Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board recommends updating planning horizons after state review; public meeting set
Summary
Bonita Springs staff told the Planning & Zoning Board it will amend the comprehensive plan to adopt state-required 10- and 20-year planning horizons; the board voted 6-0 to recommend the amendments after staff outlined data showing sufficient land capacity to 2050.
The Bonita Springs Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend amendments that update the city's comprehensive plan planning horizons to align with recent state guidance and post-EAR legislation.
Jacqueline Jensen, planning and zoning manager, introduced the item and said the city submitted Evaluation & Appraisal (EAR)-based amendments following its 2023 EAR. She turned the presentation over to Dr. Banyan, who explained the comprehensive plan's role as the city's long-range vision and the state-mandated seven-year EAR process. "When we think about the comprehensive plan, that's really the longer term vision for the city," Dr. Banyan said.
Staff told the board the Florida Department of Commerce reviewed the city's EAR-based amendments submitted in 2024 and asked the city to reflect legislative changes that took effect July 1, 2023. Those changes require local governments to extend commonly used planning horizons from 5 and 10 years to 10 and 20 years. Staff said the technical work focused on demographic updates and land-capacity analysis to demonstrate sufficient developable land to accommodate population projections through 2050.
The presentation also addressed Senate Bill 180, a state law that limits local governments from adopting more restrictive land-use rules for one year after a hurricane; staff said it reviewed the amendments to ensure they would not be inconsistent with that limitation. Maps in the packet incorporate updated city boundaries and a recent Urbana Lakes amendment; staff said they made only a small number of text edits to reflect the new planning horizon language.
Jensen told the board the next steps include a public meeting on March 31, presentation to city council on April 1, a state review period (about a month) and potential city council adoption around June, depending on scheduling and state response times. The board asked questions and solicited public comment; none were offered on this item.
A board member moved to recommend approval of the planning-period comprehensive plan amendments (CPA 26-130023-OS), citing staff's analysis and the state review; the motion was seconded and passed 6-0 on roll call (Townsen, Lohan, Doogie, Herschensson, Brown and Lombardo voted yes).
The board's recommendation advances the amendments to the city council and then to the state for review before final adoption.
