May 15, 2025 Local Plannning Agency Meeting (2025-05-15)

LOCAL PLANNING AGENCY MEETING MINUTES MAY 15,2025-5:30 P.M. DESTIN CITY HALL ANNEX CHAMBERS

1. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE:

Deputy Community Development Director Steve o'Connor of Agency meeting to order on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., Chambers; with the Pledge of Allegiance immediately following.

alled the Local Planning in the Destin City Annex

2. ROLL CALL:

| Members Present | Members Absent | Staff Members Present | | --- | --- | --- | | Ken Wampler | James T. Wood, Jr. | Kimberly Montgomery Deputy City Clerk | | Marcie Bell | Todd Buhr | Daniel Butler Principal Planner | | Jay Purut | Tammy Weidenhamer | Jesse Hernandez Planner | | Bree Uptigrove | | Steve o’Connor, Deputy CD Director David Prichard, Community Dev. Director Kim Kopp City Attorney via phone |

3. Interim Chairman:

Committee member Bell nominated Chairman with Agency member Purut unanimously.

gency member Ken Wampler as the interim providing the second. The motion passed

4. AGENDA MINUTES:

3/6/2025 3/20/2025 4/3/2025

Motion to approve the minutes of the March 6, 2025, May 2025 as written with no changes or additions by Agency member Purut providing the second, the motion passed unanimously.

ch 20, 2025 and April 3. cell with Agency member

A. Ordinance 24-17-CC - Property Maintenance Code plumbing, mechanical, and electrical requirements) are excluded, they are still referenced in the Florida Building Codes and the Land Development Code.

Agency Bell spoke of concern she has for the language removed and spoke of instances where property owners, specifically townhome owners, who remodel the entire inside of without pulling any permits therefore no inspections are performed. It was emphasized that interior issues remain enforceable under building and maintenance codes, even if not stated in the ordinance. A brief discussion followed regarding enforcement challenges related to unauthorized interior renovations in multi-unit structures, such as townhomes, if the work is never reported while it is being renovated. The members acknowledged these concerns, and staff reinforced the role of complaint-based inspections.

Motion by Agency member Bell, seconded by Interim Chairman Wampler to recommend City Council approve Ordinance 24-17-CC - Property Maintenance Code. The motion passed 5-0.

B. Ordinance 25-08-LC - Adoption of Mobility Fees

Mr. o'Connor explained to the members how this ordinance has already been to Council and approved for first reading. Additionally, this ordinance proposes replacing the current transportation impact fees with mobility fees as outlined in the previously adopted Mobility Plan. The new fees reflect updated cost structures after 15+ years without changes, and the funds will be usable citywide for eligible projects including pedestrian, bicycle, and multimodal infrastructure, and this represents a shift from the limited-use zone-specific model to a more flexible network-wide approach.

Motion by Agency member Wampler, seconded by Agency member Bell to recommend City Council approve ordinance 25-08-LC,the motion passed 3-0, with Agency member Bell abstaining from the vote due to a personal gain/loss.

Mr. Butler explained how this is a staff initiated ordinance which proposes to revise the rear setbacks for townhomes, specifically within the High Density Residential Zoning District from 10 feet to 5 feet for buildings that have a building height of 35 feet or less. He then provided the Agency members with an example how if a lot fronts the harbor, the rear setback is zero and if a lot fronts the Choctawhatchee Bay, they will have to comply with the Shoreline Protection Zone, which is 50 foot for any kind of principal structure, and allowing accessory structures within that area, not to constitute more than 40%. Therefore, all lots that do not front any kind of water body, there would be a rear property line setback of 10 feet across the board, for any building

C. Ordinance 25-10-LC-Revising Rear Setbacks for Townhomes within the High Density Residential (HDR) zoning district.

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having 35 feet or less. Additionally, staff is proposing for the rear setback to be reduced to five feet, because over the years, there have been properties that have either illegally built extensions or structures within their rear setback to five feet, and some others have been erroneously approved by staff between the years 2015 to 2017. Therefore, staff is trying to eliminate these nonconforming structures within the city and make them as equitable as possible.

Motion to recommend City Council ad Chairman Wampler with Agency member B with a unanimous vote of 4-0.

opt Ordinance 25-10-LC was made by Interim providing the second. The motion passed

Land Develop Code, Chapter 8 Discussion

Staff provided an update and collected consensus on multiple points from the December 3rd City Council workshop:

Wind Devices:

The members discussed several different options to allow certain events. For the initial 90-days before and 10 days after Agency member Uptigrove pointed out that could potentially be the entire summer and is entirely too long. Seven days before and 3 days, day of event, three days before and three days after, and day of and one day after an event and ultimately the decision was to allow them day of the event and then they be removed.

Sign Height:

Staff and board agreed to retain the simple 8 ft max height without variable height percentages.

Digital Signage

Consensus to retain the 7-year amortization period, as initially recommended by LPA Institutional zoning districts (e.g., churches, schools) are exempt and may retain digital signage.

Flags:

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Currently, flags are exempt and not prohibited. However, they will be counted toward total commercial signage allowances, if they're used to advertise commercial speech. Staff clarified distinction between political/non-commercial and commercial content when used as a part of their signage.

No formal motion is required. Staff will incorporate recommendations into the final ordinance draft for Council review.

6. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None

7. ADJOURNMENT:

Having no further discussion at this time, the meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.