The Punta Gorda Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend City Council approve amendments to Chapter 26 that aim to streamline the development-review process for site-plan applications.

Rachel Berry, zoning official, told the board the revisions create a staff-centered review pathway for development-plan applications so applicants receive consolidated comments earlier in the process. Berry said the current sequence — staggered staff comments and late staff reports before DRC meetings — can push applications past Florida’s 120-day deadline for non-hearing development orders, which triggers partial or full refunds of application fees if review is not completed within statutory timelines.

Under the proposed process, staff would continue to perform completeness checks within the existing 10-day statutory window and then staff reviewers would have 14–21 days to turn around comments so applicants can receive a compiled set of corrections well before any DRC meeting. Berry said the approach is intended to reduce the number of times an application lapses into refund-triggering deadlines and to make the DRC meeting more effective rather than duplicative.

Board members questioned how the change preserves sunshine-law obligations and whether the proposed staff coordination would stave off refunds; Berry said the DRC would not be dissolved and that the changes apply to this specific form of application to avoid unnecessary delays. After discussion the board moved, seconded and voted to recommend approval, finding the amendments consistent with the Punta Gorda comprehensive plan.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the recommendation and transmit the amendment language to City Council for consideration.