He's been here since. All right, the hour of 6 o'clock's upon us. I'd like to call to order the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board, Thursday, June 26, 2025. If I can have everyone stand for the pledge.
To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all for all. Okay. Do we have any additions and
deletions to the agenda? Seeing none, we don't have any approval of minutes. We do have three items tonight that that we'll be discussing. Uh the very first item, item number 4 A
is Mullenex Ford. It's the request for major site plan approval administrative use approval for an auto parking and storage lot. MX Ford of Vero Beach LLC owner and applicant Mills Short Associates LLC agent zoning CG general
commercial and OCR office commercial residential land use description CI commercial industrial this is quasi judicial uh any declarations of export time seeing none those that wish to speak on
this item please stand and be sworn Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. All right. Staff. All right. For the record, Brandon Christopher Craig, chief of current development. Chair, members of the board, before you
today is the Molx Ford major site plan and administrative permit use. So on screen is an aerial of the overall portion of the site that also includes the main Ford dealership. Um everything north of the Ford dealership that you see in purple OCR which is our office
commercial residential and then also the little sliver of the general commercial that's in orange that is to the west of this property is what is of subject tonight. On screen is an aerial just to give you an idea of what existing conditions are on site. It's mostly heavily wooded and
then there is also an eagle's nest on the site as well that we'll detail a little later in further slides. The site plan's going to call for 294 vehicle parking spaces. This is mainly just for the vehicle inventory for Monx Ford and I imagine they will also use it
for some employee parking as well, but it's really just for inventory parking. Everything um that you see that is paved or is shown as a parking lot, that is the OCR portion of the property. Everything west of the edge of pavement,
including the Eagle's Nest and the storm water pond, that is the general commercial portion of the site that is not going to be touched except for to create the storm water pond. Traffic circulation is just going to call for general drive aisles um that are going to offer two-way lanes of
traffic. There's two full movement driveway connections to the main MX internal roadway system. Storm water plans going to call for just one storm water pond in blue um to the west of all of the of pavement.
The landscape and tree preservation plan is going to call for a 25- foot thoroughfare plan road buffer. uh county stipulations state that they have to have at minimum a 20 and the applicants um provide an additional five feet along Indian River Drive. Uh no buffer is
required to the southern portion of the site. However, you you do see that they are going to provide a little bit of a buffer there as well. Um to the northern portion of the site um for just the parking area, there's going to be a type C um 25 foot wide buffer. And then as
you start to get into the preservation area more to the west, that's going to turn into a tree preservation area um where the applicant's going to endeavor to um save as many trees as they can on site. And I do have the representatives here today that would be prepared to talk a little bit more about their
preservation strategies. Uh you can also see the eagle's nest and then um they're going to be providing uh shoreline trees around that wet storm water retention pond as well. Staff recommends that the PCC grant major site plan administrative permit
use approval for the MNX Ford with conditions listed in the staff report. One of the most important conditions in the staff report is their adherence to the United States Fish and Wildlife incidental taking permit. I just want to note that the federal government has jurisdiction over the protection of eagles. Um, and they have granted an
incidental taking permit. So, we as a county have no say so in that incidental taking permit. Um but they have gotten the permit and it was included as part of the packet for your purview tonight. Uh they also have to adhere to all the final landscaping, street lighting and tree protection and mitigation
improvements. They have to construct all other improvements that are indicated on the site plan and then also provide site lighting adjustments as needed. Thank you. All right, commissioners. Any questions on my left? Not at this time. Any on the
right? Not at this time. Okay. Seeing none, I'll go ahead and open up for public hearing. Anyone in the public wish to speak? Please state your name and your address. Good evening, chairman. Uh, pleased to
be here tonight. My name is Dan Sorrow with the uh, engineering and planning firm of Mill Shortan Associates. We are the project applicant. I thought staff did a great presentation. just had a couple things to add that may provide a little bit uh more background and insight into the request before you this
evening if that's okay. Um you a little bit of history of this project. This used to be a former Walmart site. So it is already an adaptive reuse project uh once it became a uh a car dealership. Um you know this this project is an infill.
It's located right between US1 and Indian River Drive. US1's probably the most trafficked road in all of Florida. goes all the way from Maine down to the Keys. So, it's in an urban environment. It's developed. Everything is built up around it. Our project is minor. It's a small
parking lot and storage facility. Uh it has commercial general l uh zoning and OCR office, commercial, residential. Two of the most intensive uses in Indian River County. So, if Molenax wasn't developing this and somebody else would,
it could have a building on it. It could have parking. It could have water and sewer, all these other uses. However, what we're proposing is a very low impact use for the site and less intense than it could be developed under the current zoning which allows. Almost half the site is undeveloped. It's going to
maintain its natural preservation area. 42% to be exact is going to remain open space undeveloped. We cited this parking lot around the environmental concern areas in the natural areas. We protected the eagle's nest. It's the best quality
habitat on the site where we're developing the parking lot close to Indian River Shores. Is is full of exotics, a lot of invasive plants there. We're going to have to remove those Brazilian peppers. So, we specifically located this uh to take advantage and
retain the highest quality native vegetation. We love the eagle. The eagle's a friend. We've even got a webcam set up and a YouTube video. It was down for a little bit, but it's up now. You know, with the Florida weather, it's a little uh sparse and intermittent, but uh we did it mostly
for entertainment purposes. It's it's a great uh addition and and I think one that Molenax is really trying to uh preserve. We had to go through Fish and Wildlife Commission to get a permit for this site. the federal agency. Even though the eagle is no longer an
endangered species, you still have to go through all these regulatory approvals to be able to develop adjacent to the eagle's nest. And we specifically laid out this site with all these criteria in mind. We preserved uh the highest vegetation. Couple things I think you
guys would want to know. It's important. You know, if we were a dealership on US1, maybe uh we'd have those blue huey lights, you know, the new LED ones that you see, we're having 100% amber lights because not only is it good for the environment, also the sea turtles, and
it protects uh the wildlife as well. Those are full cut off so that there's no spillover of lights to the environment or to the town homes to the north. Very, very important consideration. Storm water design was very important to
this site. We have everything draining to Indian River Drive. In fact, we've developed uh our structures to have extra filtration and extra membranes so that the water is cleaner when it leaves its site after construction than it is in its current state. So, really
important, we're using the latest cutting edge technology uh for the drainage system. Multiple agencies reviewed this project. Florida Fish and Wildlife has supported this project. St. John's River Water Management District supports this
project. Indian River County Engineering, uh, they've already issued the type A storm water permit. We expect to get the water management district shortly. Um, we're not expanding the water or sewer capacity and the small electrical utilities are for the EV
vehicles and for the parking lot lighting. Landscaping was huge on this project. We had to buffer Indian River Drive and the town houses to the north. So substantial above and beyond the landscaping that's required by the code. Any tree that was
removed due to construction has been replaced inch by inch or we've had to mitigate through payment. So those two options are well above the county code. The expansion of this project is needed to meet the growing local demand for
vehicle sales and storage. This project promotes local economic development while being environmentally sensitive. Molenax Ford is setting an example of responsible business expansion. And lastly,
