155-86 ORDINANCE NO. 155-86
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE POLICY
GUIDE TO THE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; PROVIDING A SAVING
CLAUSE; PROVIDING A GENERAL REPEALER CLAUSE;
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, The City of Delray Beach, Florida, is in the
process of updating its Comprehensive Plan in compliance with
State law; and,
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Delray Beach,
Florida, desiring citizen input into this process, appointed a
Land Use Advisory Committee to develop a Policy Guide to the Land
Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan; and,
WHEREAS, The aforesaid Policy Guide has been reviewed
by the City Planning and Zoning Board and City Council of the
City of Delray Beach, Florida in public hearings, and reviewed by
the State land planning agency;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That the Policy Guide to the Land Use
Element' of the Comprehensive Plan, as contained in Exhibit "A"
attached hereto and made a part hereof, is hereby adopted as an
amendment to the Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan.
Section 2. That should any section or provision of
this ordinance or any portion thereof, any paragraph, sentence,
or word be declared by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction to be
invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remainder hereof as a whole or part thereof other than the part
declared to be invalid.
Section 3. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances
in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.
Section 4. That this ordinance shall become effective
ten days after passage on second and final reading.
PASSED AND ADOPTED in regular session on second and
final reading on this the 30th day of December , 1986.
ATTEST:
First Reading December 2, 1986
Second Reading December 30, 1986
E X H I B I T" A"
POLICY GUIDE
TO THE
LAND USE ELEMENT
OF THE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA
SEPTEMBER 1986
CITY OF DELRAY BEACH
Doak S. Campbell III, Mayor
CITY COUNCIL
Jimmy Weatherspoon, Vice Mayor
Malcolm Bird *
Marie Horenburger
Richard Daugherty
PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD
Kathi Sumrall, Chairperson *
Jack L. Kellerman, 1st Vice Chairman
John Vislocky, 2nd Vice Chairman
Robert G. Currie
Louis P. Marechal
Phyllis Plume
Sid Soloway
LAND USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Phyllis Plume, Chairperson *
Tore Wallin, Vice Chairperson *
Elaine Roberts, Secretary
Yvonne Baine
James L. Bowen
Helen Coopersmith
Mark P. David
David Days
Elizabeth Matthews
David Nathanson
Charles O'Conner
Leonard Parnes
Joycelyn Patrick
Sam Schwimer
Sid Soloway
Robert Stump
Leonard Syrop
Michael Tiernan
Connie Turtle
Charlotte Vogler
CITY ADMINISTRATION
City Manager: James L. Pennington
Assistant City Manager: Robert A. Barcinski
Planning Director: Robert S. Cohn *
Planner: Murray P. Kaplan, AICP *
* Final Editing/Revision Committee
LAND USE MIX
General Goal Statements And Preface
The City of Delray ~each should continue to be a low-rise, low
density, predominantly residential community served by adequate
parks, open space, recreation and cultural facilities. Such a
comunity should be provided with support uses and facilities,
including sufficient commercial uses to meet its convenience
shopping and personal service needs, as well as a viable and
physically attractive downtown providing a broad mix of uses and
activities. In addition, appropriate industrial, business and
office park development should be encouraged to help provide a
solid tax base and broad employment opportunities for its
citizens. All growth in the City, however, should be timed to
coincide with available and adequate public facilities, including
roads, water and sewer systems.
Policy Statements:
(1) The Land Use Plan should be developed with a mix ~f
residential, commercial and industrial uses, but should
remain predominantly residential. The mix should provi'de
the City with a well balanced economic base in order to
provide job opportunities for its residents and help
maintain the current level of property taxes and services.
(2) The population of the City at build-out, including developed
County "pockets", which is presently projected to be about
60,000 year-round residents or 70,000 total residents,
should be approximately maintained. This does not include
the population in the Reserve Annexation Area. However, a
total buildout population should not negatively impact the
quality or quantity of municipal services.
(3) Residential densities should be increased slightly around
the CBD in order to increase the potential market, promote
safety and provide more opportunities for housing in these
areas.
(4) The City should aggressively work with the School Board in
order to identify future school sites in the Delray Beach
Planning Area and should assist in acquisition through
dedication, and/or density transfers in order to encourage
more families to live in the City.
(5) Zoning should be amended to allow adult congregate living
facilities, group homes and foster care homes in certain
residential and commercial districts.
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(6) A study should be made to see if housing costs can be
reduced in areas targeted for redevelopment.
(7) Residential uses should be permitted in commercial areas
where integrated into a commercial building. Residential
free-standing buildings in commercial areas would be
conditional uses.
(8) A neighborhood office/residential district which would be
residential in character should be created to encourage
redevelopment of certain areas.
(9) The City should amend its non-conforming commercial and
industrial use provisions to add an amortization provision
which would require all non-conforming uses to be eliminated
within a certain time period.
(10) All developments within commercial and industrial zoning
districts should meet, to the maximum extent possible as
determined by the City, present landscaping standards by
1990 and off-street parking regulations by 1995.
(11) Conditional use and site plan approvals should expire after
eighteen months if no development has taken place. A single
eighteen month extension may be granted if the facility is
brought to current code.
(12) The City should review the quantity and location of all
parks and recreational facilities existing and planned to
attempt to provide at least 3 acres of public land per 1,000
population.
(13) The City should strive for an interlocal agreement with the
County to review and comment on all proposed changes in land
use designation, rezonings, and special exceptions in the
reserve annexation and County "pocket" areas.
(14) Use of the Special Activities District (SAD) should be
applied only in unique situations and used only when
conventional zoning districts cannot be applied. Every
effort should be made to rezone existing SAD's back to
conventional zoning districts.
(15) The City should identify and encourage the preservation of
historic structures and work toward establishing historic
areas, with Appropriate ordinances should be developed to
encourage preservation of historic structures.
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RESIDENTIAL
General Goal Statements And Preface
A wide range of housing choices should be provided for the
citizens of Delray Beach, with special emphasis given to
upgrading deteriorated residential neighborhoods and creating
appropriate regulations and incentives for the preservation of
existing residential neighborhoods and revitalization of selected
areas within the City.
Policy Statements
(1) A wide range of housing choices in varying price ranges
should be available for the residents of Delray Beach.
E~phasis should be put on upgrading existing housing and
providing housing opportunities for young professional and
business households.
(2) Single family housing opportunities should be provided in
the northwest and southwest sectors of the City in order ~o
encourage more families to live in Delray Beach.
The
southwest sector should be oriented toward large-lot zoning.
(3) The City should develop programs and incentives for infill
housing throughout the Enterprise Zone and Community
Redevelopment Area.
(4) Consideration should be given to reducing single family lot
sizes from 7,500 to 6,000 square feet where appropriate.
(5) Declining residential neighborhoods should be identified and
every effort made to upgrade them.
(6) The City should work diligently to provide its fair share of
the regional needs for low cost housing.
(7) In order to develop a better demographic mix, the City
should discourage additional adult-only, large scale
multi-family residential communities.
(8) In an effort to simplify the zoning code, the number of
residential zoning districts should be reduced. A perfor-
mance zoning approach should be used for multi-family
districts in which any density over the established minimum
must be justified by the property owner according to set
criteria.
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COMMERCIAL
General Goal Statements And Preface
The City should have orderly, convenient and adequate shopping
centers and business uses, strategically located to serve the
residents of the City, and should designate sufficient land for
large office users where adequate capital facilities can. be
provided. Adjacent residential areas should be protected.
Policy Statements:
(A) Retail And Heavy Commercial:
(1) The location, general purposes and permitted uses of
all commercial zoning districts should be reviewed in
order to improve the quality and gain better control
over their impact on the surrounding areas.
(2) Except within the Community Redevelopment Area, all
future land use plan changes and rezonings from
residential and industrial designations to retail
commercial shall be discouraged unless a market study
can demonstrate a compelling public need. A traffic
impact study of the proposed change 'shall also be
required.
(3) Where the need for retail centers can be proven, they
shall be located at the intersection of arterial roads;
however, over-commercialization of these intersections
shall be avoided in order to promote traffic safety and
efficient circulation.
(4) Ethnic neighborhood retail centers should be estab-
lished to serve unique cultural areas.
