ARTICLE I. OVERVIEW

Sec. 1. General.

   A.   Purpose and Intent. The purpose and intent of this chapter is to consolidate the procedures and applications for development approval. The format is designed to allow users to quickly and efficiently ascertain the various steps involved in the application process; from the pre-application conference to final approval.

   B.   Definitions. See Chapter 1, Article II for definitions and acronyms relative to land development applications and processes.

   C.   Rules. The regulations and provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted to represent the minimum requirements adopted for the protection and promotion of the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience, order, appearance, prosperity, or general welfare. In addition, whenever the word "district" is used, in this chapter it is construed to mean zoning district.

   D.   Severability. Should any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or other part of this chapter be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this article as a whole or any article, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word thereof, other than that so declared to be invalid.

(Ord. 10-025, passed 12-7-10)

Sec. 2. Types of Land Development Applications.

   A.   Table 2-1. Applications by City Departments.

   Legend:

   HRPB:   Historic Resources Preservation Board

   P&Z:   Planning and Zoning Division

   P&D:   Planning and Development Board

   CRA:   Community Redevelopment Agency

   CC:   City Commission

APPLICATION TYPE	CODE SECTION	REVIEWING AUTHORITY (STAFF)	APPROVING AUTHORITY	PUBLIC HEARING REQUIRED?
ARTICLE II. PLANNING AND ZONING DIVISION SERVICES Standard Applications
Annexation	Art II, Sec. 2.A.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Text	Art. II, Sec. 2.B.2.	City Initiated Only
Future Land Use Map (FLUM)	Art II, Sec. 2.B.3.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Conditional Use	Art. II, Sec. 2.C.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes*
Conditional Use Time Extension	Art. II, Sec. 2.C.6.
Rezoning	Art. II, Sec. 2.D.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes*
Master Plan (New)	Art. II, Sec. 2.D.6.
Master Plan Modification (Major)	Art. II, Sec. 2.D.6.g.
Master Plan Modification (Minor)	Art. II, Sec. 2.D.6.h.		Director of P&Z	No
Sign Program	Art. II, Sec. 2.E.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Site Plan Review	Art. II, Sec. 2.F.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes*
Site Plan Time Extension	Art. II, Sec. 2.F.6.
Site Plan Modification (Major)	Art. II, Sec. 2.F.7.
Site Plan Modification (Minor)			Director of P&Z	No
Vacation and Abandonment	Art. II, Sec. 2.G.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes*
Planned Industrial Development (PID) Applications
Master Site Plan (New) PID Zoning District Only	Art. II, Sec. 3.A.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Master Site Plan Modification, Major	Art. II, Sec. 3.A.6.
Master Site Plan Modification, Minor			Director of P&Z	No
Technical Site Plan (New) PID Zoning District Only	Art. II, Sec. 3.B.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Technical Site Plan Modification, Major	Art. II, Sec. 3.B.6.
Technical Site Plan Modification, Minor
Waiver	Art. II, Sec. 3.C.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Relief Applications
Administrative Adjustment	Art. II, Sec. 4.A.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Community Design Appeal	Art. II, Sec. 4.B.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Height Exception	Art. II, Sec. 4.C.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Reasonable Accommodation	Art. II, Sec. 4.F.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Variance to Land Development Regulations	Art. II, Sec. 4.D.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes*
Waiver	Art. II, Sec. 4.E.	Director of P&Z	See Site Plan Review	See Site Plan Review
Permit Applications
Sign Permit	Art. II, Sec. 5.A.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Zoning Permit	Art. II, Sec. 5.B.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Historic Preservation
Certificate of Appropriateness	Art. II, Sec. 6.A.	Director of P&Z	HRPB	Yes
Historic District or Properties Designation	Art. II, Sec. 6.B.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes*
Historic Preservation Property Tax Exemption Application	Art. II, Sec. 6.C.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Other Applications
Certificate of Conformity	Art. II, Sec. 7.A.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Lot Line Modification	Art. II, Sec. 7.B.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Mobile Vendor Approval	Art. II, Sec. 7.C.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
Mobile Vendor Assembly	Art. II, Sec. 7.C.	See Special Events	See Special Events	No
Modification to Development Order	Art. II, Sec. 7.D.	Director of P&Z	CC	Yes
Sidewalk Café Approval	Art. II, Sec. 7.E.	Director of P&Z	CC	No
Zoning Verification Letter	Art. II, Sec. 7.G.	Director of P&Z	Director of P&Z	No
ARTICLE III. ENGINEERING DIVISION SERVICES
Preliminary Plat	Art. III, Sec. 2.B.	City Engineer	City Engineer	No
Final Plat	Art. III, Sec. 2.C.	City Engineer	CC	Yes
Land Development Permit (LDP)	Art. III, Sec. 3.	City Engineer	City Engineer	No
Right-of-Way Permits	Art. III, Sec. 4.	City Engineer	City Engineer	No
Engineering Division Waiver	Art. III, Sec. 5.	City Engineer	City Engineer	No
ARTICLE IV. BUILDING DIVISION SERVICES
Building Permit	Art. IV, Sec. 2.	Building Official	Building Official	No
Sign Permit	Art. IV, Sec. 3.	Building Official	Building Official	No
Variance	Art. IV, Sec. 4.	Building Official	Building Board of Adjustment and Appeals	Yes
ARTICLE V. BUSINESS TAX SERVICES
Seasonal Sales Event Approval	Art. V, Sec. 3.	Business Tax Manager	Business Tax Manager	No
Special Temporary Sales Event Approval	Art. V, Sec. 4.	Business Tax Manager	Business Tax Manager	No

