Fast subdivision approvals in Florida

[Richmond Jake]

Plans for one Hernando Beach subdivision were approved less than 24 hours after they were submitted to the county

BROOKSVILLE - County staffers have approved plans for two subdivisions in Hernando Beach amid a complaint that Deputy County Administrator Larry Jennings intervened on behalf of developer Cliff Manuel....

Eagle Point, received approval on April 21, the day after Coastal filed plans for the project with the county Planning Department.

Jim Schroeder, the county's subdivision review specialist, said approvals usually require longer reviews.

"This is not that common," he said.

ZG, you know any of the players?


http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/02/He...omes_oka.shtml

[Zoning Goddess]

Plans for one Hernando Beach subdivision were approved less than 24 hours after they were submitted to the county


ZG, you know any of the players?


http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/02/He...omes_oka.shtml

Of course. Everybody but the subdivision reviewer. Larry was planning director for at least 20 years. Cliff Manuel is an engineer whose dad, founder of their company, got in tons of hot water for being Brooksville City Engineer and approving his own plans.

Sounds like a lot of huffing and puffing by the NIMBY's, if the plans had already been submitted and reviewed previously.

[The One]

It took a developer years to get an approved subdivision when I worked in Florida.....granted that was in Broward County

[Jeff]

Is this just by a planning agency? Not the township itself??

I've never worked in FL, not familiar with the approval process, but if they are reviewing Stormwater Management, utility design, and various other engineering design and got through it all and digested it all in 24 hours.....they should be either promoted...or fired.

How big was this?

[imaplanner]

From reading the article it sounsd as though something very fishy did in fact happen. If the CAO intervened and the subdivision was approved without waiting for comments from other agenices as is typical- then that is a problem.

[Zoning Goddess]

It was only for a preliminary subdivision plat; not construction drawings, not a final plat, and the article says the county staff had already reviewed several drafts and made comments regarding necessary changes. I worked for the now-deputy county administrator there for 8 years, and I've seen it happen before.

[Jeff]

Sounds as if FL is like DE approval process? Preliminary plans have basic layout and not much else? The rest comes during final?

[solarstar]

No, I agree that it sounds a little strange. There's no way we'd be able to approve a prelim plat in less than a few weeks, and to avoid issues like this one we schedule it to be a 4-week turnaround. Prelim plans do have basic layout, conceptual only, but they can't change significantly by Final. Stormwater, utility, etc. comes after the prelim is approved. If Hernando Co. really can turn them around in 24 hours, that's pretty impressive, but in the county's defense I'm wondering if a longer turnaround would have made any difference in the actual approval. It just sounds awful when an administrator "intervenes" on behalf of anyone.

[Zoning Goddess]

Sounds as if FL is like DE approval process? Preliminary plans have basic layout and not much else? The rest comes during final?

It's a concept plan showing the proposed lot layout. I suspect the reason the DCA didn't want it to go back to the P&Z (probably was approved months earlier but some aspects changed slightly and the approval period to proceed further was about to expire) is that the neighbors got wind of it. A preliminary plat would not be a public hearing item but he must have suspected droves of neighbors would show at a P&Z and try to speak.

If Hernando Co. really can turn them around in 24 hours, that's pretty impressive

Not if it's been seen several times already and was down to just a couple minor changes that had to be verified.

I know the administrator. Not that I liked working for him... but he never did anything "fishy" while I was there.