(5) Additional strip commercial zoning shall be avoided.
(6) Efforts should be made to revitalize existing commer-
cial areas located along Federal Highway, in inner-city
neighborhoods, within the Enterprise Zone and within
the Cormnunity Redevelopment Area. This could be done
through a combination of redevelopment incentives,
increasing the depth of commercial zoning, public
improvement, and alternative financing mechanisms.
(7) Consideration should be given to refining the location
of the Specialized Commercial (SC) District along
Federal Highway, and providing a transitional zoning
district of more restrictive commercial uses adjacent
to the Central Business District.
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(8) Additional automobile dealerships within the City
limits should be controlled through the application of
strict development regulations and design guidelines.
(9) Heavy co~ercial uses such as automobile repair uses
and services, equipment rental, etc., should be limited
within the Specialized Commercial (SC) District by
designating these uses as conditional, or by creating a
new heavy commercial zoning district.
(10) Ail automotive uses should be carefully reviewed with
the use of specific development regulations. Those
uses which are nonconforming should be phased out.
(11) Specialty retail uses should be encouraged along
Atlantic Avenue east of the Intracoastal Waterway and
in the Central Business District, in order to
encourage pedestrian traffic and preserve and enhance
the character of these areas.
(12) Consideration should be given to expansion of the depth
of the commercial district along West Atlantic Avenue
from Swinton Avenue to 1-95 in order to encourage
redevelopment.
:
(B) Office Uses:
(1) The City should encourage headquarters of corporations
to locate within the corporate City limits.
(2) If additional major office developments are needed,
they should be located with accessibility and
visibility from Interstate 95. They should be
developed in phases at an intensity and scale
compatible with the existing and planned road network
and with adjacent and proposed land uses.
(3) Potential new office sites should be encouraged
along north and south Federal Highway, and Atlantic
Avenue and Linton Boulevard east of 1-95, which may
revitalize declining areas.
(4) Selected residential transitional areas of the City
should be identified for neighborhood residential
office uses. These uses should be'restricted so as to
not adversely impact the neighborhood. The
architecture and design of these areas should be
compatible with the existing residential areas and
remain residential in character. Such an office
district may also be used to preserve existing old,
single family buildings.
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(5) Office uses should be preferred to retail commercial
uses as a buffer between residential and more intensive
uses such as industrial uses.
(6) In order .to reduce traffic impact from business and
office parks, selective supporting services and retail
uses should be encouraged within these developments
primarily for the needs of the tenants. These
supporting uses should not have direct access from
arterial roads.
INDUSTRIAL
General Goal Statements And Preface
Attractive, adequate industrial developments should be encouraged
in the City in order to provide employment opportunities for its
citizens and to broaden the tax base. These areas are to be
located with convenient transportation access and in a manner so
as not to adversely impact residential areas, t
Policy Statements: :
(1) The City of Delray Beach should encourage primarily light
industrial uses in industrial areas, which uses should have
the following attributes:
(a) create significant number of assembly and manufacturing
employment opportunities.
(b) have minimal environmental impacts.
(c) be aesthetically attractive.
(2) The City should encourage research and development uses,
especially in electronics, telecommunication, computers and
automated office equipment, health related industries, and
other growing and emerging technologies.
(3) The City's Enterprise Zone activities should be continued.
(4-) Industrial uses which offer city residents semi-skilled and
lower skilled employment opportunities should be encouraged
to locate within the City's Enterprise Zone.
(5) The City should discourage additional mini and self-storage
uses and pure warehouse uses. However, provision should be
made in the zoning code for such uses to be conditional uses
rather than prohibited entirely as in the present zoning
code.
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(6) The City should encourage office/service/and showroom/ware-
house uses in industrial areas rather than pure warehousing
and storage uses.
(7) Permitted uses in the Medium Industrial District should be
reexamined so-that heavy industrial uses are prohibited.
(8) Existing deteriorated industrial and heavy industrial uses
should be identified and every effort made to upgrade and
screen them.
PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC
General Goal Statements And Preface
The downtown area of Delray Beach should serve as a focal point
for governmental activities and buildings to provide a civic
identification and an impetus for revitalization. In addition
the importance of a quality school system as well as medical and
institutional facilities for the citizens of the City are also
recognized and should be properly planned for. t
Policy Statements: ~
(A) Public
(1) A new Community Facilities land use category and zoning
district should be created in order to properly
regulate existing and future public and semi-public
land uses.
(2) The City of Delray Beach and the business community
should make every effort to attract public (government)
facilities in the government center area along Atlantic
Avenue.
(3) The City should work with the School Board to determine
the need for school sites in the greater Delray Beach
area.
(4) The City should examine its space needs for govern-
mental, civic and municipal services administration at
build-out and plan for an orderly expansion of existing
facilities.
(5) The City should acquire additional properties between
and including City Hall and Delray Beach Elementary
School in order to establish an enlarged civic complex
in the downtown area.
(6) The City should develop a fifteen (15) year plan and a
five (5) year Capital Improvements Program designed to
meet the public facility and service needs for growth
and redevelopment over this period.
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(B) Semi-Public:
(1) A medical and institutional use area should be
designated at the southwestern fringe of the City in
the vicinity of the Delray Beach Community Hospital.
(2) Child da~ care facilities should be encouraged in major
employment centers by designating such uses as
conditional within major planned office and business
parks.
(3) The City should make provisions for special community
facilities, such as rehabilitation centers for
handicapped, alcohol and drug treatment facilities, and
shelters for abused adults and children, in certain
residential and commercial zoning districts.
RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE
General Goal Statements And Preface
Due to its ocean location, seasonal residents, large retirement
segments of the population, and the large number of private
recreation facilities, the park and recreation needs of Delray
Beach should therefore be carefully planned to accommodate young
families and all its citizens.
Policy Statements:
(1) The City should prepare a detailed parks and recreation
master plan addressing the quantity, type and location of
such needed facilities in the future. Until this master
plan is prepared the land use plan should attempt to provide
at least three (3) acres of local level park and recreation
land per 1,000 population city-wide.
(2) A variety of open space and recreation land uses should be
provided in the City where there is a lack of recreation and
open space provided by private developments. The
development of pocket parks along entry corridors to the
City should be considered.
(3) A policy requiring a landscaped perimeter or "greenbelt"
area on private property along all major arterial roads
should be established.
(4) Private water bodies such as retention and detention ponds
(lakes) should be located wherever possible so that these
amenities can be accessible to an entire development and can
be visible to the general public.
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(5) Unique open spaces such as parks and plazas and special
sidewalk treatment and street furniture should be provided
within the Central Business District. Automobile use along
Atlantic Avenue should be minimized.
The City shoul4 prepare a master beautification plan for all
public property including rights-of-way.
(7) 'The City should make provisions in its annual budget for
implementation of the beautification plan and should seek
private contributions for this endeavor. Donations of trees
from developers should also be encouraged.
(8) The City should encourage the continual u~grading of
existing parks, including the beach.
STREET SYSTEM/TRAFFIC CIRCULATION SYSTEM
General Goal Statements And Preface
The City should provide an adequate and smooth-flowing City road
network meeting the traffic needs of residential,'commercial and
industrial areas which links conveniently and efficiently with
the surrounding transportation network of the South Florida
Region.
Policy Statement:
(1) The City endorses the Metropolitan Planning Organization's
Year 2010 plan.
(2) A "traffic management program" should be instituted in areas
of great intensity such as Linton Boulevard, West Atlantic
Avenue and Congress Avenue areas. This traffic management
program may consist of the following activities:
(a) Improvements to the existing arterial road network.
(b) Improvements to existing interchanges.
(c) Additional interchanges or arterial roads.
(d) Van and car pooling programs.
(e) Staggered work hours.
(f) Improved public transportation.
(3) Sufficient rights-of-way should be made available or should
be acquired in advance of new development to provide for
long range expansion of arterial and collector roads.
(4) Land use density and intensity should be planned by the City
to match the existing and ultimate capacity of the adjacent
road network. Improvements to the road network to
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accommodate project traffic should be made prior to the
ultimate build-out of new developments and large scale
developments should be phased and timed to coincide with
available roadway capacity.