 

*   Quasi-judicial proceedings are required pursuant to Part II (City Code of Ordinances), Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2-20.

   B.   Withdrawal. By written request, the applicant shall have the right to withdraw an application at any time prior to the final action of the application by the decision making body or person.

(Ord. 10-025, passed 12-7-10; Am. Ord. 11-002, passed 3-1-11; Am. Ord. 12-010, passed 6-19-12; Am. Ord. 12-016, passed 10-2-12; Am. Ord. 13-027, § 2, passed 10-1-13; Am. Ord. 13-033, § 2, passed 12- 3-13; Am. Ord. 15-003, passed 3-17-15)

Sec. 3. Review Process for Applications Requiring Public Hearings, Generally.

   This section generally describes the review process for land development applications requiring public hearings. The required plan(s), application(s), fee(s), and supporting document(s) are dependent upon the type, character, and complexity of the proposed project or relief being sought.

   A.   Staff Review. Each land development application that requires a public hearing shall be reviewed by staff to ensure compliance with all applicable codes, standards, and regulations; redevelopment plans; and the Comprehensive Plan's goals, objectives, and policies. Unless otherwise specified, the application shall be processed in accordance with the following actions:

      1.   Completeness Review. This section applies to any land development application in this chapter, unless otherwise provided for in the regulations for that specific application. No review shall commence until the application is deemed complete by the reviewing authority.

      2.   Analysis and Recommendations. Staff comments and recommendations shall identify noncompliance and deficiencies with the standards and requirements of these Land Development Regulations or any other applicable codes. During this informal procedure, staff comments and recommendations are forwarded to the applicant so that each issue can be completely resolved or adequately addressed, as determined by staff, prior to Advisory Board review. An applicant may orally or in writing, challenge any staff comment or recommendation by contacting the issuing department directly and presenting specific grounds for the challenge. The issuing department will either affirm or reverse its original comment or recommendation, but all such action shall be based on the provisions of appropriate codes, ordinances, rules, regulations, standard drawings, redevelopment plans, or Comprehensive Plan. A staff comment becomes a recommendation when it is not based on a specific code, ordinance, rule, regulation, standard drawing, redevelopment plan, or goal, objective, or policy of the Comprehensive Plan. Such staff recommendation becomes compulsory when it is approved as part of the conditions of approval and development order by the applicable Advisory Board or City Commission.

      3.   Forward to Applicable Advisory Board. Upon conclusion of staff review, the Director of Planning and Zoning, designee, or reviewing authority will transmit the document with staff comments and recommendations to the applicable Advisory Board for their review and recommendation.

