Plan Amendment Information

A key function of the Planning Division is to manage changes to County’s Comprehensive Plan through the amendment process.

Small Scale Amendment Process:

Small scale amendments must be no more than 10 acres and are limited by the State to no more than 80 approved acres in any calendar year and to amendments to the County’s Future Land Use Atlas only. The County has established additional criteria for small scale amendments, including limiting their initiation to a quarterly basis and to sites within the Urban Service Area. Small scale amendments are subjected to the same departmental and staff review as large scale amendments. Small scale amendments also require a public hearing before the Planning Commission. However, they only require one hearing before the BCC and are not reviewed by the State Planning Agency unless requested by the County. Small scale amendments are processed concurrently with the re-zoning of the site, and adopted by the BCC on the same date as the zoning public hearing affecting the property. Small scale amendments are effective 31 days after adoption unless challenged.

Large Scale Amendment Process:

The County regularly undertakes two large scale amendment rounds. Certain amendments, such as those related to DRIs, may be processed independently. These rounds include both site-specific amendments to the Future Land Use Atlas and text amendments.

Initiation: Text amendments may be initiated only by the BCC, or the PLC,. The Planning Division typically sets the schedule for the intake of requested amendments in February/March and October/November of each year. Following intake, the list of requested amendments is presented to the PLC for their review and concurrence prior to its presentation to the BCC. The BCC formally initiates each of the amendment rounds by motion - typically in April and November.

Review Process: Staff develops a schedule for the completion of work associated with each amendment round, which is made available to all agents and applicants for an amendment as well as reviewing agencies (which include County agencies as well as some State-mandated reviewing agencies); failure by an agent or applicant to adhere to the schedule results in the administrative postponement of the amendment to the next round. Once proposed amendments are found sufficient for processing, the Planning Division prepares a staff report that examines data, performs an analysis of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, and provides a recommendation.

Planning Commission Public Hearings: The Planning Division presents the amendment staff reports to the Planning Commission at public hearings. Based on the staff report and the testimony at the hearing, the PLC makes a recommendation.

BCC Transmittal Hearing: The Planning Division presents the amendment staff reports, including the staff and Planning Commission recommendations, to the Board of County Commissioners at a Transmittal Public Hearing. At the hearing, the Board makes a determination on each amendment whether to transmit the amendments to the State Land Planning Agency for review, or to decline to transmit the amendments. All tranmitted amendments are reviewed by State-mandated reviewing agencies, including Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) for consistency with State plans and regulations.

State Land Planning Agency Review: Within 30 to 60 days of receiving the transmitted amendments, the State Land Planning Agency and other State review agencies provide the County with comments. The County must hold an adoption hearing no more than 180 days after receipt of the comments.

BCC Adoption Hearing: The Planning Division presents the amendment staff reports, including any comments or objections issued by the State Land Planning Agency and State Review Agencies and the staff response, to the Board of County Commissioners at an Adoption Public Hearing. At the hearing, the Board makes a determination on each amendmentwhether to adopt the amendment by ordinance or to deny. Adopted amendments, along with the response to State comments, are submitted to the State Land Planning Agency and other state departments for a consistency determination with State requirements.

Effective Date: Adopted amendments become effective according to State statute regulations. Challenged amendments enter an administrative hearing process.