summer recess in July or shortly after in August.
Staff emphasized legal alignment and timing
Callaway outlined statutory context, referencing the 1985 Growth Management Act and the Community Planning Act (2011), and said the plan must be consistent with county and state requirements. She noted the plan covers a 15–20 year horizon and is intended to make Tamarac eligible and competitive for infrastructure and capital improvement grants by demonstrating capacity and priorities.
Ending
Commissioners thanked staff for the multi‑year effort and public engagement. Callaway said the consultant (Cordena Group) will give the formal presentation at Wednesday's meeting, at which commissioners and the public can offer comments before the plan is transmitted for formal agency review.
