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County directs staff to lower 'major development' trigger to 25 units, advance dark-sky lighting rules for northwest unincorporated area
Summary
After extended discussion about drainage and public infrastructure, Okeechobee County commissioners instructed staff to amend the land development regulations to treat smaller residential projects as "major developments" and to draft lighting standards focused on preserving dark skies around the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve area.
Okeechobee County commissioners voted to send a revised ordinance to the planning board that would lower the numeric threshold for projects classified as “major developments” and to pursue new exterior-lighting standards for a northwest portion of the unincorporated county.
The board directed county attorneys and planning staff to change a current zoning threshold that designates a project a major development from 100 dwelling units to 25 dwelling units, and to bring the revised text to the planning board for recommendation. The commissioners also asked staff to draft a dark‑sky style lighting ordinance limited to an area around the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, using a simpler “down‑facing / foot‑candle” model rather than the more prescriptive ordinance adopted recently by Groveland.
County Attorney Bill Toney summarized the existing rules and asked the board for guidance on numeric thresholds and the department director’s authority to reclassify a project. Toney told the board: “The direction I think I’ve been hearing is change 100 to 25.” Commissioners debated where oversight is most useful—several said projects of 25 to 50 homes can have measurable impacts on drainage and road access and merited county review, while others said staff and the planning board should still carry the bulk of technical review. After discussion the board agreed on 25 as the revised threshold to be included in the ordinance sent to the planning board.
Separately, staff presented two model lighting codes and a draft map showing the proposed area for the county’s standards: a roughly northwest quadrant that includes the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve, Viking and adjacent properties. Mayor Dowling Watts and others said preserving the county’s existing dark skies is an asset for tourism and recreation. Commissioners favored a simpler, less burdensome standard that requires fixtures to be downward‑directed and limits light trespass and maximum illumination levels for new development; they asked staff to remove an amortization clause in the Groveland ordinance that would have required replacement of existing fixtures within a set period.
Planning staff said the revised LDR text could go to the planning board in February for recommendation and return to the board of county commissioners for adoption in March. Staff must now produce: a formal ordinance changing the major‑development numeric threshold, a draft lighting ordinance limited to the board‑approved area, and supporting maps and findings for the planning board hearing.
