Council approves solid‑waste, natural‑gas franchises and zoning accommodation ordinance

The City Council adopted three ordinances on second and final reading during the meeting.

Ordinance No. 14‑2025: solid‑waste franchise. City Attorney Esquire Garganese read the ordinance by title as modifying the solid waste franchise agreement between the City of Cocoa and Waste Management of Florida, Inc., adjusting service charges and incorporating the changes into the city code. Miss Singer (staff) indicated there were no substantive changes since the prior meeting. Council moved and approved adoption on second reading unanimously.

Ordinance No. 13‑2025: natural‑gas franchise. Esquire Garganese read the ordinance approving a nonexclusive natural‑gas franchise between the City of Cocoa and the franchisee identified in the ordinance submission. Council members asked whether maps of gas-line service areas are publicly accessible; staff explained that detailed infrastructure locations are generally protected as critical infrastructure but that service-availability inquiries can be handled by the utility under tariff rules. Council approved second and final reading unanimously; staff reported the signed franchise agreement had been provided for the city clerk’s signature.

Ordinance No. 12‑2025: reasonable accommodation and certified recovery residents. Esquire Garganese read the ordinance amending zoning appendix and supplemental district regulations to add procedures for reasonable-accommodation requests and to allow certified recovery residents as principal and special-exception uses in specified districts. PNZ had approved the ordinance unanimously; the council adopted the second and final reading unanimously.

Votes at a glance: all three ordinances carried on second and final readings with unanimous council votes. The city clerk will incorporate finalized ordinances into the municipal code per the ordinances’ effective dates.