Commission asks staff to draft clear rules for 'last‑mile' distribution in Commerce zone

Palm Beach County commissioners gave staff direction to draft code language that clarifies how 'distribution' uses will be treated inside the Commerce future land‑use designation — a category created for light industrial, showroom and small business operations.

Staff told the board that the ULDC currently classifies 'distribution' as a heavy‑industrial use even though Commerce was intended for light industrial operations and local service providers. Commissioners, planning staff, developers and community representatives discussed a host of possible differentiators: square‑foot thresholds per tenant, number/type of loading bays, predominant outbound vehicle types (vans/box trucks vs. tractor‑trailers), limits on cross‑docking or temporary staging, hours of operation, and separation from child‑care or recreational uses within mixed projects.

Small business advocates and developers said clear, workable language would help staff process tenant changes without protracted rezoning steps. Barbara Roth (COBRA) and neighborhood representatives urged caution to avoid 'intensity creep' and asked for traffic, hours and truck‑count thresholds. Several commissioners suggested options such as a tiered approach (commerce‑light vs. commerce‑regional), square‑foot caps per tenant (examples suggested in testimony: 50,000 sq ft or lower), limits on 18‑wheeler traffic, and conditional‑use review for larger users.

After public testimony from traffic engineers, applicants and neighbors, the board directed staff to work with affected commissioners, community stakeholders and small‑business representatives to return with draft code options that would allow appropriate small local distribution while preventing large regional warehouses from locating in Commerce areas. No immediate vote was taken; this was direction to staff to prepare text amendments and return for review.