ITEM DESCRIPTION:
Title
1st Reading - Ordinance 2024-O-27: Request for a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment to amend Chapter One - Future Land Use Element of the City of Edgewater’s Comprehensive Plan to add a new future land use category called Urban Connectivity.
Body
APPLICANT:
City of Edgewater
REQUESTED ACTION:
Amend the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Element to add the Urban Connectivity future land use.
LOCATION:
City Wide
CITY COUNCIL:
1st Reading, July 1st, 2024
OVERVIEW:
The large-scale comprehensive plan amendment amends the Future Land Use Element for the purposes of adding a new Future Land Use Category of “Urban Connectivity.” The allowable density of the Urban Connectivity proposed Future Land Use is 24 dwelling units per gross acre. The purpose of the proposal serves as an opportunity to create infill development that reduces the dependance on vehicles while promoting connectivity to goods and services such as grocery stores and schools. In order to qualify for consideration for the Urban Connectivity future land use the following restrictions must be met:
• The development must be located within 3,000 feet of a grocery store.
• The development must be located within 3,000 feet of one of the following: a public park, East Coast Regional Rail Trail, public or private school.
• The development must be located on an arterial or collector roadway.
• Density shall be calculated as gross density - across the entire site acreage.
• The minimum open space requirement is 30%. Open space is inclusive of active recreation including amenities, landscape buffers, and water retention and or detention ponds. Natural undisturbed landscape buffers are required adjacent to any existing residential development and shall be required on a minimum of two property boundaries. A minimum of one (1) water retention and/or water detention pond shall be placed to provide additional buffering from existing residential development.
• All future land use map amendments to the Urban Connectivity future land use must be accompanied by a Residential Planned Unit Development rezoning.
• Architectural renderings of facades and a three-dimensional rendering of the proposed development must be included with the submittal of the Residential Planned Unit Development application.
A full copy of the changes to the Future Land Use Element are attached at the end of this staff report.
Comprehensive Plan Compatibility:
The proposed Urban Connectivity Future Land Use designation is compatible with the Comprehensive Plan based upon the following:
Chapter 1 Future Land Use Element
• Policy 1.1.2 - Density/Intensity
The City shall adopt maximum densities and intensities for each land use category which encourage economic development while protecting the natural environment as indicated in the above table.
Staff Response: The proposed addition of the Urban Connectivity future land use will enable the development of multi-family housing in areas of the City that are in close proximity to existing goods and services. The close proximity will help encourage sustained commerce thus promoting economic development with the City of Edgewater. The Urban Connectivity future land use provides consideration of the natural environment by requiring a minimum of two property boundaries to use existing forested areas as landscape buffers.
• Policy 1.1.5 - Housing
The Future Land Use Map shall contain an adequate diversity of lands for residential uses to meet the future demand for residential densities identified in the Housing Element.
Staff Response: The current highest density future land use designation of High Density has not provided multi-family development within the City of Edgewater. Through the Urban Connectivity future land use designation, multi-family developments will be economically feasible providing a type of housing that is currently non-existent within the City of Edgewater.
• Policy 1.1.10 - Residential Density and the Future Land Use Map
The City shall ensure that residential density on the Future Land Map is based on the following considerations: (1) Past and anticipated future population and housing trends and characteristics; (2) provision and maintenance of quality residential neighborhoods and preservation of cohesive neighborhoods; (3) protection of environmentally sensitive lands; (4) transition of density between low, medium, and high-density residential districts.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use designation provides for a significant increase in residential density compared to the current density provided in the High-Density future land use designation. The City of Edgewater has experienced tremendous residential growth. The City of Edgewater currently has a population of about 25,500 persons. The City of Edgewater currently has 11,681 residential units entitled. This equates to a population increase of 26,866 persons. Approximately 1,200 units of the 11,681 units are entitled for multi-family development. The City of Edgewater has less than fifty constructed multi-family units. With the projected increase in future population, the City of Edgewater is not providing a diversity of housing products. The Urban Connectivity future land use designation will allow for the development of multi-family housing units in areas of the City that are in close proximity to goods and services. The Urban Connectivity future land use will require multi-family developments to be located along arterial and collector roadways which are predominantly commercial in the City of Edgewater. The preservation and cohesiveness of single-family residential neighborhoods and subdivisions will be less impacted because of the roadway classification requirement. The Urban Connectivity future land use requires the preservation of natural resources through the provision of undisturbed natural landscape buffers on a minimum of two of the property boundaries.