we have met and exceeded all land development code criteria. This site is private property with the right to develop under the local requirements and local regulations. You received, I think Mr. Kan said in his staff report, a recommendation of
approval from the planning and zoning staff. We respectfully request your approval tonight. On behalf of Molenx Ford, who's in the audience, our project experts are in the audience. If you have any questions, we'd be happy to address them as well as reserve any time for
public uh comment responses after if there's any public com. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Anyone else in the public wish to speak? Please give us your name and your address. My name is Billy Wagner and I live at
222528th Avenue right down the street. I've been doing eagle watch which is how the state keeps track of all eagle nests in the state. All that information goes
to the federal government so that we have information on what nests are active, what nests have been destroyed, what nests have been abandoned. And for example, under the law, uh the eagle nest tree is
protected for five years after it was last used because it could possibly be used again. And the trees they nest in are usually at least 80 years old. So when they do plant a few pines, it's going to be 80 years before it would be
usable by an eagle. I don't know how many pines are on that property, but it's not only the nest tree that the eagles need. They need a tree to perch in. So when the adult male of the pair brings a fish in, the female floods over
and gets the fish and then he goes and incubates the eggs. So, they don't need just one tree, although that's the only tree that's legally protected. Uh, I wanted to talk a little bit about
You can't really These are the eagle nests east of I 95 in our county. This is the one at Tropic Square in 018. It's It's 10 or 15 years old,
that that nest. They moved from this development here when um Great Horned Owl took over. Then we have one south of there east of US1 and the one at 63rd Street is currently
going to be constructed around by Harbor Grand Harbor. Um this one isn't being used anymore. This one's in Bvard County. Actually, these two are in the Buffford Preserve. The one at Sebastian Harbor is no longer
being used. The one at 53rd Street, they just developed right up to it. And the one at 82nd Avenue was surrounded by pines, but it they took all the pines down because it was still zoned agriculture. So, they are allowed to do
that. So, once that tree dies, there won't be any eagles there anymore. So, what I'm saying is the eagles in our county aren't are not doing very well. I monitor all the nests west of I95 on private land and those eagles have half
of those nests were abandoned this year. So eagles are not doing well in our county. The numbers are not increasing, they're decreasing. So under this uh I understand they they got the permit and they're required to they're required
to keep the lights down, not shining in the eagle according to the permit. Uh, I was questioning the, uh, storm water pond, the one that was at Valdi Ford. If you ever saw it, it was just
full of trash. It was never maintained. But, of course, maintenance could possibly mean using chemicals to maintain it, and that's not good either. But it it it's it was a real eyesore. And you wouldn't need a retention pond
on this site if they'd done the below ground uh pipes and they'd put permeable pavement in, which they could have done, but they didn't want to because asphalt's the cheapest thing to use. So therefore, we wouldn't have needed a
retention pond that would require maintenance and all this landscaping. And I am one of the people that wrote the landscaping regulations, the buffer, many years ago. And I never envisioned that it would happen around an eagle
nest and then you're going to have crews coming in there with blowers, mowers, edggers, trimmers making all kinds of noise all the time. I don't want them to do anything from the retention pond all the way to
the eagle nest. you can't have that kind of noise around the eagles. Uh the other thing was I want to know if they're burying any power lines that are going to be in that area because the fledging eagle could
easily fly into a power line or on a rainy day if they touch both wings to a power line they get instantly electrocuted. That's what happens to ospreys. They dive in the water, they get wet, they
land on a line, and if two parts of their body touch the wire, actually one on uh one of the golf courses here, the wings were blown off the body by a short got shorted out. Um
so I want to ask about the power lines. Uh they're supposed to erect a temporary fence 107 ft out from the nest immediately. Um, and they're supposed to minimize the noise like you know the dump trucks, the tailgate goes bam bam bam and the backup
bam beep. They're supposed to minimize that when possible. Now the terms of the permit say they have to have a monitor, but the monitor is only going to come once a month for a brief period of time. But I assure you, Eagle Watch has
assigned that nest. will be assigning that nurse to somebody next year and they will watch it much more intensely and we will we will notify the county if we find any disturbance whatsoever. Uh they have it's a very very minimal
requirement that they have to fulfill. Um, I would like them to erect a perch or a platform on the shoreline of the retention pond because like I said, they're going to be removing the so-called exotics, but at least they're
plants that the birds could perch on. So, they need it would be really nice if they would erect a perch or a platform like ospreys use. So, the eagle has another place to land besides the nest tree because they're they're going to
take down all the other trees, all the other large trees. Um, and that is about it. Uh, the perch platform would be very nice. So, if you have any questions for me, I'll be happy to answer them.
Questions? Do you have any recommendations for this retention pond, whether it be stocked with fish or what depth it might be uh maintained to? Well, I would say it's
a wet pond, not a dry pond. Yeah. Well, I don't know if they'll be filling it with water or it'll just be run off from the asphalt neither. But I think the parking lot is not going to be an active parking lot. It's literally a parking
lot. And so they didn't really have to use asphalt. Therefore, they wouldn't have as much runoff if they had the permeable pavers would have been much much better solution. But the pond in order to stay
clean it would if it was going to be a wet pond they would have to put a fountain in to airate the water. But the most important thing is to have lural vegetation along the shoreline and have a very sloped shoreline not just
like a borrow pit. So that you have all those different plants and that keeps the water clean and fish fish will just show up. It just they just it's like a miracle. If you have clean water, there'll be fish in it eventually.
They'll show up. And I the eagles are either eating roadkill or they're going to the lagoon to get fish because they they do eat roadkill. Any other questions? Any other questions? I I've got one, Miss Wagner.
Is the Eagle's Nest and uh Waterford Lakes or Waterway Village, is it still active? You said 53rd. Oh, so the one at Waterway Village way back that was nest number two in the county. I remember
that one. And um they at that time when Roland was environmental coordinator for the county, they set aside that island, but that tree I used to watch that I've been watching that nest since 2007. They left that nest way long time ago. The
tree died and broke off. But they did plant pines on that island and in 80 years they might be large enough for a eagle. But that eagle moved to 53rd Street. And then that developer cut the tree down when he bought the property
and then uh he was investigated and then the next tree it nested in, they set it set that tree on fire. But now he got his permits. That was in 2012 on my birthday. So I remember uh they're now just now they just did the land
clearing, but they preserve the area where the tree is. And they do have a big borrow pit on there and there's an osprey platform that the eagles like to perch on. They just need a place to perch. They don't want to be on the ground. The only place they get on the ground is to
pick up roadkill or to copulate. Sounds good. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Yes, sir. State your name and address, please. I'm uh Richard Baker. I'm board
chair of the Pelican Island Autobon Society. And Billy Wagner has been doing a terrific job over the years looking after our eagles in our county. So, you got really a great expert there. Um, it's excellent that Mulanax Ford has encouraged the video bird caming of the
bald eagles on the site. It's really nice that they're encouraging people to see it on on their website and uh it's so it's kind of they're interested in protecting that that uh nest and I think that's very important. Um, you can also
observe this nest by going by Cindy's pet store, uh, off of US1 there and just drive around the back of her of that development or that installation there. And less than 200 feet, you can sit in your car and watch that eagle's nest.
