Abacoa - If you plan it, they will come

• DRI Evolution• Renderings and Concepts Taken

Seriously• Conditions and Codes Used to Achieve

Vision• Attention to the Finer Details • Willingness to Learn and Share

Knowledge

“The goal was to create a compact development out of raw land, rather than filling it with sprawling subdivisions that required automobile use to fulfill basic daily needs.”

Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011

Flexibility with the DRI

• Specific conditions yield numerous NOPCs

• Converting Entitlements• Unwinding Conversions• Transferring Uses

Examples:

• Office converted to DUs

• Industrial/R&D to Medical

• Residential to Ind/R&D

Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011

If You Plan It They Will Come… …and many will complain

• Town Center Nuisances Increased• Task Force created• Alcohol Service Hours Cut Back• Parking managed by FAU

What Can Staff Do?• Be receptive to code changes and

amendments• Be accessible to applicants and

community to build trust and understanding

• Convey the values that can be achieved by collaborating to find mutual benefits

Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011

What Else Can Staff Do?• Improve the Regulatory Climate• Streamline processes• Use incentives to achieve desired

results• Improve community outreach• Understand the market challenges and

work collaboratively to find workable solutions

Examples:

• Increase administrative review authority

• Incentives through new Small Scale PUD

• Proactive workshops and outreach

• Business-friendly attitude

Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011

What we’ve learned…

• Avoid plans and conditions that are unrealistic for applicants or the long term

• They usually come back for you to fix

• Expect change it always around the corner Examples:

• Inadequate parking

• Narrow tree lawns

• Maintenance of public improvements - buffers, roads,

Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011

Sad news for Town Center

Workers pull down the signs in front of the Abacoa Starbucks

Crown Theater - business was good, yet it closed and was demolished

Abacoa is designed to be walkable and diverse, with affordable to high-end housing.

• More stabile through housing bust

• Housing construction slowed, not stopped

• Healthy POAs• Aging in Place• No gates requiredrequired

The Scripps Story Cliff Notes

• Sprawling DRI approved in North Central PBC

• Environmentalists united and challenged• Alternative sites sought (twice)• Jupiter partnered with four eastern towns and

cities• Demonstrated more than adequate infill land

available in urbanized areas• Eastward Ho!

What We Did For Bioscience

• Partnered with neighboring municipalities

• FLUM Bioscience Overlay• $3 Million Economic

Development Fund• Set Strategic Priority• Incentives:

– Expedited Permitting– Parking Flexibility

(shared, deferred and by use)– Small Scale PUD

(defined public benefit)

What works – Big Picture• Developer and Town Vision for a Traditional Neighborhood

Development• Mixed Use Development Comp Plan Policies and Zoning • DRI master plan and conditions to carry out the intent…

…and a few site plan conditions too• Mix of land uses horizontal and vertically• Public spaces – neighborhood squares, common use areas• Efficient use of land yields more intensity• Internal capture of traffic and connected public roads• No Gated Developments• Quality New Urbanism Creates Everlasting Value…

These qualities are what companies look for to attract and retain employees with the best talent to be successful