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Planning board recommends Live Local Act text amendment to city council, aligning local code with state changes
Summary
The board voted 5–0 to recommend a city ordinance updating Boca Raton's zoning code to reflect recent changes in the Live Local Act, including FAR adjustments, parking reductions, elimination of certain appeals and clarifications that affordable units must be rentals.
The Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board on Nov. 6 unanimously recommended approval of a text amendment to local code to align with legislative changes to the Live Local Act. The board's roll-call vote was 5–0.
Brandon Shadd, Development Services Director, presented the proposed ordinance changes and said staff recommends approval. Shadd summarized key statewide changes and how the city is proposing to incorporate them: expanding eligible areas to include commercial pods of PUDs, capping required nonresidential square footage at 10% when that is more restrictive than the local 5,000-square-foot metric, allowing local maximum floor-area-ratio for Live Local projects up to 150% of the highest FAR in the jurisdiction (e.g., up to 1.5 FAR if the highest is 1.0), and implementing mandated parking reductions (15% reductions in specified proximity scenarios and elimination of minimum parking in transit-oriented developments).
Shadd also explained new provisions that allow the city to limit height where Live Local projects abut single-family neighborhoods by using the greatest of three measures (150% of the adjacent tallest building, a maximum set by the ordinance but no more than 10 stories, or the maximum in the underlying zone). He noted the legislation clarifies that affordable units created under the act must be rentals and that administrative approvals now extend to quasi-judicial and administrative boards, which led staff to propose removing the prior appeal to city council for administrative Live Local approvals.
Vice Chair Salon asked for clarification about the distinction between market-rate owner-occupied units and rental units; Shadd explained that the statute requires the affordable share to be rental units, while market-rate units could, in theory, be owner-occupied but typically will be rentals. A resident speaking during public comment said the changes reflect state law and expressed support because the city must conform its ordinance to legislative changes.
After closing the public hearing the board voted to recommend the ordinance to the city council. The clerk read the ordinance and code sections to be amended (chapter 28, zoning article 15 division 14 and cited code sections). The board's recommendation advances the ordinance for city council consideration.
