Okaloosa County BOCC — June 16, 2015 — Public Hearing of Ordinance Amending the Administrative Adjustment — agenda request — reading text

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: June 16, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Elliot Kampert SUBJECT: Public Hearing of Ordinance Amending the Administrative Adjustment Provisions of the LDC DEPARTMENT: Growth Management BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Conduct a public hearing to consider amending Section 1A.04 of the Land Development Code pertaining to Administrative Adjustments. BACKGROUND: The Board of County Commissioners has received numerous requests from citizens to be allowed to keep limited varieties of poultry in residential districts for the purposes of egg production in addition to the birds’ value as pets. In response to such requests, the Board of County Commissioners directed staff to research the issue and develop standards that would allow the keeping of poultry in residential areas in a manner that would not become burdensome to adjacent property owners. After reviewing numerous poultry-related ordinances, staff has determined that the best way to accomplish the Board’s directive is to utilize the Land Development Code’s Administrative Adjustment process to allow the keeping of poultry as an accessory use in the R-1 zone, and the Special Exception process to allow such activity in the R-2 and R-3 zones. To do this, it is necessary to amend two sections of the Land Development Code. The first is section 2.21.05.10 “Livestock; Poultry; Beekeeping”, which regulates the keeping of the subject types of animals. The second is section 1A.04 which establishes the process through which a property owner may receive an administrative adjustment to the provisions of the Code as an alternative to a special exception. This staff report and the public hearing for which this report is offered is concerned with section 1A.04, Administrative Adjustments. Section 2.21.05.10 is the subject of a separate hearing and report. Section 1A.04 of the Land Development Code (LDC) was adopted in May of 2010 in order to provide an expeditious process through which minor adjustments to the standard provisions of the Land Development Code which did not result due to a demonstrable hardship could be approved on a site-specific basis. In summary, a property owner wishing to avail him or herself of an administrative adjustment must submit an application to the Growth Management Department and notify the adjacent property owners of the proposed change in order to provide an opportunity for comment and input. In the time since the Administrative Adjustment provisions were adopted, staff has become aware of several areas in which the process should be better described. These areas of improvement include written procedures to govern the contents of applications, the notice provided to adjacent property owners, providing for the consideration of adjacent property owner comments, establishing a timeline within which adjacent property owners must respond, and providing a timeline within which the Planning Official must render a decision regarding the requested adjustment. So that the proposed changes may be seen in the context of the code as it currently exists, and in order to provide an explanation for the proposed change in the context in which it appears, a strike-through and underline version of the Section 1.A.04 showing the proposed changes along with an explanation of the substantive revisions accompanies this report as Attachment 1. Please note Section 1A.04.05.6 which establishes the standards through which poultry may be kept in the R-1 district. The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing regarding the proposed revisions to Section 1A.04 during its regular meeting of May 14, 2015. No one spoke for against the proposed changes, and the Military Representative to the Planning Commission provided no comments or objections. At the close of the public hearing, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the proposed revisions as presented by staff. OPTIONS: The Board of county Commissioners may adopt, deny, or adopt with modifications the ordinance amending Section 1A.04 of the Land Development Code, or it may take other action as it deems appropriate. RECOMMENDATIONS: It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners consider the facts presented herein, as well as any facts that may be presented at the public hearing, and then vote to approve, reject, or take other action regarding the proposed revisions. Recommended motion if the Board wishes to adopt the version as originally proposed by staff: “Move to adopt the ordinance presented as Attachment 2, amending Section 1A.04 of the Okaloosa County Land Development Code, Ordinance 91-01 as amended, pertaining to the review and approval of administrative adjustments. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator