Agenda Item Name:
Title
CPA 03-19: Public Hearing on Adoption of Amendments to Update the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan based on the Evaluation & Appraisal.
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Presenter:
Multiple Presenters (contact Ken Zeichner or Ben Chumley, Growth Management)
Description:
This is a public hearing to consider the adoption of an ordinance amending the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan based on the Evaluation & Appraisal of the Plan as required by Chapter 163.3191 Florida Statutes. The ordinance amends various goals, objectives, policies, and maps within multiple elements of the County’s Comprehensive Plan to address changes in state statutory requirements since the last update of the Plan, as well as to address issues of local concern, and to update the Plan for the time period of 2019-2040.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Adopt ordinance to approve CPA 03-19, the Evaluation & Appraisal-based amendments updating the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan.
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Prior Board Motions:
June 25, 2019: The Board voted to transmit the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments (CPA 03-19) for state and other agency review.
The Board has also made numerous motions providing direction on general strategies and draft amendments to the various goals, objectives, and policies in the Comprehensive Plan during the multiple public workshops that were held as part of the Evaluation & Appraisal and Plan Update process over the past two years.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
N/A
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Background:
The process for the Evaluation & Appraisal of the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan began in early 2017. Over the past two and a half years, there have been multiple public workshops with the County's Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners, as well as meetings with advisory boards and community groups, to identify and review the issues to be considered as part of the Evaluation & Appraisal of the Plan, identify general strategies for updating the Plan, and review draft revisions to the goals, objectives, policies, and maps in the Plan. The proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan that are being considered at this public hearing are the result of this public process.
The Alachua County Planning Commission, serving as the Local Planning Agency (LPA), held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan on May 15, 2019, and made its recommendations to the County Commission. The County Commission then held a public hearing on June 25, 2019, and voted to transmit the amendments for state and other agency review, with several specific revisions which were incorporated into the amendment package that was sent to the reviewing agencies.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (FDEO) issued a letter on August 21, 2019 indicating that it had completed its review of the County’s proposed amendments, and that it identified no objections, recommendations or comments. None of the other state and regional review agencies or adjoining local governments had comments on the proposed amendments. Pursuant to Florida Statutes, the County is required to hold a public hearing to consider whether to adopt these Comprehensive Plan amendments within 180 days of its receipt of FDEO’s review letter.
There are six changes to the Comprehensive Plan amendments from the version that the Board voted to transmit for state agency review on June 25, 2019. These changes are shown in strike-through and underline format and summarized in the attached document, “Summary of Changes from Transmittal”. Two of the changes are to address the Board’s direction to bring back policy language at the adoption hearing to address issues relating to high speed internet access and updated renewable energy goals; two of the changes are editorial clarifications to the policies on open space and on health impact assessments; one change updates the timeframes for the recreation schedule of capital improvements; and one change updates terminology on “transitional housing” for consistency with federal housing program funding guidelines.
If these Plan amendments are adopted by the County Commission, they are required by Section 163.3184(4)(e) to be transmitted to the state land planning agency (FDEO) and to any other agencies that provided timely comments within 10 working days of the adoption hearing. FDEO will then notify the County whether the adopted amendment package is “complete” within 5 working days after receipt. Once the amendment package is found complete, FDEO then has 45 days to determine if the Plan amendments are in compliance with the Community Planning Act. The Plan amendments would go into effect upon FDEO’s issuance of a notice of intent to find them in compliance with the Community Planning Act. Section 163.3184(4)(e)4, F.S. provides that, “Unless the plan or plan amendment is substantially changed from the one commented on, the state land planning agency’s compliance determination shall be limited to objections raised in the objections, recommendations, and comments report.”
Pursuant to Section 163.3184(5), F.S., a petition for administrative challenge may be filed by an affected person within 30 days after the adoption of the Plan amendment.