JOINT WORKSHOP APALACHICOLA CITY COMMISSION, / PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MONDAY, MAY 12, 2025 - 5:00PM FORMER APALACHICOLA MUNICIPAL LIBRARY 74 6TH STREET, APALACHICOLA, FLORIDA 32320 AGENDA You are welcome to comment on any matter under consideration by the Apalachicola City Commission when recognized to do SO by the Mayor. Once recognized please rise to the podium, state your name for the record and adhere to the five-minute time limit for public comment. Comments may also be sent by email to the City Manager or to Commissioners. I. Call to Order Invocation Pledge of Allegiance II. Agenda Adoption III. Public Comment IV. Discussion - Stormwater Best Management Practices Incentives Adjournment Any person who desires to appeal any decision at this meeting will need a record of the proceeding and for this purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding is made which includes testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based. Persons with disabilities needing assistance to participate in any of these proceedings should contact the City Clerk's Office 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Mayor City Manager Brenda Ash Michael Brillhart Finance Director Commissioners Lee Mathes, MMC CITY OF APALACHICOLA Anita Grove City Clerk Adriane Elliott 7831 Sheneidra Cummings Despina George Donna Duncan 192 Coach Wagoner Boulevard . Apalachicola, Florida 32320 City Attorney 850-653-9319 . Fax 850-653-2205 - wdlyoapalachtola.om Dan Hartman City Planner Report Bree Robinson 5/5/25 Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) - Incentives Joint Workshop Background & Review: At the end of the February 2025 Planning & Zoning Board meeting, the P&Z Board requested to be directed to workshop this topic. On April 8, 2025, the City Planner presented the issue to the City Commission and requested that the Commission formally direct the Planning & Zoning Board to explore Best Management Practices (BMPs) and potential incentives through a workshop setting. The City Commission instead recommended holding a joint workshop to provide more direct guidance and establish a clear starting point for the Planning & Zoning Board's efforts. This topic emerged in response to two recent Planning & Zoning applications that highlighted similar themes. In both cases, the parcels in question were either at or near the 40% maximum lot coverage, and the applicants proposed BMPs that took the form of a garage or outdoor covered area. In one case, a BMP was not required, but the applicant offered to install one in exchange for additional lot coverage credit/to meet the exemption noted in the impervious definition. The City's Land Development Code (LDC) provides that true BMPs are exempt from being counted as impervious surface (e.g., concrete swales, detention basins, underground stormwater vaults). A key question has been raised: Can a BMP incorporate a nonessential structural element to better align with the property owner's preferences, but still be exempt from the lot coverage requirements as a BMP? For example, can a garage with a sloped roof, gutter system, and underground stormwater vault be considered a BMP and thereby exempt from lot coverage limits? 101 6th Street - February 2025 (XZone) O The applicant proposed a BMP beneath a deck and roof structure. The roof was not approved as the lot already surpassed 40% lot coverage. A small amount of pervious decking was approved as allowed by the extra 10% for pervious decking. The BMP system itself was approved. 92 Avenue E - April 2024 (AE Zone) The applicant proposed a BMP beneath an enclosed garage and storage area. The lot was already above 40% lot coverage. The Board requested more detailed site-specific information, including groundwater conditions. Revised plans were submitted but did not meet the 24-hour/25-year storm event standard. The application was subsequently withdrawn. Incorporated 1831 - One ofFlorida's Oldest Historic Seaports Currently, the City of Apalachicola encourages the use of BMPs on all parcels and requires them in A and V flood zones per Sec. 115-1 ofthe LDC. Ifthe City Commission and Planning & Zoning Board wish to explore offering incentives for BMPs, distinctions will need to be made between commercial and residential uses, and between flood and non-flood zone parcels. Q: Why does the City limit lot coverage? 1. Stormwater Management Limiting impervious surfaces reduces runoff and helps prevent flooding by. allowing more water to infiltrate the ground. Less green space for percolation would eventually overload the City stormwater system. 2. Environmental Protection Lower lot coverage can help preserve natural features like trees, open space, and soil permeability, which supports groundwater recharge and reduces heat island effects in urban areas. 