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Board of County Commissioners PD Workshop Meeting Minutes - Final October 23, 2025 <br />benefits for inspiration. Mr. Sweeney noted the professional agency also had <br />sample agreements and reiterated it was important to include a County -relevant <br />definition of public benefit in the LDRs. Mr. Day requested Mr. Sweeney put <br />together a draft definition based on his experience that the PZC and BCC could <br />refine. Mr. Sweeney referred back to the idea of tiers, noting the County had <br />language that the benefit must be proportionate to the degree of which was being <br />asked. There was agreement that affordable housing was top tier. <br />Mr. Votaw discussed affordability which he stated was of paramount importance. <br />He noted that increased land values, regulations, and public benefits all affected <br />the final cost of a home. He asked the Board to consider ideas on how to bring <br />home prices down to the $350,000 to $450,000 range to be in reach for working <br />professionals while still maintaining the County's environment. There was <br />agreement that the County did not want to follow other areas which were <br />congested and overdeveloped. Mr. Votaw suggested considering how the County <br />could grow with grace, as expansion was inevitable, and PDs typically made up <br />more than half of residential developments. <br />Commissioner Flescher requested specific guidance for staff, with Administrator <br />Titkanich pointing to the displayed lists of acceptable/not acceptable public <br />benefits. The Boards noted the following acceptable benefits: enhanced <br />stormwater treatment, upsized utilities improvements, right-of-way (ROW) <br />dedication, conservation/ set -asides of natural land, dedication of land for public <br />purposes, acceptance of off-site stormwater, and off-site traffic improvements <br />above requirements. The following items were considered not public benefits: <br />limited access to project improvements, and transit stops with a shelter. <br />Under final discussion of the topic, Mr. Stewart requested feedback from council <br />regarding the need to allow staff flexibility to be innovative versus the exposure to <br />risk by not being consistent. Attorney Prado agreed that public benefits may not <br />need to be codified, but having approved guidance from the Board would <br />establish boundaries and rationale for approvals or denials. Mr. Sweeney <br />provided input on interconnectivity of developments in response to Mr. Votaw's <br />question, noting it was not necessarily a goal but would be considered on a <br />case-by-case basis. Administrator Titkanich advised that the American Planning <br />Association may have guidelines for how to quantify the degreed a benefit could <br />be considered valuable to the public. Commissioner Earman suggested asking <br />developers what they could do for the County when planning PDs rather than <br />putting the onus on staff. <br />Indian River County, Florida Page 4 <br />