There's not nothing between you and the nest. So, it's open to the public to to observe this nest. Um this uh this sensitivity though of uh of the nest and in the development has got
us concerned and we would like maybe all developers and owners maybe this is a good example of how we can improve our development in our county and and save the um the eagles and and other birds
that are going to be uh harmed by this development. We'd like to work with the Ford company to uh help them uh design a truly protective habitat uh to ensure that the eagles continue want to nest off of US1 in the middle of our city
where uh so we're also would like to meet with them to on their development interests. The plan really cuts down hundreds of trees in that area. Uh if you look at the earlier you'll see that it's a it's a forested area. Now, it might have some
exotics in there, but there's a lot of trees in there and a lot of habitat for birds and other animals. So, it's not just uh the eagle's nest that we're concerned about. Uh the this drawing up here shows it's going to be almost 300
uh nests. 296 is it uh vehicles uh going to be there. Uh and we're going to be cutting that many trees down probably. So, be one tree per vehicle. I don't know. There's kind of a big cost, but uh one thing
when you take down all those uh trees, you're going to be increasing the heat if whatever the surface is going to be, and I hope it's not the asphalt, like uh Billy said. Um it that's going to heat up that whole area, you know, and our county is
getting hotter and hotter and hotter. It's uh nice if they do put get successful and put this thing in that uh they would uh promote plugins and hybrid cars. That'd be a great place I think to
advertise plugins and because it's these cars that we have are producing all the CO2 that's causing the global warming and and and a lot of other uh prod booms that we have in our county. So, we're getting hotter and hotter and trees hold
a lot of drinking water for us. They they stop flooding and uh this parking lot will let the water probably run off depending on what the surface is going to be uh into the lagoon and ocean and we are depleting our aquifer in water
and it's getting scarcer and scarcer. Palm Beach, I don't know, you saw in the paper now, some condos in Palm Beach don't have water all day long. They the water shuts off. They're just running out of water, drinking water down there. Um, trees then also provide habitat and
living space for birds and other animals. The parking, this parking lot is going to be just a a desert for birds and animals. So, there are al I think there's some alternative possibilities here to compensate for moving the trees and heating up the
earth. I was thinking they could put solar panels in this parking lot over the cars. And that way we're uh they're protecting the cars from uh from the sun, but they're they're cooling off the area. And then you're the solar panels
will be producing uh electricity, which would be a total benefit for putting this thing in in substituting for the trees that are cutting down. So you're kind of giving in a little bit more for for eliminating all those trees which
are cooling our planet. Um, we uh I like to uh also think about if they could they've got showing uh some trees there in the parking lot. And it'd be nice if they could save some of the maybe a big tree or the some of the big oaks that are in that area and use
that to help shade too. if they would not just totally clear cut the whole thing, but kind of leave a little bit of options that could be done that would help cool our our planet and cool the car. And then I like the idea that Billy said too is this porous pavers or
permaning coming down uh go into the soil so to protect our groundwater that we have. Um, one thing I haven't see what the plants are they're going to be planting around the uh area, but I would
discourage palms. Palms are not trees. They're a grass and they're totally they they don't do do as much for our environment as trees do. Trees are they provide food and palms are just up there and they live for a
little bit and then they're gone. Trees live for hundreds of years and contribute a lot. So I would not encourage palms which are a grass and put in uh trees there. And I like that that that
pond there, the re uh tension pond uh that's coming in is they're cutting down some trees. And as Billy was saying, the eagles need trees to nest in. So, I would like to see if we could do something about moving that pond to
someplace else. Um, maybe there's other uh options. Uh, Dollar General is next to them there and has a has a retention pond. I don't know if you can't see that drawing, but you've got the drawings of where the
area is. And maybe if they talked with uh Dollar General, they could expand that water uh retention area to accumulate so that they would could move then and keep instead of having the pond
where it is now, move it further south. Uh that would be good. or uh find sort of another solution to the problem of of the pond because the pond is is going is is it's clearing off all the trees and it's exposing the the eagle's nest and
it's not doing very much good for that. Uh also I think it's important when they do the work as as Billy was mentioning that they do this during the season when the eagles aren't there. The eagles uh are
come in October and leave in May at least. So they have the summer to do the work. So all the construction, all the cutting down of the forest, all the development that's occurring around there, if it could be restricted to the
uh summer months when the eagles are not there, the eagles are out enjoying themselves uh and they'll then come back in probably October, November. So that would be good. So, so and even in the mowing and maintenance of the landscaping after they get the thing
built, if it would be done during the summer months when the eagle's not there would give the eagles, I think a better give us a better chance and the eagles to to survive and want to to be there. We're losing our birds. uh three billions have gone uh since uh 1970 and
over 1,400 bird species have gone extinct since humans have been common in our history and uh we we appreciate that Mullenex is trying to save this eagle's nest but we think that the eagles need they have
better protection than this and so we would like to work with them with some of these ideas that could make it really a a better opportunity for the for the eagles to survive. I think this plan
could be improved. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else in the public wish to speak? Yes, sir. State your name and your address, please. My name is Stephen Francis. I live at uh 7 uh 9130 Santorini Drive,
Orlando, Florida. I am the vice president of Mullenex Ford. I'm here on behalf of our owners, Gerald and Larry Mullenex. I'd like to thank first of all the planning and zoning uh staff for their recommendations associated with our development. Uh I'd like to tell you
a little bit about us since you since we are new to the area. We've been here we bought the dealership in 2019 from the Vely family. Jeff had owned it for years and unfortunately passed due to cancer about 12 years ago. So we purchased the
vehicle since uh purchased the dealership. Since that time we we have sold close to 15,000 vehicles at the store and we service over 12,000 to,200 people a month in our
service department. So in the in and when we bought the dealership, we understood that the back portion of the dealership was heavy vegetation and we did a lot of research relative to the development of that and how we could preserve the natural habitat for the eco
as well as as as a lot of the foliage and I think that we've been involved in this plant now plan for almost three years and I think using the mills and short uh civil engineering group along with Dan and the team there, Wesley
Mills, we've been able to come up with a plane that not only satisfies the requirements associated with the development of the property, but also with the preservation of the environment specifically for the eagle. We think that's kind of uh you know a known
celebrity if you will, a wildlife celebrity here in Vero Beach. Um uh we are very responsible corporate citizens. um the the uh construction company uh John Sanders if Joseen Construction is
local he will do the work there. Uh I'd just like to answer a couple of the concerns brought up by um by the two individuals prior to me. The uh it will be concrete. We will not put asphalt in the back. Um um we want to make sure we
have a very stable environment. We spent a lot of times relative to the landscaping and development to make sure we had a natural buffer particularly as it relates to the to the uh residential uh community north of the property. Um and we try to keep it as as um natural
as possible. We have we have five Ford dealerships in the United here just in Florida. We own 12 across the nation. We have one in Washington in the state of Washington, four in Alabama and we have uh we have seven here in Florida. Um so we are very very aware of the
sensitivity associated with the environment we do business with and we're very good corporate citizen. I just like to thank the commissioners for their consideration and particularly the chairman. Thank you. Any questions? Any questions?
Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else from the public wish to speak? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing. Commissioners, I have a couple of questions. I think for the staff
actually the developer or the Ford's representative originally was talking about the drainage going towards Indian River Boulevard. Did I hear that correctly as opposed to the retention pond? I would have the applicant come up and answer that question. Yes, good
question, Commissioner. So, the the storm water management system that we've designed has the filtration system with the extra membranes and extra uh pollutant reduction built into each structure. It goes to the retention pond. All the sediment and everything settles and then the outfall, there's a
pipe that goes from the pond to the swale along Indrian River Drive. So, that's ultimately once the pond stages up, it has outfall to the east along Indian River Drive. By staging up, do you mean if it exceeds a certain amount of rainfall or how it
Exactly. Yes, sir. So, basically, it stays in the pond unless there's too much rain and then it will go to Boulevard. Exactly. And it'll leave our site cleaner than it exists today, which is pretty important. Thank you. Thank you. Another question.
Um that circular radius around the eagle's nest, that's absolute do not disturb, no tree removed from that. And what's the uh the square footage of that that area? I think that radius is 330. Is that right, John? A couple different buffers.
So So the radius for the circle, I think, is 170. Um and then there's two different radiuses on there. And the FWC actually provides uh limits on construction, when we can have construction activity, and when that can
occur. So if we don't meet that timeline, we we can't even go to construction. So there are specific requirements to ensure the safety and livability of that eagle. And is that tied in with the um you know the summer months that were recommended for
construction? I would imagine they might be recommending that as well or requiring it. Correct. It is. Okay. Good. And and if I may, uh how long do you expect construction to take? This is a parking lot. So I I would think probably uh four to six months on average. Um
outside that that absolute do not disturb area, there's the preservation zone. What's what's the plan for for the trees there? Are they um you know going to be removing a good a good portion of them or leaving as many as possible? All of those are remaining. So, anything
that doesn't have the pond in that preservation zone, a lot of mature existing native vegetation is going to remain. A lot of the tall pine trees, big historic oaks, that's where the best quality is. All of those are staying. And we are having plants in our parking
lot. So, the heat island effect, as I think one of the residents brought up, will be reduced. Those are some canopy trees that are provided within there. Um, so we've really taken a lot of thought and consideration for the environment in this small little parking lot project. What are your thoughts on a
perch um along the storm water pond? I I talked to uh to Mullenax and they're in agreement. They think it's a great idea. So that's something that we can incorporate on our uh future land development permit set. So I thought that was a good recommendation.