   B.   Advisory Board Review.

      1.   Notification. The Planning and Zoning Division shall notify the applicant in writing, of the date, time, and location of the Advisory Board meeting. The applicant may opt to postpone Advisory Board review by submitting a written request to the Director of Planning and Zoning, designee, or to the appropriate reviewing authority. In all instances, the applicant shall be responsible to comply with the applicable public notice requirements of City Code of Ordinances Part II, Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2-20.

      2.   Action. The Advisory Board will consider all presented items, including the staff report, exhibits, and recommendations, in conjunction with any testimony or other information presented at the meeting, and recommend that City Commission:

         a.   Approve the application;

         b.   Approve the application subject to conditions;

         c.   Table or defer their decision to a subsequent meeting in order to collect additional information or conduct further analyses; or

         d.   Deny the application.

   C.   City Commission Review. After the Advisory Board conducts its review and formulates a recommendation, the Director of Planning, designee, or reviewing authority will forward the items to the City Commission for final review and approval.

      1.   Notification. The Planning and Zoning Division shall notify the applicant in writing, of the date, time, and location of the City Commission meeting. The applicant may opt to postpone City Commission review by submitting a written request to the Director of Planning and Zoning, designee, or to the appropriate reviewing authority. In all instances, the applicant shall be responsible to comply with the applicable public notice requirements of City Code of Ordinances Part II, Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2-20.

      2.   Action. The City Commission will review all presented items, including the staff report, exhibits, and recommendations, in conjunction with any testimony or other information presented at all meetings, and vote to:

         a.   Approve the application;

         b.   Approve the application subject to conditions;

         c.   Table or defer their decision to a subsequent meeting in order to collect additional information or conduct further analyses; or

         d.   Deny the application.

   The action of the City Commission is the final decision.

(Ord. 10-025, passed 12-7-10)

Sec. 4. Expedited Development Review Program.

   A.   Applicability. Projects eligible for expedited processing are described below. Application types to be expedited include site plans (and corresponding applications including land use amendment and rezoning), plat, building permit, as well as inspection processes.

      1.   Eligible Uses. New and expanding establishments in the following industry categories are eligible for expedited processing:

         a.   Bioscience;

         b.   Medical or pharmaceutical research and development;

         c.   Aviation/aerospace/engineering;

         d.   Communications;

         e.   Information technology;

         f.   Business and financial services (non-retail);

         g.   Manufacturing, fabrication and processing; and

         h.   Education related to the above industry clusters.

      2.   Economic Development. Projects sanctioned by the State of Florida or other recognized economic development organization (Florida Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED), Enterprise Florida, or Business Development Board of Palm Beach County).

      3.   Affordable and Workforce Housing. Residential developments that provide affordable housing and/or workforce housing units.

      4.   Sustainable Development. Projects must be registered with a nationally recognized green certification agency, including but not limited to:

         a.   USGBC – United States Green Building Council;

         b.   FGBC – Florida Green Building Coalition;

         c.   Green Globes; and

         d.   NAHB – National Association of Home Builders, National Green Building Standard.

      5.   Mixed-use development.

         a.   Development applications for mixed-use development within the City’s Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). Eligible projects must involve the MU-1, MU-2, MU-3, MU- 4, or MU-Core zoning district, include a site plan application, and contain a commercial component; and

         b.   Development applications for mixed-use development located outside the City’s CRA. Eligible projects must also be zoned, or be the subject of rezoning to the Suburban Mixed Use Zoning District, or be located with the Quantum Park Planned Industrial Development District, contain a commercial component, include a site plan, and include a minimum of five (5) acres of land.

