Charlotte County adopts subdivision and zoning ordinance amendments reducing some minimum lot sizes

The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors on the presented agenda approved amendments to the county subdivision and zoning ordinances, following unanimous recommendations from the Planning Commission.

Staff told the board the Planning Commission voted on Nov. 21 to recommend reducing the minimum lot size for family subdivisions in the General Agricultural District from 3 acres to 2 acres and provided draft ordinance language that includes conditions to prevent immediate resale and other safeguards. Staff also reported recommended zoning changes: increasing the Village Center District minimum from 1 acre to 1.5 acres, maintaining the General Residential minimum at 1.5 acres, reducing frontage in the General Agricultural District from 275 feet to 200 feet to accommodate oddly shaped lots, and adding setback and yard requirements for private roads that were previously omitted.

No members of the public signed up to comment during the public hearings. After staff answered a question about how front-setback measurements relate to state-maintained right-of-way centerlines, a supervisor moved to approve the subdivision amendments as presented by the Planning Commission and later moved to adopt the zoning amendments; both motions were seconded and passed by voice vote.

Board members who spoke said the changes were a step toward what some districts requested, with at least one supervisor noting the recommendation did not meet all wishes of his district but represented progress.

The ordinances as adopted will proceed per the language printed in the board packet; staff advised that family-subdivision provisions include specific time-period and transfer restrictions to prevent immediate resale. The board did not record a roll-call vote for these items in the transcript; approvals were recorded by voice vote.