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Commissioners refine aquifer recharge and potable-water language, add Marian-county-centric goal
Summary
Board members revised draft aquifer-recharge language to emphasize protecting Marion County's groundwater supply for county residents and asked staff to keep level-of-service language in the capital and potable-water elements to avoid state objections during EAR transmittal.
Marion County commissioners reviewed proposed redlines to the potable-water and aquifer-recharge sections of the EAR-based comprehensive-plan update and asked staff to make the plan's purpose explicit: protecting groundwater and water supply for Marion County residents.
During discussion of the potable-water element and level-of-service (LOS) standards, staff said the state has urged jurisdictions to keep LOS language in the comprehensive plan rather than moving it to the land-development code. Staff recommended retaining a 50-gallons-per-person-per-day LOS standard in the potable-water policies to reduce the risk of state objections at transmittal.
On aquifer recharge, Commissioner McLean and others urged a clearer local purpose. Commissioner McLean proposed language to make the goal explicit: that the county protect recharge areas "to ensure the availability of an adequate supply of quality groundwater ... for Marion County and its citizens through the proper management of surface water, ground water, and land uses." Commissioners agreed with that emphasis.
Staff also noted changes elsewhere in the element intended as cleanup following state changes: references to the state health department and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) were updated, and septic system oversight references were revised because the state now handles certain septic permitting.
Commissioners discussed landscaping and irrigation policy language and asked staff to use phrasing such as "drought-tolerant landscaping where applicable" or a local "Marion-friendly" planting designation already set out in the land-development code to avoid unintended conflicts between comp plan language and code definitions.
The board asked staff to simplify one technical potable-water policy that had unclear phrasing about taking private systems in and making them meet county standards. Staff said they would revise the policy and return with clearer language.
No formal changes were adopted at the meeting; staff will produce revised text for future workshops.
