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Planning commission recommends mixed‑use PUD zoning amendment to city council amid questions on scale and housing minimums
Summary
The commission voted to recommend a land‑development code amendment to add a mixed‑use plan unit development (PUDMU) zoning district and master‑plan process to implement a large annexation; commissioners asked about the 30‑year buildout horizon and voiced concerns the proposed 900 sq ft minimum living‑area standard could limit smaller, affordable unit types.
On April 2 the City of Sebastian Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended that city council adopt an amendment (Ordinance O‑26‑02) establishing a new mixed‑use plan unit development (PUDMU) zoning district and a master‑plan submittal process to implement long‑range, large‑scale development proposals.
Ken Tum of Urban Design Studio, representing Graves Brothers, said the change would implement obligations in a Graves Brothers annexation agreement and create a predictable framework for master planning, phasing, circulation and design guidelines on large properties. Staff explained the proposed code would allow a master plan for sites of 100 acres or more (staff and applicant negotiated the threshold down from an original 400‑acre proposal) and would require future master plans and design guidelines to return to the commission and council for public review.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about the 30‑year buildout horizon included in the proposed language (staff tied that to typical developer agreements and said it can be negotiated), whether the 100‑acre threshold could later be used for smaller projects, and how the design guidelines would set lot coverage, open space, dimensional rules and a use matrix. One commissioner objected to a proposed minimum living‑area standard of 900 square feet, saying it could preclude smaller units useful to single elderly residents or starter households and asked that smaller unit options be considered.
Resident Katherine Rondo expressed concern that the new code could produce "mini cities" inside Sebastian; staff and the applicant said the ordinance only creates the zoning tool and that specific master plans, densities and site plans would come back for detailed review with additional opportunities for public input.
The commission voted to recommend the code amendment to city council; if city council adopts the change, applicants would still need to file a master plan and subsequent site plans that will each receive further public hearings.