   B.   Benefits of Program. Entities that have been accepted into the expedited permitting program shall receive the following benefits:

      1.   Point of Contact. The City Manager, or designee, shall appoint a single point of contact at the city who shall have the responsibility of assisting the applicant throughout the development application and permitting process;

      2.   Timetable. The Planning and Zoning Division, Building Division, Engineering Division of Public Works, and other applicable city departments shall establish the necessary steps required for project approval and permitting in a pre-application meeting and subsequently, within three (3) business days, prepare an optimal timetable for the project's completion of the development and application review process;

      3.   Priority Review. The project shall receive priority at every phase of the review process by city staff, including face-to-face meetings as needed. However, public hearings are subject to the availability of the relevant board and the decisions of such boards are not guaranteed to be made immediately. Therefore, to the extent possible, public hearing scheduling shall be expedited if applicable to a particular development application;

      4.   Comments. Comments relative to review by the 1) Planning and Zoning Division Planning; and 2) Building Division shall be provided to the applicant within seven (7) business days of the submission of a completed development application. The city and the applicant shall make a mutual commitment to provide all other development and permit application review comments and corresponding revisions thereto in a thorough and timely manner;

      5.   Building Permits.

         a.   Permits Issued on Basis of Affidavit. Consistent with the Florida Building Code, local administrative amendments and F.S. § 553.791, the applicant may be responsible for private plans review and inspections with the filing of a sworn affidavit from a registered architect or engineer affirming conformance of plans to all applicable technical codes. For buildings and structures, the affidavit shall state that the plans conform to the laws as to egress, type of construction and general arrangement, strength, stresses, strains, loads and stability. However, for projects located within special flood hazard areas, this benefit shall not apply to flood load and flood resistance construction requirements of the Florida Building Code.

         b.   Fee Payment Schedule Agreement. The applicant will be eligible to propose a schedule for the timing of fee payments, to include permit fees and local impact fees, tailored to meet the financial and scheduling needs of the project. Certain legal limitations may apply, and this provision supersedes any conflicting regulation, or operational policy.

      6.   Conflict Resolution. Should any issues arise at any point during the development application review and permitting process, the city will use the most expeditious means to resolve the issue. A face to face meeting between city staff and the applicant's representatives, if necessary, shall be scheduled within three (3) business days of the applicant's notification of the issues.

(Ord. 10-025, passed 12-7-10; Am. Ord. 19-025, § 2, passed 8-20-19)

Sec. 5 Green Building Program.

   A.   Purpose and Intent. The Green Building Program establishes procedures and incentives for the implementation of green building standards. The program is intended to encourage the incorporation of green building practices into development projects. The program may be applied to any development within the city, including redevelopment projects and government initiated development projects, submitted for city review.

   B.   Government Leadership. To demonstrate the city's commitment to sustainability, the city shall comply with a sustainable building rating system or a national model green building code for all government buildings pursuant to F.S. § 255.2575(2), and

   1.   Inventory and report the city's annual greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations; and

   2.   Inventory and report community-scale greenhouse gas emissions at least once every five (5) years; and

   3.   Update the city’s Climate Action Plan including greenhouse gas reduction targets and climate adaptation goals at least once every five (5) years.

C.   Scope and Applicability. This voluntary program applies to all lands private and public within the city and the city-owned well fields. The scope of its application shall be for development approvals and building permits submitted for the voluntary green building program. Such plans and approvals shall be reviewed for compliance with the appropriate parts of the adopted city's Comprehensive Plan and the land development regulations in addition to the Green Building Standards detailed in Section E. below.

D.   Green Building/Sustainable Community Fund. There is established a fund designated as the Green Building/Sustainable Community Fund, herein referred to as “Fund,” separate from the General Fund of the City of Boynton Beach. All additional monies obtained in connection with the Green Building Fee (Subsection E below) shall be deposited into the Fund without regard to fiscal year limitations and used solely to pay the cost of operating and maintaining the Fund for the purposes contained in this subsection. All funds, interest and other amounts deposited into the Fund shall not be transferred or revert to the General Fund of the city at the end of any fiscal year or at any other time, but shall continually be available for the uses and purposes set forth in this section. The Fund shall be used for initiatives that promote green building practices and enhance the sustainability of the Boynton Beach community, which may include the following:

   1.   Incentive funding for green building certification of private buildings as described in Subsection G below.

   2.   Incentive funding for energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy in private buildings.

   3.   Expansion of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, bicycle/pedestrian facilities, or transit options for community use.

