- May 20, 2024
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Local officials may enact new policies on workforce housing, coastal development and transportation connectivity as they update Flagler County’s Comprehensive Plan this year.
The Flagler County Commission and Flagler County Planning and Development Board held a joint workshop July 17 to meet with Inspire Placemaking Collective, the planning and design firm that will direct the full Comprehensive Plan update alongside county staff.
Since communities and counties change over time, so do a community’s needs, said Inspire project manager Chris Dougherty.
“That’s why it’s important to look at your plan every five, 10 years to make some tweaks and address the community’s desires,” Dougherty said.
A comprehensive plan is a guideline that helps define how a community will look in the future, Dougherty said. State law requires all Florida communities to have one and update it every seven years.
Commissioners and Planning Board members brainstormed ideas for the firm to investigate, and proposed:
Commission Chair Greg Hansen, among other commissioners and board members, emphasized the importance of protecting the county's open spaces and ecosystems.
"We're trying to create a historical preservation corridor," Hansen said. "I don't think we can do enough."
The Comprehensive Plan update will take just over a year. Inspire began its work on July 16, Dougherty said, and will continue through November 2024, when the updated Comprehensive Plan is adopted.
The project will occur in three phases. The first will involve data analysis and outreach.
Planning and Development Chairman Fernando Melendez said the firm and county need to push for members of the public to get involved.
"It's important that we reflect their efforts and what they think we need to implement in our comprehensive plan," Melendez said.
The firm will host three public workshops throughout the county, with the first scheduled for sometime in August, and the second in January.
It will also host two additional joint workshops with Flagler County commissioners and Planning and Development Board members.