(5) The_ City shoul~ continue to work with the other government
agencies to better develop and coordinate an adequate
regional road network.
(6) The City should strive to establish Level of Service C as
its desired average annual 24-hour service level for all
roadways in the City, excluding peak hours and peak season.
(?) The road impact fee structure should be re-examined
periodically to be sure that funding for roadway
improvements meets the impact caused by growth.
HEIGHT AND INTENSITY
General Goal Statements And Preface
The City should recognize the public desire for a continuation of
a "small town" character for Delray Beach.
However, the need exists to provide some limited aesthetic height
variation in carefully chosen and very select locations without
an increase in intensity of use. At the same time, the City must
recognize the need to strongly regulate the intensity and
aesthetics of all residential, commercial, office and industrial
developments, regardless of height.
Policy Statements:
(1) Height regulations in the City should not be based upon the
number of floors of use but rather should be related to the
number of feet above the highest elevation of the crowns of
the adjacent roads.
(2) The City should establish a maximum height in commercial and
industrial zones of 48' by right, and should allow up to 60'
at very select locations, based upon meeting the
requirements set forth in a height overlay ordinance.
Recomendations contained in the. Redevelopment Plan
concerning height and intensity should be incorporated into
this ordinance.
(3) The village character of the Central Business District (CBD)
and Limited Commercial District (LC~ east of the
Intracoastal Waterway should be encouraged and preserved.
(4) Land use intensity factors should be established for all
commercial and industrial zones other than CBD and LC
(Atlantic Avenue) Districts and within the Community
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Redevelopment Area. These factors should include maximum
floor area ratio (F.A.R., maximum allowable building area),
maximumpervious (open space) area ratio, and an inclined
plane approach to setbacks, rather than building coverage.
(5) Maximum permissible height in residential districts shall be
' A set
es a d48t'blisheUnif°rm of height regulations should be
for all the residential districts. A gradual
change in height should be established related to density
and purpose, within the 48' maximum limit.
ANNEXATION/WATER SERVICE POLICY
General Goal Statements And Preface
The City should carefully explore the fiscal feasibility of
extending its reserve annexation area and water service area
boundaries out to the E-3 Canal. Efforts to annex County
"pockets" should also be increased and an incentive program
created.
Policy Statements: :
(1) The Reserve Annexation Area boundaries should be shifted out
to the E-3 Canal on the west, but only if a fiscal impact
study is prepared showing that this area can be serviced by
the City without a general tax increase or a decrease in the
quality and quantity of any City services.
(2) Regardless of the Reserve Annexation Area boundaries, the
City's water service area should be shifted out to the E-3
Canal to match the sewer service area, but only if a Water
Master Plan is prepared showing that adequate water will be
available to service this area without a rate increase or a
reduction of water pressure to existing customers, until
the Water Master Plan and a Capital Improvement Program is
completed and implemented, a limit should be set on the
number of water service connections between 1-95 and the
reserve annexation boundary, with preference given to
properties within the City limits.
(3) A program of water conservation, including recycling, should
be developed.
(4) The City should continue to aggressively seek the annexation
of County "pockets" and, in the interim, continue to work
with Palm Beach County to establish common land use
designations and compatible zoning regulations. The City
should also work with the State to provide municipalities
with certain powers regarding land development regulations
within enclaves.
(5) The City should develop a program of incentives to encourage
voluntary annexation of County "pockets". An educational
and marketing program also should be developed and a staff
person designated to implement it.
(6) The City should enter into interlocal agreements with Palm
Beach County, Boca Raton and Boynton Beach, to allow for
input from adjacent governments for "major developments"
within an identified impact zone, which would include County
"pockets" and the Reserve Annexation Area.
(7) The City should adopt new agricultural and trailer park
zoning and make provision for existing trailer parks, flea
markets and drive-in theaters as conditional uses, to allow
certain developed unincorporated areas to be annexed without
hardship. These districts and uses should not be applied,
however, to other areas of the City, except for the creation
of an estate type zone for an agricultural-residential area.
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E X H I B-I T" A"
POLICY GUIDE
TO THE
LAND USE ELEMENT
OF THE ~
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
DELI?AY BEACH, FLORIDA
SEPTEMBER 19 8 6