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Atlantic Beach removes residential on-site stormwater requirement pending a master plan update
Summary
After extensive public comment and staff presentations, the commission voted 3–2 on Sept. 22 to remove Section 24‑89(c) — the city’s on-site residential stormwater storage requirement — and adopt the land‑development amendment as amended, directing a future stormwater master-plan review.
The Atlantic Beach City Commission on Sept. 22 voted to remove the city’s on-site residential stormwater-storage requirement (Section 24‑89(c) of the land-development code) and adopted ordinance 90‑25‑257 as amended, sending the broader question of tailored, basin-level standards to a forthcoming stormwater master-plan update.
Public Works Director Rick Carver argued that on-site storage reduces runoff and avoids much larger public infrastructure costs, saying, “I am an unabashed believer in on-site storage,” and citing staff calculations that the city added roughly 90,000 cubic feet of on-site storage from permitted projects in 2024. Carver and staff recommended waiting for a master plan study before eliminating the requirement.
Opponents — including members of the Community Development Board (CDB) and several commissioners — described the requirement as onerous and unevenly applied in older neighborhoods. The CDB had recommended removal of the requirement for residential properties, and commissioners pressing for relief flagged unintended consequences: under the proposed 35% lot-coverage trigger, small additions such as a 10‑by‑10 shed could push a property over the threshold and require on-site mitigation. Amanda Askew, neighborhoods director, explained the proposal: if a property’s lot coverage exceeds 35% because of a new addition, the net increase between 35% and the new coverage would trigger on-site stormwater obligations.
Commissioner Ring offered the amendment to remove subsection 24‑89(c) entirely. After debate about de minimis thresholds and the administrative burden of enforcement, the commission adopted the amendment and passed the ordinance as amended by a 3–2 vote (yes: Ring, Grant, Mayor Ford; no: Kelly, Bull). The commission discussed directing the upcoming stormwater master-plan update to consider basin- or zone-based standards that could tailor requirements to topography and neighborhood drainage patterns.
The change removes the on-site-storage mandate for residential increases citywide until staff and consultants complete a more granular master-plan analysis and possible zoning refinements. Public Works staff cautioned that removing the requirement will shift management of runoff burdens and emphasized that the city can pursue basin-level solutions as part of the master-plan scope.
