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Board of County Commissioners PD Workshop Meeting Minutes - Final October 23, 2025 <br />addressed. Mr. Votaw reported good results with contacting leadership from <br />surrounding HOAs to increase communication with neighboring residents. <br />Mr. Sweeney then described the downside of allowing developers to apply for <br />conceptual and preliminary PDs concurrently and requested input on disallowing <br />this practice. He noted there were instances resulting in needless time <br />expenditures. Mr. Lowther suggested informing developers of their odds of denial <br />due to poor planning and allowing them to decide if the risk of applying for both <br />was worth it. <br />Regarding increased notice, staff recommended making the developer pay and <br />install larger signs, as well as having them pay for the increased cost to mail <br />notices in a wider radius. Commissioner Moss preferred increasing the mail <br />radius to match the area of the traffic study as well as larger signs on site. <br />Attorney Prado advised the current mailing radius was 300 feet, and it could be <br />adjusted by the Board, as well as noting any related increased costs were part of <br />the applicant paying for their impact. Staff also suggested having the applicant <br />create and maintain a project website. Administrator Titkanich suggested several <br />reasons why a County -managed web site solution may be preferable; board <br />members weighed -in with their agreement on his suggestion. <br />The Chairman opened the floor for public comment. <br />Deb Robinson, President of Laurel Homes, spoke of her experience creating PDs <br />and creating value for the community. She took exception to the suggestion <br />developers should come to the table offering to pay for public benefits, and <br />suggested these increased regulations were preventing the development of <br />affordable housing. Her comments also addressed buffers, the creativity of PDs, <br />cost to homeowners, public input, long lead times, and project websites. <br />Barbara Ruddy referred to a development with unattractive color schemes and <br />suggested the County include restrictions in their code. She mentioned increased <br />traffic from simultaneous development on Indian River Boulevard. <br />Richard Bialosky, Architect, discussed the subjective element inherent in PDs that <br />allow creative design. He also spoke about affordable housing issues such as <br />in -lieu fees and alternate housing types, and the public benefits of native Florida <br />landscaping and green certification. <br />Indian River County, Florida Page 7 <br />