Draft -- December 10, 1996 -- For consideration by the Local Planning Agency
(1) The Local Planning Agency and the Town Council of Fort Myers Beaches hereby adopt the following procedures to provide for and encourage public participation while preparing and adopting the first comprehensive plan.
(a) Notice to Real Property Owners of Official Actions That Will Affect Their Property
Notice of official actions that could affect the use of their property shall be provided to real property owners in accordance with methods set forth in Chapter 163, Part II, Florida Statutes, specifically through advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the area, such notice to be made seven days in advance of the public hearing.
(b) Notice to the General Public
Notice of meetings of the Local Planning Agency at which consideration of comprehensive plan related issues are on the agenda shall be provided as follows:
Additional efforts to keep the general public informed throughout the planning process shall be undertaken as feasible through such methods including, but not limited to, newspaper articles; mailings to organizations in the Town; posting of information in places of local gathering; and public service announcements. Such information shall include:
(c) Opportunity for Written Comment
During the plan adoption process, written comments will be specifically encouraged, and the process and deadlines for submitting comments will be specified in the required public notice as described in (a) above. All written comments provided on the draft comprehensive plan, if received at least 10 days prior to the scheduled public hearing, will be acknowledged and specifically responded to as a part of the staff report provided to decision-makers, with the original correspondence attached as a part of the public record.
Written comments are also encouraged throughout the planning process, and should be directed to the Town Manager. They will be provided to LPA members for their consideration as a part of their packet for the next regularly scheduled meeting with comprehensive plan related items on the agenda. Such written comments will also become a part of the public record.
Specific opportunities for written comments will be provided as a part of each scheduled public workshop (as described in (2) below). Such comments will be summarized and provided to decision-makers for consideration as a part of plan formulation and evaluation, and be retained on file in their original form.
(d) Provisions to Assure That the Required Public Hearings Are Held
Public hearings for consideration and adoption of the comprehensive plan shall be held in accordance with the requirements and procedures of Chapter 163, Part II, Florida Statutes.
(e) Provisions to Assure the Consideration of and Response to Public Comments
The LPA and Town Council will consider public comments (both written and oral) prior to taking their respective final votes on the comprehensive plan. The staff report to the LPA shall address written comments as specified in item (c) above. While the final vote of the LPA will constitute their response to all public comments both written and oral, such response should be supplemented as fully as possible to communicate their response to the Town Council.
The staff report to the Town Council shall address written comments as specified in item (c) above and shall summarize and respond to oral comments from the LPA's public hearing where appropriate. While the final vote of the Town Council will constitute their response to all public comments both written and oral, such response should be supplemented as fully as possible for the public record.
(2) All material provided to the LPA or Town Council related to the formulation and evaluation of the comprehensive plan as it is being developed shall be compiled and available for public review throughout the planning process at Town Hall, with copies available at a nominal cost to be determined in accordance with Town policy. To maximize public use of this material, it will also be made available, to the extent practical:
During the planning process, community-wide public workshops shall be conducted to disseminate information and gathering input. Summaries of these workshops and of the verbal and written input obtained as a part of the workshop shall be compiled, provided to the LPA and Town Council for their information and consideration, and shall be a part of the public record available at the above locations. All comment forms submitted by members of the public as a part of the workshops shall be on file and available for public review at the Town Hall at 2523 Estero Boulevard.
No less than two weeks prior to the first public hearing of the LPA on the draft plan, multiple copies of the draft plan will be available at designated location(s) for public review and/or for purchase.