Exh 9AGENDA ITEM #9
MAY 13, 2002
May 6, 2002.
MEMORANDUM
TO: The Honorable Mayor
and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jim Hans
C'$y'1v
SUBJECT: City er's Report
Second Commission Meeting In Mav; The 4th Monday isMay is Memorial Day. Section 2-16
ofthe City Code states that if the second or fourth Monday falls on a holiday, the regular
meeting shall be scheduled for the following Tuesday. In this case, the regular meeting will be
held on May 28tt'.
Fire at Tideviews Park• A fire in a wooded area of Tideviews Park recently occurred which
burned approximately 115 feet ofthe City's boardwalk and melted one ofthe benches. The total
estimated cost of the loss exceeds 524,000. A claim has been filed with the City's insurance
carrier. The Police Department has not been able to determine the cause ofthe fire.
Evaluation and Aoaraisal Renort (EARL and Comprehensive Plan Revisions;
Commissioners have expressed an interest in making adjustments to the City's caning map and
possibly other changes to the 1990 Comprehensive Plan. The State of Florida has mandated a
procedure to follow when making any Comp Plan amendments. A major component of that is
completing an EAR Report. Attached for your review is a memo dated Apri129, 2002 from
Sonya Doerr outlining the State requirements for both the EAR and Comp Plan revisions and a
timetable of events leading to that point. There will be several steps along the way for both input
from the Mayor and Commission as well as the public. The first of these is anticipated late in
June when the City Commission and Community Development Board will consider the draft of
the EAR
Public Information Program for Core City Protect; The City's construction management
firm, GAI, will attend the Commission Meeting on May 13m to present a plan that has been
crafted to communicate with residents ofthe Core City area throughout the project and to
address any citizen comp4•sints that may arise.
.AGENDA ITEM #9
MAY 13, 2002
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Sonya B. Doerr, AICP
Community Development Director
DATE: Apri129, 2002
RE: Summary of the Comprehensive Plan and Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR)
Process
In 1985, the State Legislature revised the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development
Regulation Act (commonly referred to as the Growth Management Act) to require that all local governments
develop and implement a comprehensive plan upon. which future land use decisions would be based. The
responsibility to ensure that comprehensive plans met the basic requirements of the law was placed with the
Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
With those 1985 changes to the law, many communities were compelled to carefully consider growth and
land use issues for the first time. Now, 17 yeazs later, comprehensive plans have been adopted and
implemented by all 67 Florida counties and by 394 cities. The State of Florida is one of only a handful of
states that regulate growth and land use at the statewide level.. These states aze referred to as the growth
management states, and in spite of the complexities and some failures, Florida is nationally recognized as one
of the successes in statewide land use regulation.
The growth management regulations are enacted by Florida Statutes, Chapter. 163, Part II, and the
administrative rules are set forth within the Florida Administrative Code, Rules 9J-5 and 9J-11. The
legislation mandates that all local Comprehensive Plans include certain elements, and gives discretion to other
issues which may be or may not be relevant to a particular jurisdiction. Each element must contain goals,
objectives and policies (GOPS) to implement the plan for five and ten-yeaz time periods. These specific
GOPS provide the policy direction for amending local zoning and land development regulations as necessary
to implement the Plan. The required elements of the Comprehensive Plan aze:
• a future land use element and a future land use map, which designates proposed general distribution
and location of various types of land uses including standazds for residential density and building
intensities,
• an infrastructure element, which addresses solid waste, sanitary sewer, potable water, drainage and
stormwater, and any natural aquifer rechazge areas,
AGENDA ITEM #9
MAY 13, 2002
• a coastal management element (for most coastal communities);
• a conservation element;
• a traffic circulation element;
• a housing element;
• a recreation and open space element;
• a capital improvements element that addresses the need, provision and funding for adequate public
facilities; and
• an intergovernmental coordination element.
There are also several optional elements, which may be included in the Comprehensive Plan. As an example,.
the City of Atlantic Beach may wish to include a community design element which could consist of design
polices and recommendations to address neighborhood redevelopment, subdivision design, open space
requirements, and similaz issues. Such policies and recommendations would then be used to amend land
development regulations related to future redevelopment and new development.
