Palatka planning board approves downtown PUD and conditions CUP for developer

The City of Palatka Planning Board voted unanimously to approve a planned unit development overlay and the associated development agreement with Beck Sloan Properties Inc., moving a multi‑parcel downtown redevelopment forward while conditioning final approvals on the applicant filing a conditional‑use permit (CUP) application in advance of the city commission hearing.

The approval covers multiple parcels on St. Johns Avenue and Reed Street in downtown Palatka and follows a staff recommendation that the PUD meets the city's development standards. Planning staff told the board the PUD and the development agreement will next go to the city commission, which will hold two public hearings before any zoning change takes effect.

Applicant representative Jim Troiano described the project as a multi‑phase effort to add hotel rooms, event and retail space and street‑front commercial uses designed to attract visitors. "We're excited. This is something that's been a long time coming," Troiano said, and he told the board the team expects an initial construction phase of roughly four years with additional work extending up to 10 years in later phases. Troiano estimated roughly 100 rooms across the project's phases if all elements proceed.

Staff and the city attorney advised the board that a development agreement does not automatically substitute for the board's authority on conditional-use permits. City attorney Jane West and planning staff said there was no CUP application on file at the time of the meeting and recommended the board either require a CUP be submitted immediately or condition approval on its timely filing. Planning director (speaker identified in the record as staff) told the board that staff would support the CUP when an application is submitted and recommended conditioning the PUD approval on filing the CUP before the city commission hearing.

The board's motion approved the PUD and the development agreement and added a condition that the applicant submit the CUP application within two weeks so staff can include the application in the city commission packet. The motion passed unanimously.

Local resident Allegra Kitchens spoke in support of the project at the meeting, saying the proposed three‑story brick‑front designs fit Palatka's historic downtown and urging care to avoid an overconcentration of bars and similar uses. "It looks good to me," Kitchens said during public comment.

Next steps: with the planning board approval complete, the development agreement and the PUD will be scheduled for two city commission public hearings. The conditioned CUP must be submitted as required for staff to take the file forward to the commission.