• Policy 1.4.1 - Limiting Development and the Utility Service Area
The City will limit land development activities outside of the adopted Utility Service Area boundary to encourage infill and ensure the availability of services and facilities to accommodate development.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use designation has been designed to encourage best practices in urban planning and encourages infill development in areas of the City that have municipal services.
• Policy 1.5.1 - Inconsistent Land Uses
Proposed land use amendments, which are inconsistent with the character of the community or inconsistent with adjacent future land uses shall not be approved by the City, unless the adjacent future land use can be shown to be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
Staff Response: Staff has determined that increasing density near goods and services creates access to goods and services while reducing vehicle dependency and reducing traffic.
• Policy 1.5.5 - High Density Residential Areas
High density residential development shall be designated for areas adjacent to more intensive land uses such as Commercial and Light Industrial. Where feasible, visual buffering shall be utilized to reduce any negative effects on the residents of such development.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use requires the development be located adjacent to collector or arterial roadways. Within the City of Edgewater, arterial roadways consist of US Highway 1/ Ridgewood Avenue and SR442/Indian River Boulevard. The City of Edgewater’s future land use map has designated arterial roadways with the Commercial future land use.
• Policy 1.5.7 - Maintaining Site Design Requirements and Subdivision Regulations.
The City shall maintain site design requirements and subdivision regulations in the Land Development Code, which adequately address the impacts of new development on adjacent properties in all land use categories and zoning districts.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use designation requires natural undisturbed landscape buffers adjacent to residential properties and requires the development to locate a minimum of one stormwater retention or detention pond adjacent to the natural undisturbed landscape buffer to provided additional setbacks from residential development.
• Policy 1.6.4 - Land Uses with High Traffic Counts
Land uses that may generate high traffic counts shall be encouraged to locate adjacent to arterial roads and mass transit systems.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use is required to be adjacent to arterial or collector roadways.
Objective 1.7 - Adjacent Jurisdictions
Promote the compatibility of adjacent land uses with Volusia County and the neighboring cities of New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill.
• Policy 1.7.1 - Considering Adjacent Existing and Proposed Land Uses
When reviewing land use amendments, the City Shall consider the existing and proposed land uses in any jurisdictions that are adjacent to the proposed amendment.
Staff Response:
|
Municipality |
Highest Residential FLU |
Density |
|
Edgewater |
Urban Connectivity |
24 DU/acre |
|
Oak Hill |
Medium Density Residential |
10 DU/acre |
|
New Smyrna Beach |
High Density Residential |
18 DU/acre |
• Policy 1.14.1 - Encouraging Innovative Land Use Development Techniques
The City shall continue to encourage the use of innovative land use development techniques such as planned development projects, cluster housing techniques and mixed-use developments.
Staff Response: A Residential Planned Unit Development is required to accompany a comprehensive plan amendment to the Urban Connectivity future land use.
• Policy 1.14.2: Identifying and Prioritizing Infill Development Sites. Utilize existing inventories of land use information to identify and prioritize infill development sites; then coordinate with the Volusia County Office of Economic Development to make this information available to the private sector.
Staff Response: Centralizing high density housing near goods and services such as grocery stores and schools will ensure the highest and best land use for infill projects.
• Policy 1.14.6 - Incentives for Developers and Variety Housing Types
The City shall continue to provide incentives for developers providing for a variety of housing types in the Land Development Code.
Staff Response: The current future land use density of 12 units per acre under High Density Residential future land use designation has not provided enough incentives for the development community to build multi-family housing in the City of Edgewater. The Urban Connectivity future land use will enable the economic viability of multi-family developments by allowing a density of 24 units per acre.
• Policy 1.17.1 - Energy Efficient Land Use Pattern
The City shall maintain an energy efficient land use pattern and shall continue to promote the use of transit and alternative methods of transportation that decrease reliance on the automobile.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use is required to be located within 3,000 feet of a grocery store, and within 3,000 feet of either a school, park, or trail. The Urban Connectivity future land use is also required to be adjacent to an arterial or collector roadway. The Urban Connectivity future land use designation will enable high density development in close proximity to goods and services which will reduce vehicle miles traveled and the dependence on the automobile.
• Policy 1.18.3 - Incorporating Natural Site Elements in the Design Process.
As a Low Impact Development technique, the City shall ensure that all development and redevelopment projects, when feasible, incorporate natural site elements such as wetlands, river or stream corridors, drainage ways or mature forests as a design element to furth protect the City’s natural resources.
Staff Response: The Urban Connectivity future land use designation shall preserve mature forests through the requirement of natural undisturbed landscape buffers along two property perimeters.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Motion to approve Ordinance 2024-O-27.