During the past four years,. communities larger than 2,500 in population have updated and reassessed their
Comprehensive Plans through the required Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) process. Most EARs
have now been reviewed by DCA and found to have included sufficient information to allow amendments to
Comprehensive Plans to proceed in accordance with the EAR recommendations. The EAR adopted by the
City of Atlantic Beach Florida, however, was found to be insufficient. As such, the City cannot proceed with
amendments to the adopted Comprehensive Plan until the minimum requirements of the. EAR process are
met.
The administrative rules related to the EAR process and the Comprehensive Plan amendment process
establish procedures for consideration and adoption of these documents. These procedures require the local
government to seek public input through transmittal hearings, prior to submitting the EAR and any
subsequent Comprehensive Plan amendments to DCA. Once our revised EAR is found to be sufficient, we
will proceed with amendments to the current Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan amendments
will be transmitted to the State; DCA will then review and offer comments on the proposed amendments.
Once any comments are addressed, the City will hold adoption hearings' to enact the EAR-based
Comprehensive Plan amendments.
As you are likely awaze, the Governor and the Legislature have cited growth management as a major priority
over the last two sessions.. Recent changes in the legislation now require local governments to submit a
progress report regarding school planning and to address the success of coordinating the comprehensive plan
with existing and planned public school facilities. It is anticipated that this requirement will be addressed
within the Intergovernmental Coozdination element, since most of the schools serving the City of Atlantic
Beach are outside of the municipal limits.
The impact of other recent changes related to growth management. and Comprehensive Plans will be more
significant to counties and larger developing jurisdictions. I do not anticipate that the amendments needed to
our Plan will require major changes in policy direction, but I do expect that the Coastal Management clement,
and how the City proposes to address redevelopment in the event of a catastrophic storm event, will be
expanded and strengthened due to changes in State law since our original Comprehensive Plan was adopted in
1990.
If you are interested in obtaining a summary of Enrolled Bills from the 2002 Legislative Session, please call
me, and I will mail a copy to you. I have also included a copy of F.S., Chapter 163.3177, which sets forth the
requirements for Comprehensive Plans.
2
Anticiuated EAR schedule with nronosed workshop and meetin¢ dates
AGENDA ITEM #9
MAY 13, 2002
June 25, 2002 )pint Community Development Boazd and City Commission .workshop to
present a draft and take comments related to the Evaluation and Appraisal
Report. Draft report to be sent to all members at least one week prior to
workshop.
July 16, 2002 Make revisions resulting from joint workshop and place on the regulaz July
CD Board agenda to consider a recommendation to City Commission to
transmit to Department of Community Affairs. (T'he CD Boazd is the
designated Local Planning Agency, and by Statute, the LPA is required to
make a recommendation to the local government on the EAR and all
Comprehensive Plan amendments.) This would be the first public meeting
where any public input would be heazd.)
July 22, 2002 "Transmittal hearing" is required by F.S., Chapter 163. Commission will
vote to transmit the EAR to DCA, or theycould request changes prior to
transmittal. This meeting is required to be a public hearing, so there is again.
opportunity. for any further public comment. If the Commission votes to
transmit, we will forwazd the EAR to the Regional Planning Council and
DCA's Division of Community Planning.
DCA Review DCA may take thirty days to review and provide Objections,
Recommendations and Comments (the infamous "ORC Report"). We are
aut of the normal review schedules set by DCA for this process, but I assume
they would still adhere to the established review periods.
Sufficiency Finding Once DCA fmds that the EAR is sufficient in meeting the minimum
requirements of the Statutes, they will issue a letter of sufficiency. A fmal
Commission hearing must then be held to adopt the EAR. We may then
initiate "EAR-based" amendments to the Comprehensive Plan.
Amendment to
Comprehensive Plan
Chapter 163 establishes a review and adoption schedule forComprehensive
Plan amendments. .(This process was "streamlined" in this legislative
session, but the rules to enact the new amendment process are not yet
available.) The Comprehensive Plan amendment process is similaz to the
EAR process. A series of workshops and public hearings will be required
prior to a transmittal hearing. Once the Commission acts to transmit, DCA
will have 45 days to review and comment on the proposed amendments.
Once this is completed, and if DCA finds the proposed amendment to be in
compliance with Chapter 163, a Notice of Intent will be issued by DCA that
the local governnent intends to adopt the amendments. The Commission
may then schedule a public hearing(s) to adopt the Plan amendments.
3,