Everybody okay? No break needed. Good. All right. We will call to order uh the special call town council meeting this Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Um we will dispense with uh the call to order the invocation and the pledge of allegiance. But if you can call the
role, please. Mayor Foley here. Vice Mayor Awart. Hi. Council member Alieri here. Council member Dne here. Let the record show all members are present with the exception of council member Carol. If there are no uh requests to reorder,
delete items or add items to the agenda. If there's a motion to approve the agenda and a second. Motion to approve. Second. All right. We can have a voice vote. All in favor? I. I. Any opposed? Okay. Item three, comments from the public regarding the agenda items. Are
there any comments from the public? There being none, are there any council member items? None. There being none, we will go to discussion with possible or probable action. Uh that is the approval of ordinance number 582, the 5-year capital
improvement plan. That's a first reading. Mr. Town attorney, can you kindly read the magic language? Yes, sir. Mr. Mayor, Town Council, this is ordinance number 582, an ordinance of the town of Indian River, Florida to adopt the 5-year capital improvement program 2026 to 2020 2020 2030 as part
of the town's comprehensive plan in accordance with mandate set forth in chapter 163 Florida statutes providing a business impact estimate providing for severability providing for codification providing for conflicts providing for scriveners errors and providing for an effective date. This is the first reading.
Terrific. Again, first of all, thank you to staff for uh the great job in putting together the uh the agenda items and the summaries. It certainly makes council's job easy when we have uh such good materials to prepare us for these uh for these important decisions. Uh if there's
any discussion on item 5A, we can have it now. If not, uh we can move to a roll call vote and a motion to approve and second. Motion motion to approve the ordinance. Second. If you can call the role, please.
Mayor Foley. I. Vice Mayor Atwater. Hi. Council member Alieri. Hi. Council member Dayne. Let the motion that the record show the motion passes unanimously. Terrific. Thank you. All right. We'll move to item 5B um where we have a
presentation on our uh comprehensive plan amendment. And um thank you very much for making the trip. Sorry. Thank you for making the trip. Thank you for making the trip from Tallahassee and uh we'll we'll turn the floor over to you before we uh uh we hit
you with a you know a bevy of questions. We should have you out of here by 7 p.m. So Well, thank you very much. Hadley, just real quickly, council, if I could just introduce Mrs. Hadley Peterson. Uh she's uh works with us. She's with Kimley Horn. Um I've been working with Hadley. Uh she has not filed for a restraining order yet. I
call her regularly, email her all the time. We've been working with her and her team uh in Tallahassee uh and I think you met Ally previously here and uh I just want to thank her for being here and uh they they definitely watch out for the best interest of the town in terms of our requirements for compliance and uh in a lot of these uh in a lot of
these areas and I just wanted to mention that and introduce her for the purposes of the presentation. Thank you. Uh thank you. Thank you, Mr. Harper. My uh my apologies. Uh your your your reputation precedes you at least with me and some of the others up here, but uh thank you. Well, thank you very much. Nice to meet
you all. Hadley Peterson, like uh the town manager mentioned, you've met Ally Palmer who I work with. I'm here today to do a brief presentation on the comprehensive plan update. We I was here yesterday for the LPA meeting where they
recommended the transmitt to this um body, but just going to briefly go through this and if there's any questions, feel free to stop me. Um it should be short. So the comprehensive plan update is required by Florida statute chapter 163.
This is done every eight years. You have to evaluate your plan, let the state know if anything has changed and your circumstances requiring an update to the plan. In the case of Indian River Shores, there have been several statutes
that passed between the session in 2020 when this plan was last updated to 2024 that we needed to account for. And so we sent the ear letter saying we would be updating this plan. And so the amendments here before you today are in
response to that. The comprehensive plan is governed by chapter 163 and then it informs the town's land development code which a caveat in the way um that this order went in in the case of the town we
worked with um Janice Jamman's staff uh two years ago to update the land development code and so there are some changes in the document here today some amendments that just update the comprehensive plan to now match what's actually going on in your land development code. So for the most part,
these are compliance and consistency type revisions, amendments to your plan. I know you all know very well, but the comprehensive plan is essentially the guiding north star for decisions um in the town. It holds the goals,
objectives, and policy. So really, this is what we're looking at in terms of a long range plan for the town. In the case of this plan, there's a 10-year planning horizon of 2035 and a 20-year planning horizon of 2045. So, the
amendments are taking into account, you know, looking ahead for those next 20 years. Uh the objectives that you find within these amendments are really the compass for guiding decision-making and the policies are essentially, you know, the playbook for the capital
improvements and community initiatives that the town will undertake. during that time. What this looks like are nine comprehensive plan elements. All of the elements in the comprehensive plan for the town are required by statute. So
this covers everything from future land use, housing and transportation to the flip side of conservation, coastal management. Um some elements are longer or shorter. Uh the future land use really is the north star of the whole
document. That is where it tells you what your lands can have on them and where those are located. For this update, no future land use designations have been changed. So, that piece of the plan um is it remains as it has been
since 2020. Just so you know where we're at in the process, like I mentioned, this is driven by Florida Commerce, um the state agency. So last fall we did what is called the EAR which is the evaluation
and appraisal. So looking at all the statutes that have changed since 2020. What do we need to update update to make sure we are in compliance? We put it in a table and send it to the state so they know what we're going to do. We also went through all of your existing
policies and noted any that needed to be update due to changes um in how the town operates or that needed to be update to comply with what your land development code regulates on a day-to-day basis when it comes to building official
development etc. Um through the winter and spring we worked on DIA which is just data inventory and analysis. So taking into account all the good work that the town's doing, all the good work from the county no and water management
district and putting it there. Um every policy that we recommend amending ties back to a data point um that's required by statute. And then this past spring and summer worked on updating the goals, objectives, and policies to what you um
have been given for this evening, the version that's been put before you. As part of that earbased updates, like I mentioned, these are statutory changes. The biggest I would say three things that have happened in legislation
between 2021 and 2024. Um they introduced the two planning year horizons. So the 10 and the 20 that I mentioned before, it was just 20. So there was no need to, you know, make sure the 10 year was in there. So updating for that and accordingly also
making sure the level of service required for different infrastructure is in place to support that growth through those time horizons. Additionally, the septic to sewer bill passed through the Senate and House and so that language
and the work that the town's done as it relates to the BMAP etc has been included in this the vulnerability assessment etc. And then the live local act um passed as well um doesn't have as much impact in this town. There's not
commercial and industrial land for it to impact, but accounting for all of these as part of statutory updates with that. There are some just contextual ch changes that have you know happened um population projections
required by statute. So we use a source by the University of Florida. It's the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Uh they provide a low, medium, and high range. We went with the medium range because that's in line with the type of growth that you've been experiencing over the last decade.
Yes. Okay. I you know a question you I guess partially answered that but to what extent are these customized because we're built out or darn close and given the demographic of of this uh population
probably uh not going to have a lot of babies here. So these numbers strike me as somewhat on the high side given the unique characteristics of the town. Yes. So this research is done for local jurisdiction by the University of
Florida. So this takes into account the amount of lands available to develop. This assumes, you know, there's not going to be a lot of new development, but we're going to see very subtle redevelopment. And again, this is 800 residents distributed over 20 years. So
in the case where there may be a single family home today, it may be a town home or you know something in the future and it it assumes there's going to be slight density but it's not assuming um lands are going to be reszoned or land use designations changed.
Okay. But to the vice mayor's point, just to put a finer point on this, these are, you know, calculations that are done based on, you know, formulas and they're not they're not customized. So these could be wildly inaccurate. you know, you could you could conceivably
also have a shift to um you know, um uh larger homes with fewer occupants. So, we're this this is just, you know, this is just the statistical uh you know, best guess thrown out by people who probably have never set foot in the town.
Is the best guess based on town data though? So, it's based on town census data um from the last 50 years extrapolated over time. So this is based on what the town and the census tracks and blocks within the town have seen. So again, yes, very well. It could be a
best guess. That's, you know, why we go in the medium. We're not assuming high or low based on the way development has happened here. You know, we did discuss going on the low end, but um Indian River County actually uses the high for their comprehensive plan update. So, you
know, it's kind of one of those safe to assume meet in the middle type of Well, they they have a lot of empty ground. Yes. So do you recall what the difference between this number and what the low would have been? Um it's about 124 residents. So not you know statistically
significant. Yeah. To be blatantly obvious u for the public to the extent that you know uh anybody anybody listens to this uh we're my comment was just to calm the public down that we are not planning to have development. We are not planning to have
growth. This is this is not something that um that is part of our um our aspiration. This is just a number that somebody you know picked out and said this is this is what the trends look like. These numbers do tend to trend higher um in in a community like ours
because you know as the vice mayor pointed out we are pretty built out. So if you're taking a look at the the development from 15 20 years ago when we've had no less than five new developments, you know, between the Strand Blue um Surfside and uh two others that are
probably uh well, they don't have to vote for me because I'm term limited, so I've I've forgotten their names. Uh but the um you know, the the chances are the trend is going to be going to be much much lower. So, just want to to any members of the public, we are not we are not actively recruiting to have a higher
density. Okay. Just want to make that clear unless anybody disagrees with me up here, which I assume you don't. So, okay. What's Hadley, what's the point of the benchmark? So, if the benchmark shows, let's say, not an 8.3%
increase, but rather a 12% increase, is that supposed to trigger some some response in the comprehensive benchmark. Are you talking about the projected growth rate you see here? So the point of this is to assume in a
scenario where you had this much growth that you would have a plan for infrastructure in place to support that if it were to happen. So the way that we do our level of service calculations is based off of this number so that we can ensure that your roadways would not have
more traffic on it if this were to happen. Your water, you know, even though it's provided through the city of Vero Beach, they would still have capacity to serve Indian River Shores and meet the expectations that you guys have today if this were to happen. But it's not a it's not it doesn't
trigger an objective responsibility. It trigger it's it's a flare saying expect this growth and as you expect this growth give active consideration to the impact on the comprehensive plan. Okay.
Yes. So with that um actually segus perfectly into transportation and the only updates really in this element were to put into policy actions that are already occurring today in
terms of collaboration and working with FOT the county and NPOS. This um the level of service calculations were updated in here but no level of service was changed. And then we also updated to include additional policies around
ensuring safe what is called non-motorized travel which is just bike and pedestrian to make sure that we're working with the appropriate agencies to provide for that within the boundaries of the town. When it comes to housing um as you all
know the housing here today is largely single family detached. uh we use projections from Shimberg Center for Housing Studies to look at trends in building permits to see what type of demographics are expected. So of those
800 people that you know could call Indian River Shores home in 2045. The idea is that those are projected to be mostly town home type development with some single family detached as well. And so the housing element, um, again, very
few changes in here from the version you have today. Um, there's not the need to account for a live local act the same way that other jurisdictions have to, but provisions have been put into the comp plan for that. And then there have been no changes to the property rights
element since that was just adopted in 2023 to meet statute requirements. So no changes have been done for that element. uh public facilities and capital improvements is one element. This is where all the level of service standards
are housed. Additional policies were added here based on the septic to sewer vulnerability assessment projects. So items like complying with the Indian River Lagoon protection program to reduce the town's pollutant load are now
housed in here. This is where the capital improvements um the CIP that you just discussed gets housed and tucked in here and as you update that it would gets replaced as part of this element. But the policies within this element are
what drive the type of work that's being done here in the town when it comes to roadway projects that include storm water in that the septic to sewer the curbing efforts that um the town is working on with the county and other
agencies right now. So the policies in here provide for that type of work down the line in coastal management. The biggest update required by statute is related to peril of flood requirements. And then the other updates as it relates to
protecting and restoring beach and dune systems and coastal development have been updated. Uh the land development code was updated prior to the comp plan update like I mentioned. So, this took into account the coastal high hazard area coastal development regulations and
ordinances that you already follow in the town um that meet statute requirements and protect your coast and natural resources. So, those have been incorporated into the comprehensive plan. And then there's been additional detail required in terms of post-
disaster response with the county. So, the policy's been updated um to align with the counties to ensure an under 12-h hour hurricane evacuation time. So, that's all housed in the coastal element or coastal management element.
