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Fort Pierce planning board recommends 2026 comprehensive plan EAR be transmitted to city commission
Summary
The Planning Board voted to recommend transmitting the 2026 Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) — which updates planning horizons, maps, and policies — to the City Commission and state review agencies. Staff cited a March response from Florida Commerce and said most changes are edits to reduce perceived "restrictive or burdensome" provisions under SB 180.
The Fort Pierce Local Planning Agency on Aug. 10 voted to recommend transmission of the city's 2026 Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) to the City Commission and state review agencies.
"We were hired by the city to do your evaluation and appraisal review of your comprehensive plan," said Stephanie Hite, deputy executive director of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, who presented the draft EAR and described updates to the plan's 12 elements and associated maps. Hite told the board that the city's planning horizons were adjusted to 2036 and 2046 and that staff prepared new data tables on population, vacant land, housing tenure and levels of service.
Hite said Florida Commerce returned comments on March 27 indicating some provisions appeared "more restrictive or burdensome" and that SB 180 effectively rendered the prior transmittal null and void, requiring resubmission. "So in our resubmission documents, policy 3-26 will not be there," she said, describing edits to remove statutory conflicts. The presentation noted edits to encourage shared driveways through incentives rather than mandatory cross-access requirements, added policies on coastal resilience and neglected vessels, and clarified transportation and infrastructure policies.
Board members asked procedural questions about the EAR's effective date and the state review timeline. Hite said the document's effective date remains 2026 after adoption, and the resubmittal and state-review sequence will permit additional agency comments prior to a final adoption hearing. After discussion the board made a motion to recommend that the City Commission accept the transmittal to the state; the motion passed on roll call.
Next steps: the City Commission will receive the EAR transmittal packet, transmit it to the state within the statutory period, and then hold an adoption hearing after state review and any required edits.
