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Lake Worth Beach planning board recommends broad LDR amendments, orders parking cap
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously Aug. 6 to recommend Ordinance 2025-04, a package of land-development code changes including clarified definitions for impervious surfaces and sheds, reaffirmed site-plan review thresholds and a board-requested cap on mixed-use parking reductions.
The Lake Worth Beach Planning & Zoning Board voted Aug. 6 to recommend Ordinance 2025-04, a package of amendments to Chapter 23 of the city's land development regulations intended as summer housekeeping and clarification. Staff described changes to definitions for impervious and semi-pervious surfaces, shed exemptions and the thresholds for site-plan review.
"We did incorporate the proposed revisions to the impervious and semi pervious surface definitions to clarify the setback from property lines doesn't apply to side or rear property lines if they're used to access parking," staff said during the presentation. Staff told the board it had considered but deferred more detailed green-roof incentive language to a later revision and recommended retaining a single, enforceable shed exemption rather than a per-property-area approach.
Board members focused on site-plan review and parking. Staff reiterated that site-plan review "shall be required for construction of all new structures outside of single family and two-family zoning districts" and that residential properties with three or more dwelling units would require site-plan review. Members asked whether a triplex would trigger review; staff confirmed it would.
On parking, board discussion centered on reducing a mixed-use parking deduction from 25% to 15% and whether reductions should ever let a project fall below the higher minimum required by any single use on the site. One member described a past case where adding a small commercial footprint led to a substantial overall reduction in required parking and urged protections against such loopholes. The board asked staff to add a modification ensuring a mixed-use reduction cannot reduce required parking below the dominant use's minimum.
After debate the board voted unanimously to recommend approval of Ordinance 2025-04 with the staff edits and the additional parking modification the board requested. The board's recommendation will go to the City Commission for final action.
