THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE PLANNING AND REDEVELOPMENT DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
On February 11, 2014, the County Commission considered an agenda item (Regular Agenda Item 27) requesting the Board to initiate an amendment to the Broward County Land Use Plan to provide for the “transfer of residential development rights” between adjacent properties on the barrier island. Please see Exhibit 1. The “barrier island” in Broward County is defined as all lands east of the Intracoastal Waterway.
During the Board’s consideration of the agenda item, County staff was asked to comment and staff verbally asked to be given an opportunity to further explore the intent and potential consequences of the proposal and concept, as it was not well defined and appeared to represent a significant departure from the current policies and provisions of the Broward County Land Use Plan and Broward County Comprehensive Plan.
The Board deferred the item for 60 days to allow staff to conduct an evaluation and provide recommendations.
Our review finds that the concept presented on February 11th is generally inconsistent with County policy as it relates to density on the Barrier Island. However, staff is also of the opinion that the concept presented on February 11th speaks to broader issues involving the Broward County Land Use Plan and Broward County Comprehensive Plan.
In this light, staff prepared a short paper which concludes that the time is ripe to advance discussions concerning the existing policies and functions of the Broward County Land Use Plan (BCLUP) and Broward County Comprehensive Plan, including how they relate to local issues within municipalities and how they address county-wide issues of regional significance. Please see Exhibit 2.
The current request, as well as many issues raised within the past few years, supports the need to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the documents and avoid a piecemeal amendment approach addressing concerns as they arise. Following are some of the issue areas that have been raised:
• Climate Change and Environmental Protection
• Population Growth and Economic Sustainability
• Complete Streets and Transit Accessibility
• Municipal Use of BCLUP “Flexibility Rules”
• Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities
• Redevelopment / Infill and Land Use Compatibility
• Post Disaster Planning and Sea Level Rise Resiliency
It is recommended the County investigate the foundations and assumptions of the existing Countywide planning program, which were largely established in the 1970’s and 1980’s, when much of the County was undeveloped and unincorporated, and seek to comprehensively update the program to recognize and meet the challenges of Broward County’s future. A by-product of such an effort could be a revamped relationship between the County and municipalities where interests can be identified and programs developed that allow each municipal entity to focus on matters of specific concern yet encourage collaboration on matters of regional interest. A means to accomplish this might be to reorient the BCLUP from its current “map-change” focus, including sufficiency of the Plan’s “flexibility rules,” to setting mutually agreed-upon regional priorities and parameters for their accomplishment, e.g., transit and mobility, affordable housing, climate change mitigation and adaptation, regional economic development, environmental protection, enhancement and protection of recreation and open space areas, disaster preparedness.
It is recommended that the Board direct County staff, in coordination with the Broward County Planning Council staff, to conduct this comprehensive analysis with assistance from stakeholders and interested groups, and return within 18-24 months with recommendations for Board consideration, including proposed amendments. Periodic updates will be provided every 90 days on the County's and Planning Council's websites and as directed by the Board. |