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Planning Council approves ESL text amendment after Pompano Beach commissioner urges second hearing
Summary
The Broward County Planning Council approved a text amendment clarifying the 'environmentally sensitive lands' map is for planning purposes and that mitigation occurs in licensing/permitting; Pompano Beach Commissioner Audrey Fesic urged a second public hearing, saying the change could affect local protections.
The Broward County Planning Council unanimously approved a text amendment clarifying that the county’s 'environmentally sensitive lands' (ESL) map is maintained for planning purposes and that mitigation and development decisions occur through the county’s licensing and permitting process.
Pompano Beach Commissioner Audrey Fesic testified that the amendment, which staff described as largely procedural, should return for a second planning council public hearing. "This amendment has been described as a technical update, but it's for cities like mine, it is not technical," Fesic said. She told the council the change could "materially influence decisions about whether lands in Pompano Beach continue to qualify for ESL protections" and cited the arboretum at Pompano Beach Air Park and its pine scrub habitat as locally important resources.
Planning Council staff member Blake Boyd told the council the amendment does not change the criteria for ESL designation and instead clarifies process. "This is a clarification of the process only," Boyd said, adding that the map would be updated every two years based on licensing and permitting data and that the council is the first stop before county commission transmittal and Chapter 163, Florida Statutes review.
Council members moved the item and voted to approve it unanimously. Staff said the amendment would shift interpretation of the ESL map toward planning use and rely on the land development code’s licensing and permitting procedures to address mitigation and conservation.
The council did not take additional procedural steps to require a second planning council public hearing; staff noted that a return to the council would occur automatically if the county commission transmits the item and it receives comments of regional significance from state review agencies. For more information, planning staff said they will be available to answer municipal questions and provided contact instructions at the meeting.
The action is part of the broader Broward Next process; staff said follow-up workshops are scheduled and public hearings on incentive-based plan updates are expected between February and April.