3. Neighborhood Aesthetics Uniform lot coverage helps maintain the scale, spacing, and density of development within a neighborhood. Ex: Green space in the Historic District. Q: Should the City offer additional lot coverage in exchange for installing BMPs? Offering homeowners additional lot coverage in exchange fori installing stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can helpful overall, ifi implemented carefully. This approach, incentive-based stormwater management, can help align development goals with environmental and infrastructure protection. Whose development goals does this serve? This type of policy can serve both private development goals (flexibility, value, usability) and public interests (stormwater control, infrastructure resilience, environmental protection), but only when carefully managed. Possible Benefits: Improved Stormwater Management - Private & Public Encourages the installation of on-site BMPs (e.g., rain gardens, pervious pavers, dry wells) on lots where otherwise they might not have been required, reducing runoff, pollutant loads, and easing the load on the City stormwater system. Increased Participation Homeowners are more likely to willingly accept and implement stormwater systems if they receive tangible development benefits (like a larger footprint for a home or addition). Possible Concerns: Enforcement & Maintenance BMPs must be maintained to remain effective. Ifincentives are offered, the City must consider long-term impacts. Multiple properties reaching 50% lot coverage via BMP credit could significantly impact the City stormwater system. Without proper maintenance, BMPs can fail, leading to flooding or pollution. Some jurisdictions require recorded maintenance agreements, periodic inspections, and reserve the right to revoke development privileges if maintenance is not upheld. 1. Does the City want to encourage this type of development? 2. Does the City have the capacity to monitor and enforce BMP maintenance? 3. Would the City be prepared to revoke the lot coverage bonus if maintenance obligations are not met? (Demo a structure?) 2 Oversight Ensure stormwater BMPs are designed (and possibly installed) by qualified professionals. Consider requiring city approval ofall plans. The program should be applied consistently. Make eligibility criteria and trade-offs clear for residential V. commercial and flood zone V. non-flood zone developments. Caps on Incentives Set a maximum increase in lot coverage (e.g., 5-10%) to avoid overdevelopment, unintended impacts, or changing the neighborhood aesthetics. Examples: City ofl Milton, Florida The City of Milton requires property owners to provide stormwater management easements for access to facilities for inspection and maintenance. These easements are specified in maintenance agreements and must be recorded with the county clerk prior to permit issuance. Broward County, Florida In Broward County, property owners are mandated to inspect and maintain their stormwater systems regularly. For instance, a local municipality requires property owners to inspect and repair their stormwater systems to full compliance every five years. This process includes professional inspections to ensure systems align with original designs and function properly. Possible Directives: > City Commission to direct P&Z to Workshop incentives for BMPs. O Q's: Why are additional incentives necessary? Is reduced flooding incentive enough? What incentives is the City willing to offer? How will maintenance be enforced? Example policy language: Homeowners may exceed the maximum impervious surface coverage by up to 5%, provided that they install an approved stormwater BMP on-site and execute a maintenance agreement recorded with the property." Ifthe BMP includes a roof structure or concrete pad, that structure should count toward the additional 5%, not be exempt. Should the extra 5% be limited for use on accessory structure or allowable for principal as well? City Commission not to direct P&Z to Workshop incentives for BMPs. O Maintain current requirements and rely on mandatory BMPs in applicable flood zones. Applicable Code: Impervious surface coverage: Those hard surface man-made areas that do not allow, or minimally allow, the penetration of water, that reduce the natural rate or percolation ofwater or result in an increase in the natural quantity and rate of storm water runoff. Examples include but are not limited to roof tops, parking, clay, asphalt, concrete, brick, compacted gravel, paved recreational areas such as pools, tennis courts, and landscape pavers. Exceptions: Pervious decks as described herein and items identified on a site plan as a best management practice to treat stormwater shall be allowed within open space and not considered impervious. Pervious decks are defined as decks with a minimum spacing of 18 inch between decking boards. Pervious decks shall be limited to an 3 additional ten percent additional total lot coverage (i.e. ten percent additional total lot coverage above the code maximum fori impervious coverage applicable to each zoning category; e.g. if max impervious coverage is 40 percent then a deck may be added which covers additional lot area up to a total of 50 percent lot coverage when adding the total impervious lot coverage and the pervious deck coverage). (LDC, Ch. 101, Art. I, Sec. 101-8 Definitions.) Lot coverage means the area oft the lot covered by the ground floor ofall principal and accessory uses and structures, including all areas covered by the roof of such uses and structures, measured along the exterior faces of the walls, along the foundation wall line, between the exterior faces of supporting columns, from the centerline of walls separating two buildings or as a combination of the foregoing, whichever produces the greatest total ground coverage