Collier County commissioners add agricultural lands to first reading of 'comparable use' zoning amendment

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners on May 26 agreed to expand a proposed amendment to the county Land Development Code, adding agricultural zoning to a first-reading ordinance that establishes a comparable-use determination process for site-specific uses.

Mike Bozzi, the county’s planning and zoning director, told commissioners the comparable-use procedure is site-specific and requires public hearings, safeguards and compatibility analysis. “When you add that use to the industrial zoning district, it's only at the specific geographic location that that use is being authorized,” Bozzi said, stressing that the change does not open an entire zoning district.

Commissioners debated whether to include agricultural land after the Development Services Advisory Committee recommended also considering the agricultural zoning district. Commissioner Hall and others said they wanted to avoid unintentionally easing approvals for pending petitions on ag land; the county attorney and staff responded that the process merely allows applicants to request consideration and would not automatically grant a use.

The board voted to approve the amendment as a first reading with agricultural lands included and set the required second public hearing for June 9, 2026, giving commissioners time to study potential implications. The action advances an ordinance intended to provide an avenue for property owners to request comparable uses in industrial and, now provisionally, agricultural zones while preserving site-specific review and public comment.

The ordinance will return for formal adoption at the second hearing, when commissioners will consider any adjustments or pull the agricultural district if concerns remain.