Yes. Uh I was interested in a comment about u solar panels although I'm not a huge solar fan but I remember uh some time ago Florida Power and Light wanted to put uh
covered parking at couple different schools and I don't think it'd be right for us to require you to provide covered parking or solar panels but asking uh the staff u would there be any
restriction against uh them cooperating with say Florida Power and Light to put in solar covered parking? No, I mean there wouldn't be any restriction. It would just have to go through the site plan process to you
know have the structures and then put the solar panels on. Okay. And had you thought about that at all, you or Mullenex? We we we tried to keep this as low impact as possible. So adding structures and additional infrastructure
to the plan um is something that we we don't have right now programmed. So I think right now it's just going to be utilized as a service storage lot uh for the overflow of cars. In fact, I was I was driving past the site today and there were some cars staged up along the
parking lot and we really need the space to uh to to provide for some of these additional customers. Well, you might want some help with your electric bills, too. I was just curious whether there are any restrictions on that.
John, any questions? How did that u how was that no disturbance zone defined assuming that arbitrary let me defer to our environmental consultant to answer that question.
Hello Jonathan Jonathan Norz with Atlantic Ecological Services. Um my address is 973 Mineral Creek Drive, Jacksonville, Florida. Um the Fish and Wildlife uh US Fish and Wildlife came up with the disturbance buffer or the no disturbance buffer of 107 feet. So
there's a couple other buffers out there um that are part of the standard uh incidental tape permit. There's 330 foot buffer and the 660 foot buffer. There's some restrictions on um what they can do from a construction standpoint um during nesting season which within each of
those offsets. Did you have anything to do with this preservation area or was that just is that a requirement or just extra land? Um the 107 ft that's immediately adjacent to um the existing nest that
was part of the application for the um incidental take permit from federal fish and wildlife. That that was I guess the plan going in and then the approved plan as well. Just general question out of curiosity. I've never seen or heard of a a wet
retention pond try to be utilized as something that could stock and keep fish uh alive. Uh in your opinion, if there were aation pump there um proper vegetation, is that even feasible? Yeah, that's feasible. Um I think she had
mentioned earlier fish kind of just appear everywhere, especially in Florida. Um yeah, there there will be there will be fish in there. I don't know that there necessarily has to be an aerration fountain or anything. Um but most likely um there will be some sort
of you know fish in the near future once it's constructed. You'll probably have mosquitoes. Yeah, it will be there. Uh I I've got a couple questions, Steve, and the staff. Brandon, I guess the the type C buffer, is that a burm or is it just
vegetation? I mean, it can be a burm, but it can also just be vegetation. So, this is our least, I guess, type buffer. So, we have type A, type B, type C, and typically these are anywhere between 20 and 15 ft. Um, but they've elected to do
a 25 ft uh type-C buffer. So, it's going to be providing a little bit more than what they're normally required. And I guess my next question is we're talking about 300 parking spaces. Is that correct? It's uh 294. 294.
Is this something that the county is requiring or this is what you want to have there? This is to meet our growing business demand for for customer spaces. Yes, sir. You're probably renting out the Dire because they have a bunch of cars. Uh
no, scratch that comment. Uh, I I like the idea of a perch and I like the idea of the concrete and I think what was said right at the beginning of the meeting,
if Mullenex didn't do this, it could be developed into something that I think would be a whole lot worse. That's all. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. And then if I may, um, should a positive motion be made, just
make sure to make the perch a part of the condition. Yep. Commissioners, Ryan, Mr. Chair, thank you. For the record, Ryan Sween, assistant planning development services director. Just procedurally and and Jennifer, you can back me up on this. U, I don't think we're we can require the perch, but if
they're agreeable to it, we'll include it as an additional uh condition, but just be clear that there's staff conditions and then the additional sort of elective condition. I think there's suggestions could be made sure they can't be demanded and and I do agree
that the any conditions have to directly relate to our land development regulations or comp commissioners I think do the perch whether we say you have to think that's really a matter
I would stand on at all. That's your your call. We have a motion. I make a motion to approve per staff's recommendations uh with the recommendation of a of an eagle perch. Second. Second. All in favor say I. I.
Those opposed. Same sign. Passes. What do we have? Five. Six. Six. Okay. Pass unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Moving on to the second item. See, Michael, good job. This would be
item B, Liberty Park phases two and three. Request for a preliminary plan development PD plan/plat approval for phases 2, 2A, and 2B with 489 lots and phase 3 with 223 lots.
Riyal Acquisition Group LLC applicant Mastellar Mhler Incorporated. Agent zoning PDT ND plan development traditional neighborhood design land use designations L1 low density residential
one up to three units an acre AG1 agriculture one up to one unit per five acres proposed density phase 2 is 1.97 units per acre phase three is 2.63 63
units per acre and this is quad judicial any declaration of export time. Seeing none, those who wish to speak on this item, please stand and be sworn in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth? I do. I do. Okay. Staff, for the record, Brennan Christopher Kra, chief of current development, good evening, chair, members of the board. Before you tonight is the Liberty Park PDT andd phases two and three with phase two being broke out into 2 A and
2B. This is for the preliminary PD plan/plat. So just kind of an overview of our plan development process. Um so this project originally went through the plan development reszoning and conceptual PD plan. Um where PCC gave a recommendation
of approval to the BCC and then the BCC ultimately approved the project. We are now at the preliminary PD plan/plat stage where the ultimate approval will or disapproval will lie with the board tonight. Um if an affirmative um re or if an affirmative approval is given then
it will move on to the land development permit stage for phases 2 and phases three. And then finally the final PD/ plan that could potentially be approved by the BCC. However, there is a pending legislation that has changed that may um
truncate that down to a staff level approval. Um before we get into the meat and potatoes tonight, I just want to say that for the preliminary PD process, um this your decision tonight is not to opine on any density or lot coverage or
setbacks or or any parameters of the development. That was all decided during the PD reasoning and conceptual PD plan phase. tonight is just um to decide if the preliminary plat is coincides with what was approved for the conceptual PD
plan. So for location, this is uh located south of 85th Street, which is also known as County Road 510, um west of 66th Avenue and east of 76th Avenue. The specific approval um decision tonight is
west of that red line that you see on the screen. That's where phases two and three will be located. This is just an aerial to give you an idea of kind of how the lots are going to be laid out um with the existing conditions on site. Most of the existing conditions on site are farmland with
some sparse uh vegetation. This is a PD phasing plan. So the 2A portion of the development will be located mostly on the northwest portion of the site. Uh that's in purple. Everything in blue, which is 2B, is located towards the middle and western
portion of the development. And then finally, phase three is tucked down in the southern portion of the development. Everything that you see in gray is not included within the approval tonight or was already approved uh previously during the phase 1A and 1B um
preliminary platin PD plan. There's going to be 10 storm water ponds that are going to be located strategically throughout this development. Traffic circulation plan is going to call for an extension of the uh 74th Avenue, which uh will be a county road
extension. It's going to go um directly from 81st Street all the way north to County Road 510. There's also going to be an continuation of 81st Street from 70th Avenue to 74th Avenue. Um, there's also some room for a future expansion
south of 74th Avenue should that ever be needed uh for the county roadway. But currently, everything that you see in purple for 74th, that's where it's going to stop, where it intersects with 81st Street. And then finally, there's a county road extension for the southern portion of 70th Avenue that goes south
of 81st Street as well. preliminary landscape plan is going to call for primarily our 20 foot thoroughfare plan roadt type buffers along 70th Avenue, 81st Street, and 74th Avenue. There's also going to be some beefed up substantial buffers uh that
are 30-foot type Buffers around some of the existing um properties that have either residences or um farm uses. And then the remainder of that county 510 uh buffer will be a 26 wide type B buffer. the applicants actually providing um one
extra foot in buffer than what they really need to provide. Um and then also on the western and southern end is going to be also a 25 foot type B landscape buffer as well. Some of the dedications, improvements and conditions for this project, um the
applicant will dedicate 70th Avenue, 74th Avenue, and 81st Street rightways. There will also be a any other uh rightaway dedications and off-site roadway improvements that are dictated by the developers agreement. Um they are also required to bring drainage
improvements to the Douglas subdivision. This is a subdivision that is on the east side of 66th Avenue. Um it's going to it's kind of near the fire um department parcel that the county has given. So if you can kind of see my cursor, this is this Douglas subdivision
right here along 64th Avenue. Um they're also going to be required to uh dedicate what's known as 12th Street Park. Um there's going to be external sidewalks, internal sidewalks and pedestrian systems, our standard street lighting, and then obviously the green space and recreation areas. Uh staff
recommends that the PCC approve the preliminary PD plan and plat for phases two and three with conditions listed in the staff report. That would include the approval of the amended and restated developers agreement that are that's going to be gerine to phases two and phases three. the final road dedication and off-site roadway design and
construction. Final landscaping, street lighting, tree protection, and mitigation plans. The final design and approval of the sign package and the architectural package by staff. Uh installation and construction of required improvements, which would include the Douglas subdivision draining impro improvements. And finally, the
dedications prior to or via either the final plat or the certificate of completion per phase. I'd also like to make one note for an amendment um to one of our conditions. Um, so in phase 3 CFC, I did list a condition that stated there would be a 12th Street uh
rightaway dedication. That was my mistake. That is actually the 12th Street park dedication. So there are no roadway dedications that will be required, but the park itself will be required to be dedicated and given to the county. All right, I'm available for any questions you may have. Questions on my
left? Yes. U 12th Street seems like a long way away. Yeah. So, this is um a very very large development and we actually have um multiple other sites throughout the county that they are dedicating to the
county for preservation purposes or other entities um that will protect um the properties. Uh there were density transfers from these properties that were given. So, these properties can never be developed for uh any commercial, any residential. So they are
going to be protected and there are going to be conservation easements put over these um specific properties. So the whole entire development is actually 444.84 acres which encompasses all of these off-site parks and properties as well.
