Program Mission
The Livable CommuniKeys Planning Program Mission is outlined in the Monroe County Year 2010 Comprehensive Plan. The text from the Comprehensive Plan and the July 10, 2000 Staff Report to the Board of County Commissioners are included here.
From the Comprehensive Plan:
Objective 101.20
Monroe County shall address local community needs while balancing the needs of all Monroe County communities. These efforts shall focus on the human-crafted environment and shall be undertaken through the Livable CommuniKeys Planning Program.
Policy 101.20.1
Monroe County shall develop a series of Community Master Plans. Master Plans will be developed in accordance with the following principles:
1. Each Community Master Plan will contain a framework for future development and redevelopment including the designation of growth boundaries and future acquisition
areas for public spaces and environmental conservation;
2. Each Community Master Plan will include an Implementation Strategy composed of action items, an implementation schedule, and a monitoring mechanism to provide accountability to communities;
3. Each Community Master Plan will be consistent with existing Federal and State requirements and overall goals of the 20 10 Comprehensive Plan to ensure legal requirements are met. While consistency with the goals of the 20 10 Comprehensive Plan is paramount, the 2010 Plan will be updated and amended where appropriate;
4. Each Community Master Plan will be closely coordinated with other community plans and other jurisdictions to ensure development or redevelopment activities will not adversely impact those areas;
5. Each Community Master Plan will include appropriate mechanisms allowing citizens continued oversight and involvement in the implementation of their plans. Through the Community Master Plans, programs for ongoing public involvement, outreach, and education will be developed;
6. Each Community Master Plan will include a Capital Improvements program to provide certainty that the provision of public facilities will be concurrent with future development;
7. Each Community Master Plan will contain an environmental protection element to maintain existing high levels of environmental protection as required in the 2010 Comprehensive Plan;
8. Each Community Master Plan will include a community character element that will address the protection and enhancement of existing residential areas and the preservation of community character through site and building guidelines. Design guidelines for public spaces, landscaping, streetscaping, buildings, parking lots, and other areas will be developed through collaborative efforts of citizens, the Planning Department, and design professionals reinforcing the character of the local community context;
9. Each Community Master will include an economic development element addressing; current and potential diversified economic development strategies including tourism-management. The preservation and retention of -valued local businesses. existing economies, and the development of economic alternatives will be encouraged through the process;
10. Each Community Master Plan will contain a Transportation Element addressing transportation needs and possibilities including circulation, safe and convenient access to goods and services, and transportation alternatives that will be consistent with the overall integrity of the transportation system not resulting in negative consequences for other communities; and
11. Each Community Master Plan will be based on knowledge of existing conditions in each community. The Planning Department will compile existing reports, databases, maps, field data, and information from other sources supplemented by community input to document current conditions; and
12. Each Community Master Plan will simplify the planning process providing clarity and certainty for citizens, developers, and local officials by providing a transparent framework for a continuing open dialogue with different participants involved in planning issues.”
From the July 10, 2000 Staff Report which included the proposed amendment to the Monroe County Year 2010 Comprehensive Plan adding Liveable CommuniKeys
Section I: Introduction
Background
Determining a need for community-based planning, the Monroe County Planning Department began research into a program that would take a comprehensive planning approach to address the individual needs of Keys communities while increasing community participation in the local planning process. The Livable CommuniKeys Program was developed and shortly thereafter endorsed by the Board of County Commissioners. The development of the Livable CommuniKeys framework began by establishing principals to direct the preparation of Community Master Plans. Amending the 2010 Comprehensive Plan to include these principals is a marked first step in the realization of the Livable CommuniKeys Program. The Monroe County Year 2010 Comprehensive Plan, as it currently exists focuses on regional and site specific environmental protection/regulation.
