Okaloosa County BOCC — August 2, 2016 — Comprehensive Plan Evaluation & Appraisal Report — agenda request — reading text

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: August 2, 2016 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Elliot Kampert SUBJECT: Comprehensive Plan Evaluation & Appraisal Report DEPARTMENT: Growth Management BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE: At least once every 7 years, each local government shall evaluate its comprehensive plan to determine if plan amendments are necessary to reflect changes in state requirements since the last update of the comprehensive plan, and notify the state land planning agency as to its determination. The last comprehensive plan EAR update was in 2009. If the local government determines amendments to its comprehensive plan are necessary to reflect changes in state requirements, the local government shall prepare and transmit within 1 year such plan amendment or amendments for state review. Local governments are also encouraged to comprehensively evaluate and, as necessary, update comprehensive plans to reflect changes in local conditions . If a local government fails to comply it may not amend its comprehensive plan until such time as it complies. The attached EAR identifies new state requirements since 2009. The EAR further identifies those requirements applicable to the comprehensive plan as well as recommendations for plan amendments to meet those requirements. Recommendations presented in the EAR are as follow. 1. The County is no longer required to maintain a transportation concurrency management system. If the County chooses to not continue with transportation concurrency then a plan amendment will be required to remove it from the Comprehensive Plan. If the County chooses to continue with transportation concurrency it is recommended that a transportation engineering consultant be hired to ensure the County meets the new statutory requirements such as updated level of service standards, proportionate share fees, and development review procedures. 2. Public school concurrency is no longer required. Public school concurrency has been removed from the Comprehensive Plans of the cities except for Laurel Hill, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, and Destin. City of Destin officials indicated it will be removed from that city’s plan in the near future. It is recommended that the County coordinate with the school district to remove public school concurrency from the County’s plan. A plan amendment will be required to remove the Public Schools Facilities Element from the Comprehensive Plan. 3. Stormwater management concurrency is no longer required. Stormwater management and drainage are among the more pressing problems facing the County. The County should not give up any tool at its disposal to correct existing stormwater problems as well as prevent future problems. It is recommended that stormwater concurrency provisions be retained in the Comprehensive Plan. 4. Parks and recreation concurrency is no longer required. The County currently has 449 acres of county- maintained parks. The level-of-service (LOS) for parks as specified in the Comprehensive Plan, Recreation and Open Space Element, Policy 3.1 is 0.6 acres of parks per 1000 population. This LOS equates to a demand for 66 acres of parks (2015 BEBR unincorporated population 110,280 divided by 1000 = 110.28 X 0.6 = 66). This does not include parks within cities or state and federal parks and recreation areas. However, notwithstanding the gross acreage of parkland acquired, the County’s Parks Master Plan identifies a need for neighborhood and community parks, along with various facilities, which the County’s current inventory cannot provide due to individual parcel size or other constraints. Based on the needs identified in the Master Plan, it is recommended that the County review its recreation concurrency requirements, and based upon the data and analysis, amend the requirements to better address the identified needs. 5. There were significant changes regarding compatibility with military installations. While these changes in state requirements occurred after the County’s 2009 EAR the County had already included policies in its Plan to address compatibility with military installations. A Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) was completed in June, 2009 as well as a Tri-County Growth Management Plan completed in June, 2010. A more detailed Small Areas Study was conducted for areas north and east of the Eglin reservation and completed in October, 2012. Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan were made by the County in response to these study efforts which fulfill state requirements. No additional plan amendments are considered necessary. 6. There were changes made in the requirements for the Coastal Management Element. The County has already addressed these requirements either as part of the Comprehensive Plan or in the Land development Code. Pertinent parts of the Plan are found in the Coastal Management Element, Objective 2.1 which “Directs population concentrations away from Coastal High Hazard Areas through implementation of the future land use map, through acquisition of land, and through implementation of the Local Mitigation Strategy” and related Policies 2.1.1 to 2.1.3; Objective 2.3 which “Protect property within Coastal High Hazard Areas from coastal flooding, storm surge and high winds through implementation of construction standards” and related Policies 2.2.1 and 2.2.2; and, Objective 2.3 which “Limits public expenditures that subsidize development permitted in coastal high hazard areas, and give priority in shoreline development to those land uses that are dependent on or related to water access and to developments that comply with performance standards” and related Policies 2.3.1 to 2.3.5. Okaloosa County has participated in the National Flood Insurance Program since July 1, 1977 and is in good standing with the program. Regulation of flood-prone areas is found in Section 3.06.00 Flood Hazard Areas of the Land Development Code. The County also participates in the Community Rating System (CRS) County is currently rated a Class 5. The County is also in the process of updating its Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) and will incorporate any necessary plan amendments as may be required. Okaloosa County is currently in process of having and accepting new National Flood Insurance Program Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Preliminary maps were presented to the public for their review in a Public Meeting held on June 28, 2016. No additional plan amendments are considered necessary at this time. PLANNING COMMISSION: During its regular meeting of July 14, 2016, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the 2016 Evaluation and Appraisal Report. MILITARY REPRESENTATIVE: The Military Representative on the Planning Commission had no objections to the 2016 Evaluation and Appraisal Report. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners approve the attached Evaluation and Appraisal Report and authorize transmittal to the State Land Planning Agency (Florida Department of Economic Opportunity). RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator