What The Heck Is a Comp Plan and Why Should I Care?

A number of folks have expressed concerns that even with the amount of information (and misinformation) flying around from various sources, they still have a basic lack of understanding of the mechanics of state and local government as it relates to commercial development here in the City of Anna Maria. As a result they also have a basic lack of understanding as to why all of the recent noise in and around City Hall lately is necessary.

So below we have put together a short primer on the issues . As I have said before, I am not a land use attorney and I frankly have learned a great deal myself putting this piece together. The following is purely informational and should not be considered legal advice or a legal opinion. A special thanks and a bit of attribution goes to 1000 Friends of Florida for their treasure trove of information available to any interested citizen by clicking HERE. Also, as you read you can click on any of the highlighted underlined links for additional information on that issue. With no further ado, please click this link and read on...




What is a Comp Plan?

Since 1985 The State of Florida has required that local governments, including the City of Anna Maria, implement and follow Comprehensive Plans regarding development and growth in their city. Our Comp Plan is a legally binding document. Every ordinance and land use decision the local government makes must be consistent with the plan. Otherwise they are invalid. Central to the plan is the Future Land Use Map (FLUM). It denotes the allowed usage of all the land in a community.

What is an LDR?
Land Development Regulations include the local ordinances necessary to make the goals, objectives, and policies of the local comprehensive plan work. At a minimum, these include ordinances dealing with the subdivision of land, zoning, parking, compatibility, drainage and storm water management, site plan approvals, environmentally sensitive lands and public facilities. These ordinances are the “laws” governing implementation of the local comprehensive plan. The land development regulations must be consistent with the local comprehensive plan. Otherwise they too are invalid.

What is Zoning?
Zoning is the local law that identifies the allowable use for each piece of property within a community, which is usually at a smaller scale than the plan’s future land use map. It also includes development standards that specify such things as how far a house should be set back from the road, the number of parking spaces required for an office, or the amount of space that must remain open on a commercial lot. In general, zoning can be residential, commercial or a mix of both, called Residential/Office/Retail” or “ROR”. Of course, there are also recreational, public and conservation types of zoning. Most all of Pine Avenue has is zoned ROR.

What is Permitting?

Permitting is a more narrowly focused, site-specific assessment of the impacts of a particular project. The project’s impacts must be within allowable standards, or the impacts must be reduced to reach allowable standards in order for a permit to be issued. For instance, if one is building on or adjacent to protected wetlands, certain criteria must be met to insure such protection.

What is a Site Plan?
A Site Plan is a bird’s eye view of property as if one were looking down at it from above. A site plan shows in great detail everything that is intended to be built on the property. This includes the footprint of any buildings (home, garage, decks or patios) and any other improvements such as driveways, walkways, fences, swimming pool, etc. on the property. Dimensions are included for each item, and the drawing is done to scale. Generally speaking, in Anna Maria a site plan is necessary whenever one is applying to build a commercial or ROR project or to subdivide an existing parcel. The City uses the site plan to understand exactly what the developer or owner wishes to do, and to determine two important design issues: setback (how far the structure[s] are from property lines) and coverage (how much of the total property is to be built upon). The site plan becomes part of the official record and once approved must be strictly followed by the developer.

Those are the basics. So what the heck is all the fuss about? Several issues are on the burner and require action:

- Site Plan Approval Issue: In 2008, an ordinance was passed ceding responsibility for approving site plans to the Planning & Zoning (“P&Z”) board in an effort to streamline a process that was perceived to be cumbersome. Since then, it has become clear to the majority of Commissioners and P&Z Board members that final approval should rest with the City Commission since they are elected officials with direct accountability to voters. The Commission and P&Z agreed in January to amend the site plan ordinance to place approval of site plans back with the City Commission. Unfortunately, that process has been slow and is not final. Until it is final, P&Z can still approve site plans even though they have agreed they should not be doing so. Apparently anticipating less resistance from P&Z than the City Commission, one local developer has recently filed numerous site plans in what would appear to be a rush to get approval before (1) that task shifts to the City Commission and (2) laws related to parking are revised. One site plan was approved last week by the P&Z. Complicating this blizzard of applications are hot button issues related to the City’s past interpretation and enforcement of existing regulations related to parking and efforts by at least one Commissioner to identify those issues and bring existing LDR's into compliance with the new Comprehensive Plan.

- Parking Issues: In layman’s terms, the amount of parking the City requires on any commercially developed property is dependent upon a rather complicated formula involving the size and location of the subject property and its intended use. Working backward, the developer can then determine the size of the structure he is able to place on his site and still comply with setback, surface coverage and parking requirements. It is those requirements that are currently in debate. Not surprisingly, some developers argue that they will not possibly be able to build economically feasible structures on the remaining land available should any changes further restrict or reconfigure parking. Other developers significantly disagree. Further, there is a deep difference of opinion regarding the use of ‘back-out” spaces versus dedicated parking areas contained wholly on the subject property. Current parking regulations require on-site parking but how that is defined and interpreted is the crux of the debate. Complicating the issue are, first, several drawings produced by members of a parking committee assigned to study the issue and, secondly, a last minute surprise parking “plan” said by its proponents to be both comprehensive and consistent with the Comp Plan. It is likely neither.

- Why You Need To Care: As mentioned above, all laws related to development must be consistent with the Comp Plan or they are invalid. In other words they are illegal. Period. With that in mind, consider the following:

1. Currently, the City Commission and P&Z Board have agreed publicly that the current LDRs dealing with parking are illegal, that site plan approval needs to revert to the City Commission and that both laws require amendment to correct them. The City Attorney, the City Planner and the City Building Official, have all agreed, on the record, that the current laws require revision to be consistent with the Comp Plan. There is no argument or debate about this fact.
2. There have been public meetings at which the new language has been discussed and debated. Drafts of the new site plan approval law have been through an initial “reading” on the record, and, but for unexplained delays by the City Attorney, they should have been through a “second reading” by now and set for final adoption as law.
3. But in the meantime, at least one developer has submitted multiple site plans, has gotten one approved and is seeking to have them all blessed under laws that everyone agrees are illegal. Bottom line, it’s all about the dollars. While citizens are transfixed by multiple delays and diversions at City Hall, the developer is focused on rushing into acceptance as many new site plans as possible before the site plan and parking laws are revised to the way everyone agrees they should be.
4. Ultimately it is about how much land a developer has left after he satisfies whatever parking regulations are in place at the time he gets his site plan approved and, of course, who has that approval power at that time. As it stands now, developers can build something incompatible with our Comp Plan and get away with it.
5. If your City Commission, your P&Z Board, the City Attorney you pay for with your taxes, and your City Planner and Building Official ALL say the laws must be changed, shouldn’t you be asking why it hasn’t happened? And shouldn't you be asking why a limited moratorium targeting only construction activity in the ROR can't be implemented until the issues are resolved?

Perhaps it's time you contact your elected officials and tell them to put a stop to any more approvals of projects in the ROR until the laws are put into compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. They're listening, so tell them how you feel.

And of course, please show up Thursday March 4th at City Hall at 6:00pm. See you there.
Bill Yanger