Clarifying Density and Land Use in City’s Comprehensive Plan
Published on August 04, 2025
By Jeniffer Viscarra, Commissioner
In our June commission meeting, we discussed text amendments to the existing Comprehensive Plan. A municipality's Comprehensive Plan serves as a strategic framework required by Florida law that articulates its long-term vision, goals, and policies for future development and land use. This document is essential for guiding civic initiatives, zoning decisions, and infrastructure investments, allowing communities to manage their growth effectively, preserve resources, and enhance residents' quality of life.
Regulations, such as the Land Development Regulations and its zoning ordinances, function as the detailed tools that implement the Comprehensive Plan. While the Comprehensive Plan outlines the broader objectives—like promoting sustainable growth, preserving green spaces, or enhancing public services—regulations provide the specific guidelines that dictate how those objectives are realized at a granular level. In essence, the Comprehensive Plan is the governing outline, while regulations detail the intricacies of building heights, land use types, and housing types. Alignment between the Comprehensive Plan and its corresponding regulations is crucial. When they are synchronized, municipalities can create cohesive and orderly development that reflects the community's vision.
Conversely, a lack of alignment can lead to significant issues. For instance, if regulations permit developments that contradict the goals established in the Comprehensive Plan, it can undermine the municipality's objectives. In the case of Sunny Isles Beach, our Land Development Regulations incorporate “bonus” development, which increases density and floor area ratio allowances in exchange for public benefit improvements. However, our Comprehensive Plan does not contemplate this possibility. The proposed text amendments clarify the maximum density and intensity for each land use category on the east side of Collins and in residential categories for consistency with our Land Development Regulations.
Contact Commissioner Jeniffer Viscarra at seat4@sibfl.net or 305.792.1750.