It does not address quality of life for residents and sustainable tourism for visitors. Livable CommuniKeys is the local community planning initiative of the Monroe County Planning Commission and the Planning & Environmental Resources Department. Livable CommuniKeys will allow the Planning Department to refocus efforts away from making incremental changes to the Future Land Use Map, the Zoning Map, and the Land Development Regulations and the need for interpretation of existing regulations. Instead, the Livable CommuniKeys program will be the forum in which community and redevelopment plans that offer a clear direction for each community's future are prepared. These plans will pay attention to quality of life issues, provide greater certainty and clarity for communities, reduce the need for individual map amendments, eliminate the need for interpretations, streamline development review, increase community-based input in planning decisions, and improve quality of service to the
public overall.
Direction of Plans for Individual Communities
The 2010 Plan's current one-size-fits-all approach to planning and development does not provide the foundation for individual communities to develop according to their needs and aspirations. Each island within the chain, however, is distinctive in its resources and needs. Livable CommuniKeys engages each community, providing them with the tools to develop their own distinct response to local planning issues. For the individual, Livable CommuniKeys provides the tools for proactive community participation focusing on the quality and character of the built environment. Through a series of focus groups and interactive events designed to stimulate the involvement of as many of Monroe County's citizens, property owners and visitors as possible, the Livable CommuniKeys Program will create a vision for our communities. This program
will empower individuals and groups to participate effectively in planning and create appropriate mechanisms for meaningful public involvement in land use decisions. The vision will be articulated through workshops, surveys, and ultimately a series of conceptual land use plans and images that translate the values, goals and priorities of individual communities. The products of this process will help the Planning Department identify the policies and regulations needed to guide land use decisions for each community in Monroe County.
Interconnected Chain of Island Communities
Although Monroe County is composed of a series of individual communities, it is also an environment of interconnected islands. There is a cause and effect relationship whereby critical decisions made in one community impact others. Understanding these relationships will allow communities to make informed decisions balancing their needs with the needs of other communities. Each community must be sensitive to their extent of influence and the adverse impacts their decisions may pose on other communities. The County as a whole, has a responsibility to provide a sound framework to address a diversity of planning issues effectively. The framework must be proactive yet responsive, flexible yet certain. The County must also address recent incorporations and an evolving regional responsibility .Coordination, participation, and
facilitation are critical to the success of Livable CommuniKeys.
Need For Principles to Guide Local Community Plans
The Principles for Guiding Local Community Development are needed to guide County staff and citizens in establishing community plans developed through the Livable CommuniKeys Program. The principals will guide the community planning process to ensure community plans are compatible with their regional context. These principles reflect a responsible approach to planning enabling communities to plan for their needs while respecting the needs of surrounding communities and the larger region. Since infrastructure, the economy, the environment, and transportation systems are interlaced and shared by neighborhoods and communities across islands and beyond individual jurisdictions, checks and balances will be integrated into the process to ensure that shared resources are distributed equitably.
Similar to the Principles for Guiding Development outlined in Chapter 380 of the Florida Statutes, the principals developed to guide local community plans in Monroe County will provide a clear directive to coordinate development and redevelopment efforts throughout the County.
Section II: Principals for Guiding Community Plan Development
Principals for Guiding Community Planning
The following principles will guide the development of community plans through the Livable CommuniKeys Program.
1. Each Community Master Plan will contain a framework for future development and Redevelopment.
Livable CommuniKeys will help communities shape their landscape based on their needs and desires. The community vision identified through the citizens will reflect the local response to development and redevelopment. In addition, each community will develop a Community Master Plan to incorporate community ideals and plans for action to be administered through the land use and zoning framework. To provide greater future certainty, citizens assisted by the Planning Department will develop growth boundaries for land uses, including defined commercial centers, mixed land uses, residential uses, and future acquisition areas for public spaces and environmental conservation.
2. Each Community Master Plan will include an Implementation Strategy
Each Community Master Plan will include an Implementation Plan consisting of action items and an implementation schedule as determined by the action items and the Capital Budget. Accountability to the communities through the process will be provided with a monitoring and feedback mechanism.