Thank you. You're welcome. Robert on the U Douglas subdivision drainage improvements. Uh what does that entail? Can you expand on that just a little please for me? I will do my best. Um, so basically what's going to happen and the applicant is here and they can also
explain a little bit more, but I'm going to explain it from staff's understanding. Uh, so they're going to go in there and they're going to give some drainage improvements to kind of help with I what I would assume flooding. Um, and it's going to connect it into I would assume existing systems that we have. You know, go up clean up
any any debris, uh, dig redig canals if canals need to be redug. But it's basically a public benefit for this project. Um, and because this subdivision is nearby, it was the pertinent location to do it. So, it's not going to be drainage that's going
into a storm retention system. They'll be just fixing the drainage that's in that project. That's my understanding, but the applicant's engineer is here and I'll let him explain the sound on that then when he speaks. Thank you. You're welcome. Randon, is this the Douglas? Is
this Wasasso? Yeah. Is this where we And Ryan, you might remember this. I don't know. Didn't we do some water issu and I'm going back 20 years ago. Did we do some water and fix some things in this area as well? Yes,
Mr. Chair. Um I believe by water you mean potable water or yes. Um yeah, the Douglas subdivision is a you know a historic subdivision just to the northeast of the development in Wobbaso. Um the Daisy Hope Center is right there on 64th, but they are going to try to
back in some of that drainage towards the um the large. No, excellent project. Excellent. Thank you. Y on my right, Chip. Gordon. Okay, Mark. Um I like this map, but it
doesn't show the roundabout. Yeah. Yeah. I was wondering where you might put the observation deck for the roundabout. Don't even don't start that. Good. I have a couple questions. We have
a school that's located inside of that. Yes. And it's a magnet school. So, it was initially um constructed because it was kind of a draw for this community and now we're going to be adding to that, which is great. I have a couple
questions. I'm not sure if it they're for you or for the applicant. I wanted to know about internal sidewalks for student safety. Yeah. So, as part of this development, they are required to have an internal sidewalk system. Um, but I will let the applicant speak more specifically on the logistics of that, but those will be set
in stone uh when the LDP Yeah, because uh we don't bus um yeah, according to law within two miles. So, and walkability is definitely very very important to staff. So, I'm sorry. walkability is very important to staff and you know safety of students. So we're definitely going to make sure that
once the LDP comes um that is set in stone. Okay. Did you want to say I just want to add this is was approved and is approved as a TNDR traditional neighborhood design. So in addition to our typical sidewalk requirements there's enhanced sidewalk requirements
both sides and wider sidewalks. So awesome. Thank you. Um, next question I have is I remember when this first initially came up to us and I had some questions about it because I was concerned about construction vehicles going in and out um when we have school in progress. Um, the access for
construction was the only access which is that way, but I see we have 74th Avenue and at the time when I brought that up, nobody could answer the question of who's going to pay for the light that is at 74th and 510. Um because I know that they were looking at
a bigger project that was supposed to come in for I think the state or the federal project that was going to pay for the light. Yes. So DOT is currently also um actually in a few months kicking off the fourlaning of 512 and down 510
all the way eventually to US1. Uh that first leg will be from 512 down to Sebastian River High School and then there's actually five total phases. Um, so it's really kind of a a chicken and egg scenario. Who basically whoever gets there first? But um, more likely than
not, DOT will be um at that point first. Yeah. Have you ever driven over there when school is in or out of session? Coming in or out of session is really a bottleneck on that street. Um, it needs some attention
because Yeah. If I ever go to an activity at Sebastian River High School at night and I want to make it on time, I have to probably leave an hour and a half before um so it's it's a real hassle for people going home at night and in the morning.
I know traveling down either of those streets um because that that's going to be a problem with that light. Um will the construction vehicles be using that entrance then during construction phase of this project for phases two and
three? No they they'll be coming from again this this project is both sort of I don't want to say blessing and a curse but in order for this to work properly with multiple different you know routes and options um it has to you know be under construction in order for it to
work. I also hope once 66 a is done that that will alleviate some of the issues. But again, as you see here and well, it's kind of grayed out, but we will have 70th Avenue, 74th Avenue, 81st Street. There'll be multiple points of way to come in and out. Um, but we also we we do have the applicant team
including their traffic engineer that can kind of explain the distribution of of trips. I'm just worried about construction vehicles going back and forth um during car pickup times. True. that that's a a big concern because it's not only going to be a problem for kids
walking around, but it's also going to be a problem for the amount of vehicles that are in or out during those times. Thank you. Did Did I gather from that that there is going to be a light on 510 and at 74? I believe so. Again, I'll have to defer
to well, part of the issue is that the developers agreement has not been fully vetted, but um I will defer to Brian with the team that was decided by a traffic study or something or why it's not put at 70th power line, which is also already busy coming out of the
island. So, it would be a four-way instead of a again I'll have to defer. I don't the traffic studies about this thing at any other questions. See none. Go ahead and open it up for kind of safety related question. Is
there already a fence um around the perimeter of that school or any plans for one? There is, but remember you're going to have kids walking during my concern is car pickup time. Of course. Yeah. When kids are walking outside of the school. Of course, we have fences everywhere around all our schools. Um
that's not the concern. It's during those drive times and it's the number of vehicles. If you don't believe me, drive during drive time around that area. It's bad. What What are those lot uh outlines?
