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Residents urge council to address "commercial" comp-plan mapping in South Brooksville; staff explain lawful nonconforming status
Summary
Resident Michael Berman told council his block in South Brooksville is mapped commercial in the comprehensive plan despite longstanding single-family homes; staff and the city attorney explained lawful nonconforming uses, the comp-plan amendment cost and an application path for a written nonconformity opinion.
Michael Berman, a resident of East Liberty Street since 2018, told council most homes on his block are designated commercial in the comprehensive plan even though they are long-established single-family residences. He said that to change the comp plan would require a state submittal and a roughly $202,000 application fee plus an expected state review time of about six months and another three months for city processing.
"The real scary part ... is that if we had damage like a fire or tree damage, we would not be able to rebuild our houses," Berman said, asking council to consider changing the zoning for affected properties. City staff and the city attorney explained the city's land-development code treats these properties as "lawful nonconforming uses" that can remain a residence and can be repaired or rebuilt under certain conditions; staff pointed to Section 9-3.6 and said a property owner can apply for a formal letter or interpretation regarding nonconforming status.
The city attorney and planning staff said the city manager may issue interpretations and that an application process exists to request a formal nonconformity opinion; staff advised Berman to pursue that application or consult staff for next steps rather than undertake the full comp-plan amendment without that review.