Uh conservation is preservation of natural resources. Again, this for the most part just puts into policy actions that are already being undertaken by the town and their partners. Um, additionally, uh, statute now requires you look at air and energy as part of
this. So, there have been policies added, um, to continue to look at air pollution and, um, energy resources in collaboration with other agencies like the county. Um,
recreation and open space. Uh the biggest difference here is in your 2020 version there's about 10 categories that provide you know we're going to have x many parks per population. We're going to have x many trail miles of trail x many tennis courts. It's not required by
statute to go into that amount of detail. So we've replaced it with just a um acreage of recreation and open space and added policies that that can be provided for through HOAs or private development. Right now the burden's on
the town alone. So we have added policies that provide for that as well as providing for working with the county, city of Vero Beach, etc. that the residents can achieve that access to recreation and open space through
entities that are not just the town alone. Intergovernmental coordination is basically the clearing house for all the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that we're being a good partner to other agencies in the area. So this
includes continuing joint planning with adjacent jurisdictions. Um new policies have been added in terms of um required by the BMAP. So now there's a policy in there about holding bianual coordination meetings with the city of Vero Beach in
Indian River County to support compliance with the chapter 2023 169 um and that BAP or basin management action plan. So that's a new policy in there and in part of the in this element all your existing interlocal agreements are
housed in here and kind of document the way that you've been a partner to other agencies and jurisdictions previously and policies largely again go unchanged in this element except for to document what's actually being done operationally
with the town. Uh, and then that that's a question from the vice mayor. When you going back to your second bullet point, you go backwards. So by annual just so I that's every other year.
I always get confused between bianual and semianual. It's supposed to be every other year. This is um yes this is every other year um as required by the basin management act. Okay. And so what what is the form that
they're supposed to take? Is that specified? That's not specified in here. And I think that's intentionally so because so that we can't be staff to staff meetings um qualified. So okay because the county has had meetings
with their governing body with the governing bodies of Vero Beach and Sebastian that's why I asked the question. So and intentionally left so that we can be compliant with it through staff action. Thank you. Any other questions?
Are there any questions? Um nope. I just want to thank you for a comprehensive job on the comprehensive plan amendments and um uh it's my my sense of humor notwithstanding. Uh there this is an
important task and um I I went through all of this carefully as I'm sure everybody else did. And what impressed me the most was the care that was given to make sure that we don't overpromise because little by little we've seen comprehensive plans become enforceable. Even though initially they were never
supposed to be enforceable legal documents, they were aspirational. Now they're being used in court to say you said in your plan that you were going to have 23 tennis courts per thousand residents and you know it's uh if if if the planning and zoning commission decides well we don't want to have two
tennis courts here it's too noisy and doesn't comply we could be in a pickle. So I want to thank you and I want to thank staff for working very hard on this to make sure that um this was very carefully done. We can't the days are gone when we can look at this unfunded mandate as let's just check the box and
get it on its way. we have to really pay attention to it. So, thank you for the wonderful job you did. In a in a pickle is a is an Irish term which means a boatload of trouble. Refer to pickle court. Oh, I you know I I'm not that clever.
The pickle ball would have been great. You All right. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. All right. Is there any further discussion? If there isn't, we can move to um a roll call vote on the approval of the first reading after it's read by
the town attorney. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, town council. This is ordinance number 583, an ordinance of the town of Indian River Shores, Florida with attachments amending the comprehensive plan of Indian River Shores providing for the amendment to the text of various elements in the future land use map series of the
comprehensive plan resulting from the directives of the town council after the completion of the evaluation and appraisal review providing for a business impact estimate providing for scrier's errors, the repeal of all conflicting ordinances, codification, and an effective date. This is the first reading.
All right. Uh, seeing no further discussion, is there a motion and a second? Motion to mo motion to approve. Second. All right. A motion by the vice mayor and a second by Councilman Alieri. Uh, can you call the role for the vote, please? Mayor Foley. I.
Vice Mayor Alwater. I. Council member Alieri. I. Council member Dayne. I. Let let the record show. The motion passed unanimously. All right. Thank you. Uh, call to the audience. Okay. Um no no no one uh no one out
there. Thank you very much for your attention. Uh and uh we will now adjourn this meeting. We will see you next week for our early uh earlier than usual meeting and um we have a budget meeting on that as well. Correct. Second reading. All right. Thanks so much
everyone. Have a have a wonder.