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Palatka CRA board votes to update redevelopment plan without expanding boundaries
Summary
The City of Palatka Community Redevelopment Agency voted 3–2 on Oct. 23 to update its CRA plan using the existing boundaries and to proceed with a full plan update rather than a narrow legislative-only update. The board discussed cost, timing and whether to expand CRA boundaries to include public housing properties.
The City of Palatka Community Redevelopment Agency voted on Oct. 23 to update its redevelopment plan while keeping the current CRA boundaries, rejecting a proposal to pursue a boundary expansion study.
The board chose option 2 — updating the CRA plan using current boundaries — after hearing a presentation from John Jones, the CRA consultant with GAI/CSG. Jones said options 1 and 2 would cost about $104,000 for a finding-of-necessity and a full plan update; option 3, a narrower update to address potential legislative challenges only, would be roughly $10,000 to $15,000.
“Option 3 is keep current CRA plan; update to only address potential legislative challenges,” Jones said during his presentation. Commissioner Campbell argued a full update is appropriate now to avoid stagnation, noting the plan was adopted in 2021 and best practice is a five-year update. Commissioner Davis also said the CRA has funds available to support a full update.
Opponents recalled a prior workshop consensus against expansion, noting earlier discussion flagged concerns about including public housing authority properties within CRA boundaries. Commissioners who opposed the full update worried about the higher cost and questioned whether now was the right moment to spend $104,000 when the board had previously agreed not to expand boundaries.
Commissioner Campbell moved to proceed with option 2. The motion was seconded, and the board approved the update by voice vote reported as 3 to 2.
Jones told the board the update process would be initiated in January and could be completed for adoption in October 2026, aligning the next five-year planning cycle with the new document.
Board members and staff also discussed timing around the CRA coordinator vacancy and the desirability of completing the update so the next five-year period would be settled before staff transitions were complete.
The board accepted the consultant’s direction and asked staff to proceed with contracting and next steps for the option-2 update.
Details on cost and scope provided by the consultant and discussed by the board are recorded in the CRA meeting packet.
