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County planner outlines state-driven changes to development-review timelines
Summary
Planning staff told the commission that recent state legislative changes shorten sufficiency review windows (five days) and impose limits on information requests; the county's draft land development code was updated and will return to the commission for recommendation at the December meeting.
Planning staff informed the Washington County Planning & Zoning Commission on Nov. 3 that recent legislative changes require local governments to respond more quickly to development and subdivision review submissions. Staff said the draft land development code has been updated to reflect new statutory timelines, including a five-day sufficiency review to determine if an application is complete and additional 30- and 60-day processing periods when applications are sufficient.
Staff explained that if an application is not acted on in the newly established time windows, applicants may be eligible for a refund of application fees and that the statute limits the number of information requests local governments can make (staff cited a two-to-three request limit for follow-ups). The planner said those constraints will change internal procedures and that the county’s draft land development code now incorporates the recent legislative changes; the commission will review the updated code and make a recommendation at the December meeting.
Commissioners asked whether the county should more actively direct outside review agencies (FDOT, Department of Environmental Protection, water management district) to respond faster; staff said the county has limited authority over external agencies and that internal staffing and process changes will be the primary remedies. The county attorney was identified as a possible consultant on difficult third-round submittals. Staff said the changes were not “too onerous” but would require operational adjustments.
No formal action was taken; staff will return with a revised land development code for the commission’s recommendation at the December meeting.
