Port Richey delays comprehensive plan amendment after state review window expired

City planner Tammy Vrana told the Port Richey City Council on May 12 that the city’s opportunity to adopt its evaluation and appraisal (EAA) amendments on the planned schedule had lapsed and that staff should restart the transmittal process so the state can fully review objections and recommendations.

"We found out yesterday that the ... time frame for adopting expired on Saturday," Vrana said, urging the council to defer the adoption and refile the amendment so the state review can address issues raised including wetlands density, measurable objective standards and septic-system requirements.

The council voted to cancel the scheduled May adoption public hearing for the EAA amendments and agreed to resubmit the materials for the state-coordinated review cycle. Vrana said the reset gives staff the benefit of state reviewers’ scrutiny and the opportunity to fix problems before re-adoption; she also outlined next steps, including a Planning & Zoning board public hearing and a later city-council transmittal public hearing followed by state review.

Vrana flagged two state-level rules that shaped the recommendation: Senate Bill 180, which she said creates a temporary protection period limiting certain local regulations after a declared disaster, and House Bill 399, which requires measurable objective standards for compatibility language by Jan. 1, 2027. She also noted new Florida Department of Environmental Protection guidance that will affect septic-system policy within the city's infrastructure element.

City Manager Don King and council members supported pausing to avoid submitting an ordinance that the state could later find noncompliant. Councilmember Christine Sullivan moved to cancel the public hearing; Lisa Burke seconded and the motion carried by voice vote.

The planner described the missed timeline as an administrative oversight and framed the delay as an opportunity to incorporate state feedback and strengthen the amendment. Councilmembers and staff discussed scheduling and the likely short delay before resubmitting the package for state review.

The council’s action was procedural: no policy was adopted at the May 12 meeting and the city will return the amendment to the review cycle and schedule new hearings. Staff said they expect to schedule a Planning & Zoning public hearing in June and then bring a transmittal hearing before the council before forwarding the package to the state for formal review.