Apalachicola Planning & Zoning Board to hold planning workshop

The Apalachicola Planning and Zoning Board will hold a planning workshop at 4:30 pm Monday, May 9 to discuss variances and other possible regulatory relief options for the rehabilitation of non-conforming historic structures in the City. Representatives from the State Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), banking and insurance industries have been invited to attend. The workshop will precede the board’s regularly scheduled meeting at 6 pm.

The following issues are expected to be discussed at the workshop:

1. Provisions to allow historic structures to be grandfathered and to be considered conforming if currently non-conforming.

2. Explore options to provide for the sale and rehabilitation of non-conforming structures.

3. Explore the role of the mortgage and insurance industries in rehabilitation efforts.

4. Extending the grandfathering period for historic nonconforming vacant buildings.

5. Explore the potential for reducing the minimum residential standards.

6. Defining historic housing stock.

7. Encourage the redevelopment of historic housing stock for low and moderate income housing.

The goal of the workshop and follow up research will be to prepare a proposed land development regulation(s) or amendments to existing land development regulations to allow redevelopment of lots located within the historic section of the City of Apalachicola where development has already occurred, particularly where development is nonconforming as to density, setbacks, and minimum lot sizes, and the lot(s) contains architecturally contributing structures.