Staff planner Jose Papa presented proposed amendments to Chapter 2 of the Land Development Code covering review authority, enforcement, and procedures.
Key changes include updating Table 2.1 to reflect that final plats are now approved administratively per state statute rather than requiring city council approval; clarifying neighborhood meeting requirements by establishing a minimum 14-day notice period before a planning board hearing and a 15-day notice period for mailed notification to surrounding property owners; requiring waivers of neighborhood meetings to be submitted in writing; standardizing public hearing notification timelines to 14 days across all application types; incorporating new state statutory timelines (120-day approval deadline for administrative applications, 180-day deadline for applications requiring board or council review); clarifying minor technical modification criteria to remove a conflict between subsections; establishing a special exception process for prohibited uses requiring supermajority city council approval; and clarifying that expired MPD development agreements require a new agreement while the MPD zoning designation remains.
The board provided extensive feedback including suggestions to clarify the neighborhood meeting waiver language to require that a prior meeting have been held, to add minimum conduct standards for neighborhood meetings (presentation format, adequate notice of content), and to explore virtual or live-stream options for neighborhood meetings.
Staff acknowledged all suggestions and committed to incorporating revisions for the June wrap-up workshop.
Staff planner Estelle (Stella) presented proposed amendments to Chapter 12 (Signs and Advertising), including new regulations to allow digital signage, which has previously been prohibited in Palm Coast.
Non-digital changes include increasing the maximum monument sign height in non-residential districts from 7 ft to 10 ft, adding temporary sign categories for commercial banners and sports field banners, extending temporary commercial sign duration from 30 to 60 days, and adding definitions for commercial and non-commercial signs.
Proposed digital sign regulations would allow digital displays on monument signs along specified arterial and collector roadways only, with display area limited to 50% or 75% of sign face depending on roadway classification; an 8-second minimum message hold time; instantaneous or fade in/fade out transitions only; automatic brightness dimming with a 0.3 foot-candle above ambient light maximum; 10 mm maximum pixel spacing; a malfunction protocol requiring default to black screen; and a prohibition on animation, audible components, and digital displays on wall or non-conforming signs.
Board discussion raised concerns about the enforceability of a proposed prohibition on digital signs on vehicles or trailers, with the board recommending that provision be removed or deferred pending consultation with FDOT, FHP, and the city attorney.
The board also flagged that window sign flashing/strobe restrictions should be limited to windows facing roadways to avoid being anti-business.
Staff noted city council reviewed the digital sign proposal on March 10 and was generally supportive, with Councilwoman Pontieri suggesting increasing the residential setback from 150 ft to 300 ft, which staff does not propose to adopt due to practical constraints at the planned downtown locations.