I know we're not supposed to deal with lots, but uh around the school in the gray area there, those are pods. Those are those would be that's phase 1 A and 1B to the north. Those will be residential homes. Okay. And yeah, how
uh far along is phase one? Um it's not they're not under construction at this point. It's dirt storage. Good dirt storage. Jip, you good? There's a lot of dirt there. One of the questions I had is I mean we always have
we always have construction entrances. Is that the plan for 74th Avenue? So, construction entrances are are designated on the LDP and it can be it can be a number of different opportunities where they can access. Is that something you'd get with the school
board on I guess and make sure that they will you work with Nick? Yes. On that. Okay. I'll see Nick tomorrow. Okay. Tell Nick I asked. We'll do because um I'm just concerned. I've seen the drive time and I know you're going to build that many more houses. It's just going to get
worse. But uh also we're talking about construction and so when you have that many construction vehicles going back and forth during drive time it it just concerns me. Sure. All right. Any more questions? Seeing none, we'll open up for public
hearing. Okay. State your name and address, please. My name is Steve Mohler from Mass Dollar Professional Engineer in the state of Florida. Our address is 165527th
Street. Um, also with me tonight is um, Chad Kelly's, one of the partners in the development company, Andrew Kennedy, Bruce Bquette, and uh, Brian Good's with me here, too. Um, so we I don't have a presentation to make. Brandon did a
great job. We appreciate his recommendation. Um, I will touch on and answer some of the things that came up. Um the Douglas subdivision, it was mentioned about things that have already happened there. It's not only water that's gone in there, but they've got
sewer as well. So county county did that. We don't have anything to do with that. Uh but we will be um improving the drainage in that area. The um area really is a little bit remote from the existing Sebastian River Improvement
District's physical ditches. That's we're we're getting closer. Um as a result of the county's working on the 64th, excuse me, 66th Avenue phase 4 project. Um the the uh what's called R13E,
their ditch has been extended all the way to from basically it ended somewhere on the north line of the school and so it's been extended all the way to 66th Avenue and there's a culvert under it. So, this project that we will be doing
when we move forward, we will be extending that ditch further east so it's in the vicinity of the Douglas subdivision where we can have their drainage go into a more positive area which u should uh improve their drainage. Um I think you'll be glad to
know that this the when phase 2A and the purple is done the um that will involve the intersection of 70th and county route 510 which will be signalized. So um that will assist when um that gets
put in along with the extension of 70th to the south that will allow there'll be two ways to get to the school. Um, I can envision when that is done that most people in Sebastian, I don't know if this is good for Liberty Park, but um, currently anybody that's coming to the
school that's coming from Sebastian, they're probably all coming down um, eventually if they come down both Schuman, which is really in line with 66, or Powerline Road, which is 70th. If they come down Powerline Road, they have
to go right now, you have to go east to 66th Avenue and come down. So all the traffic going to the school is is having to funnel that way. Anybody that's driving trying to go south has to do that. So when this is done, you can envision that people are just human
human nature when we have that intersection done in that road. And these are public roads. They're going to be county roads. Um 70th, 74th, and 81st Street cutting across are all routs that are going to be county roads. So once that is in, I I can just
see people in Sebastian are going to come straight down through there or coming from the north and come in from the west side of the school as as well as coming from the east. So that'll that'll improve access because right now you're correct. There's only one way into the school and it it converges at
the intersection of 81st and and uh 66 right now. Um so that'll improve that. Um let me see what else. Can I can I ask you a question about that? Will there be a security gate there or will it be uh access like buses can go in and out of
there? Well, no. I'm not sure I understand the question. I mean that this is not a gated neighborhood. Okay. This is more it's a traditional neighborhood design. And these streets um that I mentioned, 70th Avenue, 81st
Street, and 74th Avenue, those are streets that the developer will be building and turning over to the county. They're they're county roads. So that's a that's actually a cost to this project that they'll be building further roads that are attached to the county's grid
system. So So they there there's absolutely no gates at all. Okay. Thank you. Um, so I I think I hit on everything that was brought up. No, we don't have the roundabout shown. Mark, it's not on our plan yet, but someday that'll be
there. Well, Steve, I I want to commend you having the all-star team with Bruce and Chad and Andrew and Brian. You know, there's probably like 500 years of experience with this group. So, I only bring the best. It listen it it's that
they're they're because I'm not the best. I have to bring them. Well, you did it. Any questions to Steve? Okay. Anyone else in the public? I may, you know, the U construction traffic is obviously a concern. I notice the cherry
brought that up, but the way I see this developing in phases like this, I I believe that that'll be able to be controlled uh entrances and things so that that construction traffic should be staying isolated into each one of these sections. Now, you know, are the
roadways going to be built for for that ability to be able to route construction, you know, away from the school during those times, or is that just something that you think the roadway will just support on its own from the design? Well, I I think that the areas that are in purple, cyan, and
and green, um there they'll probably be accessed from maybe 510 and 70th when it's in. And I don't think that would distur dist disturb the school at all either. And I forgot to mention too that
right now that on the east side of the school there's a street that's it's called SUSA. It also has a county number that that will also be um you can barely see it on there. It it will turn and head and go west and tie in with 70th as
well. So there's actually another third way of you still to get out of the area. You're still going to get on 70th or 81st, but that's another way to kind of get into the site as well. Gotcha. Thank you. Okay. Thank you for asking. I'm not
seeing any entrance or any maps here where 70th goes through. 70th is really um at the very west side of the gray area
that curving alignment is 70th. Okay. line is an extension. Any further questions? John, now that we're my daughters went to this school, so I've done this drive a lot. Um,
in Office 66, you're also coming out the same way and stuff too. So, is there a plan to divert because the people in the houses that are going to be in the grade out earlier phases, if those houses get built, you've got school traffic going both
directions and stuff. I mean, and now you're adding people trying to get to work at the same time. And I'm not really seeing a real relief there from that 66 and 8. I don't I don't know how to do it, but I mean
it's would would for example would parents have to come in and and then keep going to 70th I mean is it going to make a are they thinking about traffic patterns like that for the school so that because currently you'd go in you you'd go in 81st turn around and you go
back out 81st. So I mean that street is just deadlocked with the school traffic in the morning. I can't answer that. I know in and I wasn't involved in 2008 when this was approved, but I know that the concept
here was this was theoretically going to be a neighborhood school and that possibly many of the students parents wouldn't have to drive them there. Um, now obviously since the school's been there and nobody lives around there, you do have a lot of people driving to it.
Um I I'm I can't speak for the school district, but uh you would think that that many of the children that will eventually go to the school, there'll be a higher percentage that will be living in Liberty Park, and that that should help to diminish the traffic coming to
the the Liberty Magnet School, but I know if it's operated as a magnet school, it it tends to draw students that don't necessarily live right next to the to the school. Correct. I can't fix that. Yeah. But I I understand what
he's saying because it it's a it's a big concern and like you said, um can I ask another question? Are you planning um playgrounds or um because I don't have it in front of me so I can't see it. Um but there are playgrounds in this in development and other things because you
wanted it to be a neighborhood school. Yeah. There there's well there's a a a park that's going to be one of the public benefits is east of 66th Avenue. There's a park called Riyle Park that's going to be done. And then um it's hard to see uh that area
um that is on the north side of the site in the middle u um between County Route 510 and um the kind of residential area in phase 2A. That is all a park too for the community. It's a
public park. Anybody can go to it in the county, but it would tend to cater to the the residents of Liberty Park. And then Liberty Park will also have a recreational clubhouse site as well for its residents. Okay.
Anyone else? Any other Anyone else like to speak? Jeez, you're the quarterback, Steve. Thank you. The rest of your team has got your back. All right. Okay.