3. Each Community Master Plan will be consistent with existing Federal and State requirements and overall goals of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan
Livable CommuniKeys Community Master Plans will comply with the requirements of the Federal and State legislation. These requirements will set parameters for the planning process and ensure that the legal requirements are met. While each Community Master Plan will be consistent with the overall goals of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan, the 2010 Plan will be updated and amended where appropriate.
4. Each Community Master Plan will be closely coordinated with other community and other jurisdictions
To ensure that activities will not adversely impact those areas, Livable CommuniKeys will coordinate planning efforts throughout Monroe County .The program will coordinate with other Community Master Plans in recognition of the interdependency of planning actions. The process will also include coordination with the incorporated jurisdictions within Monroe County.
Examples of issues requiring regional coordination include:
Land Use/ Development Impact Review,
Transportation Management,
Affordable Housing,
Public Facilities,
Public Safety ,
Solid Waste (including recycling),
StonI1water Management,
Economic Development,
Conservation,
Coastal Management,
Permit Allocation, and
Hurricane Evacuation.
5. Each Community Master Plan will include appropriate mechanisms so that citizens will continue to have oversight and involvement in the implementation of their plans
To provide government accountability to citizens and citizen accessibility to planning issues, each Community Master Plan will establish ongoing public involvement, outreach, and educational programs that work best in each community .Examples may include, Island Planning Offices, websites, ongoing newsletters, Community Councils, and other advisory boards. Additional mechanisms identified through citizen participation will be explored.
6. Each Community Master Plan will include a Capital Improvements Program
In the interest of the availability of funding to implement plans, each Community Master Plan will incorporate a Capital Improvements Program to provide certainty that the provision of government facilities will be concurrent with future development.
7. Each Community Master Plan will contain an Environmental Protection Element
The Program will require communities to acknowledge the critical relationship between the natural and built environments and maintain a positive balance between them. Community Master Plans will maintain existing high levels of environmental protection as required in the 2010 Comprehensive Plan. This is important since environmental issues have been the primary focus of the 2010 Plan with a great deal of public comment and technical research. It is important to use these environmental regulations as the parameters for allowable future development in the Keys.
8. Each Community Master Plan will include a Community Character Element that will address the protection and enhancement of existing residential areas and the preservation of community character through site and building design guidelines.
Each Community Master Plan will identify or develop local community character elements. Design guidelines for public spaces, landscaping, streetscaping, buildings, parking areas and other elements will be developed through collaborative efforts of citizens, the Planning
Department, and design professionals. Livable CommuniKeys will promote the preservation and historic character of traditional building forms and ensure that both development and redevelopment reinforce the character of the local community context.
9. Each Community Master Plan will include an Economic Development Element
Each Community Master Plan will address current and potential diversified economic
development strategies including tourism management and how it can be integrated into a
localized sustainable future. As well, Livable CommuniKeys will encourage the preservation and retention of valued local businesses, existing economies, and the development of viable economic alternatives. Diversified economies are necessary to ensure long term economic stability and prosperity .The stability inherent in diversified economies positively reinforces the long-term social and environmental integrity of island communities.
10. Each Community Master Plan will include a Transportation Element
Each Community Master Plan will address transportation needs and possibilities including circulation, and safe and convenient access to goods and services. Transportation alternatives including bicycle and pedestrian connections and access will be examined. Projects approved through the Livable CommuniKeys process shall maintain the overall integrity of the transportation system and not result in negative consequences for other communities.
11. Each Community Master Plan will be based on knowledge of existing conditions in each community including:
A community resource inventory
Demographics
Environmental/Marine resources
Transportation system
Housing
Employment
Land availability
Historic and archaeological resources
The Planning Department will compile existing reports, databases, maps, field data, and
information from other sources to document current conditions. This documentation will be supplemented by community input gathered through workshops, surveys, and other public forums. Background information is necessary to make informed decisions about the appropriateness of future development and redevelopment within individual communities.
12. Each Community Master Plan will simplify the planning process, providing clarity and certainty for citizens, developers and local officials
A clearly articulated process will streamline development review, provide an improved quality of service, and ensure a transparent framework for continuing an open dialogue with the different participants involved in local planning issues.
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