10/23/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Indian River County, Florida * * MEMORANDUM �ORIOy' Q41 Indian River Counfy Administration Complex 1801 27th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 indianriver.gov File ID: 25-1024 Type: Department Staff Report Meeting Date: 10/23/2025 TO: Indian River County Board of County Commissioners Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission THROUGH: John A. Titkanich Jr., County Administrator FROM: Ryan Sweeney; Acting Planning & Development Services Director DATE: October 10, 2025 SUBJECT: Joint Public Workshop Between the Board of County Commissioners and the Planning and Zoning Commission to Discuss the Planned Development (PD) Review and Approval Process BACKGROUND The County's planned development (PD) ordinance (Chapter 915 of the County LDRs; see Attachment 1) was first adopted approximately 35 years ago and has been utilized to review and approve over 50 PD projects. While the PD process also includes commercial PDs, mixed use PDs, and traditional neighborhood design (TND) PDs, most of the PDs that have been approved have been single-family residential PDs. Examples of single-family residential PDs include smaller projects such as Hidden Lake PD (47 lots on 18.92 acres) to some of the County's largest residential developments like Grand Harbor, Pointe West, and Waterway Village. Under the County's current PD process, applicants for PD projects may request waivers (exceptions) from certain development parameters such as minimum lot width, minimum lot size, and setbacks in favor of a creative and cohesive community design. Since the adoption of the County's PD ordinance, it has been the County's practice to require PD projects to provide public benefits (sometimes referred to as "trade-offs" in the earlier years) in order to offset the waivers that are being requested by the applicant. Over the past few years, there have been several instances where the balance between the applicant's requested waivers versus the project's proposed public benefits has been scrutinized by the PZC, the BCC, and the general public. There have also been instances where the project's resulting design has been considered plain or "cookie cutter" versus the intended outcome of a creative or unique community design. While the County's current PD ordinance is informative and robust, there are several items that warrant additional discussion. Staff has identified the below -referenced list of topics for further analysis and discussion: 1. Define and Identify Public Benefits: Indian River County, Florida Page 1 of 5 Printed on 10/17/2025 powered by Legistar-m