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Atlantic Beach commissioners direct staff to draft ordinance removing 400 sq ft stormwater trigger and to permit on‑site shared parking
Summary
Following a Community Development Board recommendation, the commission directed the city manager to draft an ordinance to remove the 400‑square‑foot trigger for on‑site residential stormwater retention and unanimously directed staff to permit on‑site shared parking agreements, with staff and the city attorney to draft enforcement mechanisms.
The Atlantic Beach City Commission on June 9 directed staff to draft a code amendment to remove a 400‑square‑foot trigger that currently requires on‑site stormwater retention for some residential projects and separately directed staff to prepare language allowing on‑site shared parking agreements.
City Manager (Killing Schwartz) presented a Community Development Board memo recommending the elimination of the 400‑square‑foot de minimis trigger in section 24‑89 and recommending on‑site shared parking be treated the same as off‑site shared parking. The manager noted the city is one of only a few in Florida with this residential on‑site retention requirement and described the recommendation as aligning Atlantic Beach with other nearby beach communities.
Commissioner Jessica Ring moved to have staff prepare an ordinance to amend Chapter 24‑89; the motion was seconded and carried in a roll‑call vote after discussion about impacts to Atlantic Beach’s older core neighborhoods, topographical exceptions and the timing for public hearings. "We already workshopped it to death last year," Ring said, but argued the commission should decide whether to change the code rather than leaving it to staff.
Commissioners debated homeowner costs and enforcement trade‑offs. The mayor and several commissioners emphasized the disproportionate impact on older neighborhoods with narrow lots and limited stormwater infrastructure; staff noted a pending stormwater master plan study and a potential grant that could double the city's study funding (e.g., $100,000 city match to a $200,000 grant or $200,000 for a $400,000 study). The commission directed staff to prepare an ordinance and staff report with options for first reading and two public hearings in the normal ordinance cycle.
On shared parking, the CDB had recommended treating on‑site shared parking the same as off‑site arrangements. Commissioners and the city attorney discussed enforcement options including recorded agreements, affidavits by property owners and zoning enforcement if agreements lapse. Community Development Board Chair Kirk Hanson said enforcing on‑site agreements would be no more difficult than off‑site ones because both rely on private agreements and the city's recorded permit mechanism. Commissioner Thomas Grant moved and the commission unanimously directed the manager to draft the code amendment permitting on‑site shared parking.
What happens next: staff will draft ordinance language for the stormwater trigger change and prepare a staff report for a first reading (followed by two public hearings) and will likewise draft code language and enforcement mechanisms for on‑site shared parking to return for commission consideration.
