Palatka planning board votes to transmit pared-down Comprehensive Plan 2045 after state review

The Palatka Planning Board voted unanimously to approve staff’s recommendation to transmit the revised City of Palatka Comprehensive Plan 2045 to the city commission, moving the plan on for the required local hearings and state review.

Senior Planner Michael Hill, presenting the item, told the board the packet includes the Florida Department of Commerce staff report showing sections the state flagged and the revised plan language staff recommends sending forward. "As you know, this is the comprehensive plan for 2045," Hill said, describing the staff recommendation that the board approve and adopt the revised plan for transmittal.

Board members pressed staff on the plan’s history and scope. A committee member asked why the item was returning to the board; staff said the plan went to the state about a year ago and was returned with written deficiencies tied to Senate Bill 180. Hill explained the state review returned the plan with several callouts and that the packet shows both the original text and the new, state-directed language. Hill said the revisions are necessary to avoid noncompliance with state direction.

A staff member who participated in the process described the public workshops completed by the plan consultant, JB Pro, and said the version before the board is a pared‑down set of changes ‘‘because the state basically struck through every change that we wanted to make.’’ That staff member added, "What we're left with is kind of a skeletal check the box with what we know the state is going to approve." The presentation noted the revised plan must still go to the city commission and then back to the state for review by agencies such as the Department of Transportation and the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Board members asked about the risk of leaving the city out of compliance. Hill said being out of compliance could put grant funding at risk and, in extreme cases he had seen in his experience, could trigger stronger actions; he did not provide specific penalty figures. Staff also told the board that the restrictions in Senate Bill 180 expire on 2027-10-01, after which more substantive changes could be considered.

After discussion the board approved the motion to transmit the revised comprehensive plan; the motion was seconded and recorded as passing unanimously. The plan will proceed to the city commission for formal hearings and then be resubmitted to the state agencies for final review.