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Fernandina Beach planning board directs staff to rewrite PUD rules, drops minimum acreage
Summary
The Planning Advisory Board on July 10 asked staff to draft a rewrite of the city's Planned Unit Development (PUD) standards to eliminate minimum acreage requirements (sections I.1 and I.2), modify related code, and allow civic/recreational/open space to qualify toward required public-benefit set-asides.
The Fernandina Beach Planning Advisory Board voted on July 10 to direct staff to draft a rewrite of the city's Planned Unit Development (PUD) standards that would eliminate the existing minimum-acreage requirements and modify related sections of the Land Development Code.
The board's move followed a staff presentation and packet prepared by intern Emily Flint, who summarized PUD practices from multiple Florida municipalities, noting wide variation in minimum site sizes (from none to 1'2 acres), common open-space requirements (typically 20'25% of a PUD), and preservation incentives used to shape designs. "Planned unit developments have become really common and they have specific sets of requirements that may differ from traditional zoning regulations," Flint told the board.
Board members questioned how the change would work in Fernandina Beach, where the current code sets a 5-acre minimum for PUDs except when affordable housing is involved. Planning staff explained the proposed approach would remove the acreage floor while retaining existing design standards and review controls (TRC, engineering review and public hearings). One member said removing the acreage requirement could allow more flexible placement of homes to preserve trees and native vegetation, while others urged the board to tie any reduction to clear public-benefit standards so the city still obtains civic or recreational value from PUD approvals.
During debate a board member moved that staff "draft a rewrite of the PUD ordinance, eliminating subsections I.1 and I.2, modifying subsection 4, and adding civic, recreational, or open-space language to the public-benefit set-aside." The mover amended the motion to direct staff to update any other code sections that must be changed for consistency. The motion passed by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting text.
City staff said they will prepare revised code language and bring it back for the board's review. The board also asked staff to include concrete examples of how the changes would operate in practice and to show how unit-count thresholds or other alternatives might work in lieu of acreage minimums. The board emphasized that changes would not alter underlying zoning density or comprehensive-plan designations and that any PUD would remain subject to site-level technical review.
Next steps: staff will draft code language and related edits for board consideration and return the proposal at a future meeting for formal review and a possible public hearing.
"If we were to find that this is not working well, we have an onslaught of PUDs and maybe they are not in keeping with the compatibility standards we're looking for ... we're gonna come back and modify this again," planning staff said.
