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Planning board clears city parks land‑use and zoning changes to public‑facilities classification
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Board unanimously recommended converting small city‑owned parks and municipal properties (roughly 11 acres of small parks) to a public‑facilities future land‑use and public‑facilities zoning district, to make those parcels consistent with the comprehensive plan and enable future amenities.
The City of Newberry Planning & Zoning Board on Feb. 2 recommended that the City Commission approve a small‑scale future land‑use amendment and matching rezonings to designate multiple small, city‑owned parks as "public facilities." Staff said the initial group covers roughly 11 acres of smaller parks; larger parks will follow as separate, large‑scale amendments that require state review because of acreage thresholds.
"We're going to bring you a three‑month public facilities lesson going forward," staff said during the presentation, describing a phased approach that starts with small parks and later addresses larger parks that exceed state transmittal thresholds.
Board members questioned parcel acreages and the plan to consolidate several small parcels via a unity of title. Staff said multiple purchases had created separate parcel numbers and they plan to consolidate them over time.
Public comments asked whether a "public facilities" designation could allow non‑park uses in the future. "There was no indication that any of these would ever change from parks and recreation," staff replied, adding the change is intended to align land use and zoning with city ownership and to facilitate park improvements.
The board voted unanimously to forward the land‑use amendment and rezoning recommendation for the city‑owned parks to the City Commission for first reading on Feb. 23, 2026.
