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Keystone Heights wins $60,000 Florida Commerce planning grant; board warned state law may limit changes
Summary
City staff told the Planning and Zoning Board the $60,000 grant from Florida Commerce will fund a three-part comprehensive-plan update and public engagement plan, but cautioned that recent state law (Senate Bill 180) may restrict which local changes the state will approve.
Keystone Heights staff announced that the city was awarded a $60,000 "planning and technical assistance" grant from Florida Commerce to help fund an update to the city's comprehensive plan and required public engagement.
Janice Sweet, the city planner (introduced by staff), told the Planning and Zoning Board that the grant covers three primary deliverables: a review and assessment of the comprehensive-plan goals and policies, a marked-up draft showing proposed changes, and public workshops and community meetings to gather input. Sweet said staff expects to combine or adjust some deliverable dates because the grant agreement arrived later than anticipated and that the state fiscal-year deadline means most grant activity must be charged by June 30.
"We have to do a comprehensive plan update. It's required by statute that we need to review our do an evaluation and make recommendations," Janice Sweet said, outlining the work the grant will fund.
Staff also advised the board to be cautious about the wording of any changes. Sweet and other staff members explained that, under recent state guidance tied to Senate Bill 180, modifications that the state deems "more restrictive" than the prior plan risk being returned or voided by reviewers. The board was told the city will consult legal counsel and be careful in drafting language that could trigger a state-level rejection.
As part of the grant work, staff will produce GIS-format maps, post drafts and notices on the city website, and run surveys and public meetings to meet the engagement deliverable. Staff asked board members to review the future land use map and related policy language (LU-11.41) and bring specific suggested edits or boundary concerns to the next workshop.
Procedural actions taken at the start of the meeting included a vote to approve the board's Oct. 15 minutes and a board motion to refer a concern about wording in a September minute to the city attorney for guidance; staff said any reconsideration will be placed on a future (January) agenda after legal review.
The board agreed to target a joint workshop in March and tentatively scheduled a January follow-up meeting for Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. to continue review of the draft plan, engagement plan and future land use map.
