Kissimmee planning advisory board amends comp plan to cite Vision Zero, adopts required seven‑year updates

The Kissimmee Planning Advisory Board voted to amend the proposed 2025 comprehensive plan changes to explicitly reference the city's Vision Zero Action Plan and transmitted the required seven-year evaluation and appraisal (EAR) updates to the City Commission.

The board's action Wednesday followed a presentation from Ashley Kornosin, a long-range planner for the City of Kissimmee, who said the EAR is a statutorily required review the city must complete every seven years. "The city must review its comprehensive plan against any statutory requirements that have happened in that seven-year time period," Kornosin said, and the city has one year after the evaluation to submit and implement amendments.

The amendment the board adopted adds explicit language to policy 2.1.1.4 of the transportation element committing the city to implement its previously adopted Kissimmee Vision Zero Action Plan. The board's motion to amend the policy noted the city adopted the Vision Zero plan by resolution (Resolution No. 26-2024) in September 2024 and included text committing the city to a "data-driven strategies and safe system approach" to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.

Why it matters: The EAR and accompanying ordinance before the board are the state-required touchpoints to keep the comprehensive plan current; adding the Vision Zero language makes an existing local policy explicit in the plan and signals the city's intent to incorporate Vision Zero principles into transportation decision-making. Planning staff said larger, more substantive updates to the transportation and land-use elements are underway through the Onward Kissimmee master-planning process and related land development code work.

Staff presentation and scope Ashley Kornosin told the board the 2025 EAR is primarily a statutory compliance update rather than a broader comp plan overhaul. "Normally, we take this year as an opportunity to update our comprehensive plan not only for statutory changes, but for other local amendments. We did not do that this time," Kornosin said, adding that most nonstatutory changes will wait for the Onward Kissimmee planning process, which will propose broader land-use and transportation revisions for redevelopment corridors where vacant land is scarce.

The board discussed a separate deletion in the draft related to intergovernmental joint planning language with the county. Staff explained attempts to negotiate a joint planning area (JPA) with Osceola County had been pursued for about two decades with little progress, and that many county and city development standards are already similar, so the JPA language was proposed for removal as largely unnecessary.

Amendments offered, withdrawn and adopted A board member moved to amend policy 2.1.1.4 to explicitly reference the Kissimmee Vision Zero Action Plan and commit the city to implementation; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. "I like the Kissimmee Vision Zero Action Plan, and I think it should be reflected in the transportation segment of our comprehensive plan," a board member said during debate.

Separately, a board member introduced a motion to add a new comprehensive-plan policy establishing a citywide Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program that would identify infrastructure improvements, pursue state and federal funding, and coordinate with the school district and public safety agencies. Staff cautioned that many SRTS elements are already recommended in the Vision Zero plan and that adopting detailed programmatic language now could be premature because a larger transportation master plan and land-use revisions are pending; the mover then withdrew that amendment by consent.

Another board member proposed adding language encouraging future expansion of the city's form-based code beyond the currently regulated downtown areas. Planning staff advised that supporting land uses are not yet in place citywide and that Onward Kissimmee will propose new land-use designations to enable such expansion; after discussion the mover withdrew that amendment as well.

Final disposition and next steps After debate the board made a final motion to transmit the EAR and the proposed comprehensive-plan amendments (Ordinance 25-05) to the City Commission with the adopted amendment incorporating the Vision Zero language. The board voted in favor; no opposition was recorded. Planning staff told the board larger Onward Kissimmee work'including a master plan, comp-plan amendments, and land-development-code updates'will return to the board in the coming months for review and recommendation.

Board members asked staff for earlier circulation of drafts when the larger package is ready so advisory-board members can review materials before meeting; staff agreed to provide drafts and said all documents are public record.

Votes at a glance - Motion to amend policy 2.1.1.4 to commit the city to implement the Kissimmee Vision Zero Action Plan: moved and seconded; passed by voice vote with no opposition (roll-call tallies not specified). - Motion to adopt/transmit Ordinance 25-05 (2025 EAR and associated comp-plan amendments) with the Vision Zero amendment: moved and seconded; passed by voice vote with no opposition (roll-call tallies not specified). - Motion to add a new Safe Routes to School policy (motioned): withdrawn by mover. - Motion to add policy encouraging expansion of form-based code (motioned): withdrawn by mover.

For more information Planning staff said the Onward Kissimmee project has a project website with materials and public-engagement summaries. Staff noted the full EAR, the draft ordinance (25-05), and the Vision Zero Action Plan are public records and will be available to commissioners and the public as the Commission reviews the transmitted items.