At the Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing, Kimley Horn transportation staff described a proposed change in the transportation element that would lower the county's adopted level‑of‑service (LOS) standard for county roads in urban areas from E to D.

Blair Knighting, a Kimley Horn consultant, told the commission the change was vetted through multiple workshops and is intended to make county roadway standards more consistent with the Florida Department of Transportation: "Essentially, what we changed is we reduced the level of service." Amber Gardner, the Kimley Horn engineer on the presentation, explained the technical shift: "Currently, it's a level service E standard. So, that would be changed to a D." She added that the change is "more restrictive on the county because they are the ones that have the burden to maintain the level of service standards."

Consultants said they used a 2028 horizon model to analyze effects. They reported that most roadways would continue to operate below adopted standards but identified three county roadway facilities that could exceed the new standard in the forecast year; County Road 475 was discussed as an example that would face greater constraint under the new LOS.

Commissioners voiced concern about development impacts, citing heavy morning congestion on some county roads and asking what the practical limit would be for permitting new large projects if LOS tests indicate failure. Consultants and staff responded that the change is intended to prompt earlier planning and investments to preserve traffic flow and that state roads would continue to follow FDOT thresholds. The commission did not take separate action on just the transportation language; the transportation revisions were included in the omnibus motion approving the full amendment package.

Next step: the approved package will be transmitted to the Board of County Commissioners and then to the state for review; any transportation‑specific revisions could be revisited after state comment or subsequent Board review.