   4.   Incentive funding for private-sector recycling, composting, or waste-reduction activities.

   5.   Development of green infrastructure including canopy trees, living shorelines, green roofs, green walls, vertical gardens, bioswales, or rain gardens.

   6.   Education, training, and outreach to the public and private sectors on green building, water conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change, flood mitigation, green infrastructure, sustainable transportation, or waste reduction.

E.   Green Building Fee. A Green Building Fee, herein referred to as “Fee” is established to fund the implementation of this program and the Fund. Current fee schedules shall be maintained and available to the public in the Development Department. Fees shall be paid at the time each type of building construction permit is issued, according to the fee schedule approved by the City Commission. The Green Building Fee associated with the Green Building Program is subject to amendment by resolution of the City Commission.

F.   Green Building Standards. To participate in this program and receive the incentives described herein, private builders and developers shall voluntarily construct buildings that are certified by a sustainable building rating system or a national model green building code. Eligible certifications include those provided by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating system, the Florida Green Building Coalition standards, or another recognized certification program that is approved by the city and complies with the Florida Building Code.

G.   Incentives. The city shall provide the following incentives to encourage the use of this program and are hereby authorized:

   1.   Expedited Permitting. For any voluntary program participant, the city shall provide expedited review in accordance with Chapter 2, Article I, Section 4 above as approved in Ordinance 09-024. All such applications for expedited review shall be accompanied by the appropriate forms, evidence of a completed green building certification application according to the requirements of the certifying entity, and proof of payment of the application fee required to process the application for certification. A city staff member shall be designated as project manager and shall work in close contact with the applicant and certifying agent. The project manager shall oversee the expedited review of the project once formal plans have been prepared and submitted to the city.

   2.   Tax and Financial Incentives.

      a.   Green Building Certification Grant. The city shall provide small grants to help defray the costs associated with obtaining green building certification. The grants shall be paid through the Sustainability Fund (described in Section 2 above), subject to the availability of funds. Grant amounts will be based on the level of certification achieved (e.g., bronze, silver, gold, platinum) from an eligible green building certifying entity. The grant will be paid as a reimbursement upon receipt of a copy of the certification achieved. Certification must be received within 180 days of the Certificate of Occupancy issue date. Current grant amounts shall be maintained and made available to the public by the City’s Sustainability Coordinator.

      b.   Property Tax Incentive. The city may establish a property tax incentive for qualifying green building projects. Property tax incentives shall be incorporated into a developers’ agreement and shall require proof of certification according to the Green Building Standards outlined above.

   3.   Signage. The city shall allow the following bonuses to the currently allowed signage regulations:

      a.   One (1) additional temporary construction sign may be installed that notes that "This project is a City of Boynton Beach Green Building Project by [Company Name]." This additional temporary construction sign must meet the standard dimensional requirements as set forth in Chapter 4, Article IV, Section 4.B.3.

      b.   The notation "City of Boynton Beach Green Building Project" may be added on the project entry monument signage. The additional sign area to include the city approved notation letters and logo shall be a maximum of four (4) inches high by forty-two (42) inches wide. Additional sign area greater than that allowed by the land development regulations shall be permitted for this notation only.

   4.   Marketing. For any program participant, the city shall provide the following marketing incentives, including but not limited to:

      a.   The inclusion of program participants on a webpage dedicated to the program;

      b.   Recognition at a City Commission meeting; and

      c.   Press releases.

H.   Certification Verification. The applicant shall provide documentation to the city verifying the authenticity of a project's green certification by a qualified third party as described in the Green Building Standards.

I.   Education and Training. The city, in conjunction with the ICC, FGBC, USGBC, GBI or other state or nationally recognized high-performance green building rating system, may conduct training workshops for the purpose of educating potential or current program participants about the program.

   1.   The city will attempt to make available a meeting space at a government facility for green building programs offered by organizations that are of a general nature (not product specific). Organizations shall contact the facility's staff to make arrangements.

   2.   Development Department staff shall be encouraged to attend at least eight (8) hours of green building training annually.

(Ord. 11-014, passed 4-27-11; Am. Ord. 15-020, passed 8-18-15; Am. Ord. 19-011, passed 3-19-19)