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Surfside ballot asks voters to require supermajority and 60% referendum for single‑family FAR changes
Summary
Voters in Surfside will decide March 17 whether to amend the charter to require four of five town commissioners and a 60% referendum approval to change floor‑area‑ratio rules for detached single‑family homes in the H30A and H30B districts.
Clerk read Ballot Question 1 aloud, asking voters: “Shall the charter be amended to require a vote of 4 of the 5 town commissioners to make any changes to the town's zoning code affecting floor area ratio, FAR, for all detached single family homes in the H30A and H30B Districts?” The question appears on the ballot for the election on Tuesday, March 17.
The measure would change how the Town Commission amends FAR rules for detached single‑family homes in the H30A and H30B zoning districts by raising the internal vote threshold. Staff explained that a yes vote would require at least four of the five commissioners to approve any future FAR regulation changes for those districts. It would also require, to amend or repeal this charter provision later, a four‑fifths vote of the commission plus approval by at least 60% of votes cast in a referendum.
A no vote would leave the current process unchanged: changes to FAR regulations would continue to be decided by a majority vote of the Town Commission. The reading included the precise ballot language presented to voters and an explanatory summary of the yes/no consequences.
How the measure would affect specific properties or development proposals was not discussed in detail during the reading. The transcript does not record any votes or further debate; it records only the ballot language and the explanatory summary. The outcome will be determined by the March 17 referendum.
