Highland Beach planning board accepts comprehensive-plan edits, forwards them to town commission

The Town of Highland Beach Planning Board voted unanimously Aug. 14 to accept proposed amendments to the town comprehensive plan and asked staff to transmit the package to the Town Commission for the next step in the adoption process.

The revisions, prepared by Inspire (Inspire Place Making Collective) and presented by project manager Emily (Inspire project manager), update goals, objectives and policies across the future land use, transportation and housing elements. Planning Board members said the changes respond to concerns raised at the July 10 board meeting about flexibility for housing, references to assisted-living facilities and small markets, and references to transit along State Road A1A.

The changes the board accepted include a clarified objective on State Road A1A traffic service, a revision to future land use language allowing existing buildings to renovate at their original densities where permitted, a transportation policy that replaces a narrower reference to “bus stops” with broader “transit service” language, and housing-policy edits that add “as applicable” and replace the phrase “land use framework” with “land use regulations.” Emily said the edits were intended to…