We'll close the public hearing, commissioners. Make a motion. Second. Got a motion in a second. Any discussion? Brandon, clarify that Ryan just to clarify that this strikes the 12th
Street rightway dedication, right? um that was put was a discriminator's error. Yep. Should the motion be made as amended? Yeah, that's what I'm trying to infer. Okay. So, well, the motion's been amended to strike the 12th Street. That's uh item 6B specifically should be
will be struck. Okay. Just for discussion purposes, just because I got asked, where is the 12th Street park? It's at the um souththeast corner of 12th Street and 58th Avenue. Okay. Those in favor say I. I. Those
opposed, same sign. Passes unanimously. Thank you. Okay, moving right along. Our third item is a public hearing. And boy, I wasn't printing that backup material. Uh
this is E based amendments consideration of the 2025 evaluation and appraisal report based amendments to the Indian River County comprehensive plan. This is legislative.
So I guess u staff Chris. Thank you vice chairman Lther and good evening members of the commission. For the record my name is Patrick Murphy. I am the chief of long-range planning and I'm happy to present to you what has been a very long process.
This actually started in March of 2023 and staff internally the planning staff took a look at our comprehensive plan and in addition to just making updates to address any statutory changes that took place through the Florida statutes over the time since the last time we updated this, we decided to take a
little more deeper dive. However, with having over a thousand different goals and policies, it was a monumental undertaking. in addition to all the other duties that SAP has. So the county went out and did an RFP, a request propos proposal process and went and awarded a contract to a private
consultant firm called Kimley Horn. And Kimley Horn went about the the large undertaking of doing public sharet processes throughout the county, multiple different locations and places to solicit public input, which is very important to have. if you're going to create a document that maps out the plan
for how our county develops, we need to have a voice from the residents that live in that same county. So, they did uh extensive meetings. They met internally with the different staff of the county that has a hand in development such as our public works, our utilities, our parks and rick,
natural resources in addition to just working with the planning department. So, this was about two years in the making to get to tonight. um it's not the extreme uh culmination of it. There's still about three or four months before we can get to final adoption uh which I'll go through later through the
timeline, but this is a long time getting here and we're glad to actually be here. Um so for starters, many people may ask, well, what is a comprehensive plan? So a plan is a set of policies intended to plan for and guide for the future of
a community. This typically takes place over a 10 to 20 year period. And it is a collection of goals, objectives, and policies. And what those are is it's sort of you start out as a goal, sort of a 10,000 foot level looking down. It's
um a very macrooleooking uh statement down to your objectives getting down to say a thousand foot level and then your policies down to your 100 foot level. So you're getting closer and closer to the ground with all of these regulations that you're putting in place. So um goals are typically your long-term end
toward which programs or activities are directed. Your objectives are specific measurable intermediate end that is achievable and marks progress toward a goal. And then your policies are the course of action or way in which your programs and activities are conducted to achieve an identified goal or objective.
So that policies really get down into the weeds. and throwing up a few that we picked out of the comp plan. Looking at our overall vision statement for the plan that we have in there currently is to maintain and promote the small town character of any river county as a low
density, low-rise and green county while providing for a variety of housing and transportation choices. So that's that's your really really high 10,000 foot level type of a statement. Then you get further down and just pulling a goal out of one of our um elements. Land
development in River County will occur in an orderly and controlled manner which ensures balanced growth that optimizes the potential for economic development. This is from the economic development plan. Obviously provides for the efficient use of facilities and services and ensures the protection of the county's rich and varied environmental sources. So you're getting a little closer down to the land with
this type of a policy. And then you get down to your objectives and your policies and you're getting further down to it. So, the comprehensive plan is actually made up of 13 separate elements. Um, each plan starts out with an introductory element and this is a was
really its background information concerning the historical development of the county. This is a good way to start if you're new to a county to look at a comp plan. It gives you a good history of where the county got to and what where it really came from. Then you get into really the meat and potatoes of your elements. The future land use
element is where we designate our future land use patterns with corresponding densities and intensities. So that future land use element really states what the land can actually be developed. Is it residential? Is it commercial? Beyond the comp plan is when we get down into your land development regulations
and your zoning districts. And that's where you you drill down to the intensity of that use. So if you have a a commercial land use and that's your base, you then apply zoning over to it and tells you what those uses within that commercial is in different zoning districts. and what types of uses the height and and the bulk and your
setbacks and your your more uh development parameters. Uh next is your public infrastructure element and this actually consists of five sub elements which are pretty self-explanatory. Uh sanitary sewer, potable water, solid waste, natural groundwater and storm
water. Following public infrastructure is your transportation element. This establishes level service standards for major roadways. uh establishes baseline for traffic studies and anything related to our traffic grid. Economic development element is next. This sets
forth the county's policies for economic growth and diversification. Capital improvements elements ensures the fiscal capability of the county to fund needed public facilities. Your housing element seeks to ensure adequate and safe housing for current and future residents of the county. Conservation
element sets the foundation for the county to protect and preserve its natural environment. And so it sets policies such as upland upland set aides, uh, wetland protection, shoreline stabilization, coastal management is uh the next element. It's to preserve coastal resources and protect the life
and property from natural disasters. Recreation and open space follows. This provides a comprehensive system for public recreation and open space ensuring that our residents have this definite need that we have for open space and recreating not just commercial, industrial and residential.
Intergovernmental coordination is the element that identifies coordination and strategies for all the other elements. So it ties them all together. It also establishes policies for how we would work with federal and state regulations, the other cities in the county and any of the various agencies such as your
water management districts that also operate within the county. The last two are your public school facilities which establishes coordination between the school district and Indian River County and then your property rights element which ensures specific rights of property owners are considered in local decisionm.
So coming back to what we're here for is to the ear process. The purpose of the ear process is to evaluate our goals, objectives, and policies. And we're looking at those essentially to update anything that has been changed from a legal standpoint through Florida
statutes. Um that is the the real core purpose. But in addition to that, you also want to simplify your plan to remove redundancies, make it easier to understand and use. Sometimes these plans are written in concert with planners and attorneys and sometimes we
speak in our planning language and for for the lay person to read some of these things. When you look at these when you read them is everyone going to be able to understand them. So we tweak them to make them so that they make sense to everyone. Um to to to remove regulatory
items were better suited for land development regulations. So when these plans are written 30 years ago, sometimes we put a policy in there that really gets a little bit too down to the ground and not that higher level. That's really where your land development code and your zoning regulation should take
over. And so some of these policies may have been taken out then or going to be taken out and put into the land development regulations and expanded upon. The other purpose is to incorporate and update references to other county plans such as master plans for storm water parks and wreck water
supply plans and to recognize the best planning practices and provide an eye on the future. Where is the county going? Where do we want it to go? That was also part of the public process and the sherets that we went through. So the property rights element. The reason why I have this slide in here is not because I want to call this element
out or that we made any changes because we didn't. The reason is when I was doing the PowerPoint presentation, I noticed a scrib's error in our actual plan that our consultant didn't catch. And that is we adopted this plan in January of 2022 and it was the same four
policies that every city and county adopted back in that time frame. It was mandated by the state. However, when it was actually put into the plan, uh it was one of the policies was duplicated and one of them was omitted. So, it was really just a scrib. We're not changing
anything. But because I caught it after the staff report was finished and presented to to all you here tonight, I needed to at least call out that there's something different that I'm going to be presenting to BCC than yourself. So nothing really changed here other than it was a script here.
So let's look at the timeline. Upon review and recommendation by the planning zoning commission, the year will be scheduled for review by the board of county commissioners. We are tenatively picked August 12th, 2025. and the BCC once they hear evaluate and
approve the ear at that date the county will then transmit the ear to the Florida commerce which is the state land planning agency and this is per state statute 163.31844 uh requires us to transmit that within 10 days of BCC's approval. The air is
also sent to the following state reviewing agencies. The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, the St. John's River Water Management District, the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of State, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Florida Department of Education. Those state agencies have 30 days from the date they received the transmitted materials from the county to respond in writing regarding any adverse impacts to their respective areas of purview. They can
only stay within their areas. If the Florida Commerce, which is the state land planning agency, that's the overall regulatory body, elects to formally review the ear, they shall issue a report giving its objection, recommendations, and comments regarding the amendments within 60 days after
receipt back to the county. If we get anything in writing from any of the state agencies or Florida Commerce, we then have to provide our own responses to those of how we've either addressed them or going to address them. Once we feel we've successfully done that, we
then schedule a final adoption uh public hearing with the BCC. Once the BCC uh adopts that final reading, we then have another 10 days to transmit everything back to the Florida Commerce. Recommendation staff recommends that the
planning and zoning commission review the attached comprehensive plan earbased amendments, identify any additional need changes, and recommend that the board of county commissioners transmit the county's comprehensive plan earbased amendments to the Florida Department of Commerce for its review. That concludes
my presentation and myself and Mr. Balter would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, Patrick. Uh, any questions? member right Chip. Jordan check make sure he's okay down there. Okay, listen.
I I know this is still a work in progress. Um but whenever we consider a special exe exemp exe special exception use or a zoning change, we always have to determine concurrency with the comprehensive plan. anything that would
change in our role? Um, you know, any any kind of groundbreaking proposed potential changes that we should take into consideration as a planning and zoning board for special exceptions? No. Um, the special exception process for each individual use has its own criteria
in chapter 971 laid out. We through this ear process, we didn't dive into any of the land development regulations. That's a whole separate process if we decide to go that way. uh the ear process is really setting the policies. When you look at a special exception, you're looking at that particular use in that
zoning category and what it takes to make it more compatible with its surrounding areas and that is actually in the land regulation. So there are actually some policies in the comp plan that we've removed and put them into the LDR because that's where they really need to be. But this won't affect that
process at all. Um, couple things. I think you answered it here, but I never heard of Florida Commerce, but then I guess you're saying it's the same as the Florida Department of Commerce. So, photo of Commerce is
the new name. It used to be called the uh community affairs, Department of Community Affairs back in like the 80s and 90s when all the real estate planning and comprehensive plans were created. They were repurposed as the Department of Economic Opportunity in early 2000s by Rick uh Governor Rick
Scott. Just a few years ago, they were then repurposed to this name. It's the same agency. They've just gone through some iteration of name and they've actually had, you know, some of their teeth filed down. They're not as aggressive as they used to be when they were DCA, but it's still the same agency and they still have the rights of review
and approval. So, Ira is not the same as the Florida Department of Commerce. It's a completely separate agency. So it's Florida Commerce is a the same name. Correct. Very similar. Similar
name. Yes. So to confuse me. Yes. The state's good at confusing us by using sep uh separate words but same terminology. Yeah. Okay. And then the other thing is uh we've been discussing uh our joint meeting with the
commission about the the plan developments. The plan developments but that's completely separate. That's correct. Yes. Yeah. the plan developments are housed within the land development regulations and we
understand the request for that but that's not covered in in the comprehensive plan Robert um the only thing I had was you know getting this document 222 pages on Friday afternoon and um and I didn't even get to it until
Monday uh through my email it I just didn't have I don't feel I've had enough quite enough time to really dig into the details of this and I'm Sure. I don't know anybody up here who's read all 222 pages, but you know, as a council member here as commissioner, I I feel
responsible to look at what we're trying to pass and have some comprehension of it. I did spend some time uh looking at that and looking at the types of changes that were being made. I noticed that a lot of dates were being uh removed or updated. I saw that dates were being
removed from policy and left at objectives. Uh which I understand that that being the appropriate way because a policy is more like, okay, here's our task in that we're going to continually do to hit this date in our objective, right? And and that's sort of what I recognized there. So, I didn't have any
real issues with that. I saw a couple of Scriber things in there that that I came across with some past tenses not being proper, some words duplicated, a couple of little bitty things like that, but uh just just not having as as much time as I would have liked to to to review the
whole whole document. Uh would have been nicer to have a couple of weeks to do that. Yeah, understood. Yes. The what do you think, Terry? And I I apologize for the board because that's what we deal with all the time. Yeah, actually we don't anymore the way our superintendent
sets it up. It used to be we got the documents on Friday night and so you'd spend the entire weekend reading to get prepared for a Monday meeting. Yeah, that's fun. So, um, was there someone from the school board that helped make some of the recommendations for the
public school part of it? Yes, Michelle and Nick were both consulted on this and we had many uh actual conference calls between Kimley Horn, myself and them. Michelle. Michelle from the school board. Simons. Michelle Simons. Okay.
Thank you. You're welcome. And Robert, if it if it helps you, I know it used to be on the county commission. We wouldn't get the agenda book until Friday. The meeting was Tuesday and and it twice the size of this. But no, when I looked at this, I started laughing. But Patrick, you no, you you you brought out the
strong points of what needed to be there. And I appreciate you all going through that because it is a tedious process and rest assured that it goes to the BCC level and let them deal with the minute stuff.
I like I said it was just it was just the wrong weekend. It was the wrong time for me. I I saw that when Ryan said I said oh no I'm not downloading this one. It's not happening for this is I'm sorry just for clarification um the report itself was 84 pages. all the additional
pages in there was all of the matrix from Kimley Horn and they went through every single piece of the code and why they changed this and that and I and then they didn't use very small font and so it it bled over another page so it almost felt like there was extra fluff but I wanted to make sure you had
everything that I had uh when you when you took a look at this and you're absolutely right a lot of the dates were changed because the county hasn't looked at doing a deep dive into this comprehensive ear process in a long time what they have done is they did any updates from a state statute point of
view. So another couple of years when the state comes out with different regulations um from either house bills or senate bills, they would update those and they would hit the mark as far as making sure it was legally up to par, but they didn't go and take a more
comprehensive review. So this uh comprehensive plan, while it was still legal, it still hadn't been looked at in a long time and for and these policies, some of these were were very old. they went back to the 90s. So, a lot of these dates, you're going to hit by by 2015, we need to have x numbers of of of
conservation land. Well, here it is 2015. So, we hit that number. So, that policy either got deleted or if we hadn't hit it, we extended it out. So, there was a lot of clean up that needed to be done on this. And and I noticed a lot of that, Patrick. I thought you had you you had done a really good good job with that because first of all as a
business person as a as a consultant with with other things if you don't have date sensitive time on an objective then that's pretty much useless because you'll just push that can down the road. So I did appreciate the fact that those were updated u and and it looked like a pretty comprehensive job that you guys
did. So thank you for all that hard work. Absolutely. Th this is a public hearing and I looked at all the people out there and forgot to have them sworn in. Uh those of you that really wish to speak, please stand, which I thought that'd be correct. Okay. Uh we're going
to close the public hearing. Commissioners, I I'm looking at your recommendation here and wondering what uh the timing is when you want our comments on this.
Your comments should be now. Oh, that would be tonight. Yeah. Oh. Okay. So, I think that the BCC is going to see in August, correct? Yes. I have to agree with Robert. I I u I guess you expect us to put this under
our pillow over the weekend. You know what you could do? You can come in August to the BOCC meeting and give them what you really think you want to tell them if they want to listen to you. Yeah. I'm just teasing Mark. No, this is this is something that I think Patrick
just touched on the the real meat and potatoes early on of what it is. There's a whole lot more to it. Is there is no come back to us again and ask for further recommendations over
our recommendations uh that we don't give you tonight. This is it. You're either forward or against it, I believe. Is that correct, Jennifer? Okay, we hear a motion. Motion to move to
approve. Have a second. All in favor? I. Those opposed passes unanimously. Thank you. U moving under commissioners matters. Anything from the commissioners?
Planning matters. Yes, vice chair. Uh, there will be no first meeting in July. Hey. Oh, no. All right. Bring everything back in the second meeting in July. Uh, and Jennifer, I failed to thank you for being here. I didn't realize we were going to get the boss this evening. So,
appreciate you putting your time in. I enjoyed it. We appreciate you having here. Absolutely. Uh, can I have a motion for adjournment? Don't want to journ. I need one. Okay.
Have a motion. Second. Second. All in favor say I. I. We're out of here.