for such uses and structures. Lot coverage shall also include all impervious surfaces such as drives, parking areas, walkways, swimming pools, patios, terraces and the like. Stormwater best management practice (BMP): The term "best management practices (BMP)" means those practices and principles designed to manage water from rainfall events, reduce nonpoint sources of pollution and in some cases, protect wildlife and habitat. Methods may include structural devices or nonstructural practices, such as, but not limited to compensatory storage, swales, gutters, rain barrels and rain gardens. A City of Apalachicola Guide to Site-Specific Stormwater Best Management Practices is available to download from the city's website. Sec. 115-1. - City requirements. (1)Certain types of residential and commercial development trigger State stormwater permitting permits depending on size and type of proposed development. As an area of critical state concern, the city has adopted more stringent stormwater standards than state requirements. A more comprehensive overview of state permitting requirements and the relationship to the city standards may be found online at lyolapalachicola.om/DuldingDepicmm: a. Residential. Applications for all new residential development in special waterfront district or areas of special hazard (A&V zone) must include a stormwater management plan which may consist of a best management practice (BMP) as part of their site plan. Proposed improvements that increase lot coverage shall also provide for stormwater treatment by indicating the stormwater treatment best management practice that will be utilized. b. Non-residential. Applications for all non-residential development exempt from State permitting pursuant to Rule 62-330 Fl. Administrative Code for more than 4,800 square feet must provide a stormwater management system by an engineer to provide for treatment for a 24-hour 25-year event. Individual lots or combination oflots less than 4,800 square feet may treat stormwater with BMPS that include provisions for compensatory storage. (2)Stormwater runoff control: a. Only those areas necessary for construction activities shall be cleared. b. During construction, building debris shall be removed from the stormwater flow path and deposited in trash receptacles and temporary stormwater control barriers shall be installed and maintained. C. Temporary stormwater controls shall be maintained until permanent controls are installed. Permanent controls, when required, shall be constructed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. d. Direct connection between building gutters and downspouts and onsite stormwater systems into the city's stormwater conveyances is not allowed. 3)Stormwater best management practices (BMP's): a. Stormwater impacts shall be minimized by using site-suitable BMP's that maximize infiltration of: stormwater and prevent or minimize offsite discharge. Stormwater flow 4 paths for property as it is planned to be developed shall be determined and berms, shallow depressions, swales, contouring, terracing, landscaping, rain gardens, rain barrels, paving materials, concrete pavers and other stormwater management practices shall be included in the plan to intercept, infiltrate and treat stormwater before it reaches wetlands, surface waters or the city's stormwater conveyances. b. Minimize soil exposure through organized scheduling of grading and construction activities; retain existing vegetation whenever feasible; stabilize all denuded areas after final grading; temporarily stabilize disturbed areas that are inactive and will be exposed to rain for 30 days or more utilizing stabilization techniques such as mulches, vegetation and sod. Control runoff by diverting stormwater away from stripped areas or newly seeded slopes; minimize the length and steepness of slopes, protect outlets to prevent erosion. Install sediment trapping structures such as silt traps, sediment basins, filter fabric, perimeter dikes. Inspect and maintain control measures regularly. C. Best management practice methods may be in required open spaces. d. Guidance regarding state permitting requirements and exemptions may be found at the city's web site. Examples of BMP's and low impact development practices are provided in the city's May 2015 Guide to Site Specific Stormwater Best Management Practices can also be found on the city's web site. (4)General design requirements: a. The storm water system shall be designed in accordance with Rule 62-330 F.A.C., and city standards for a 25-year, 24- hour event except that detention with filtration systems shall not be allowed and that off-line retention systems shall be used whenever the soil conditions will allow percolation of the treatment volume within 72 hours. When soil conditions will not allow infiltration practices to be used, the storm water system shall consist ofa wet detention system with a vegetated littoral zone. To enhance the htps//respublconedinstatemicaat/assulastitomsnoaalselscted/2/ls htsvgeffectiveness oft the wet detention system, landscape retention pretreatment practices such as the placement of storm sewer inlets in grassed areas shall be employed in combination with the detention system. b. To provide flood protection, the additional volume generated by the development from a 25-year storm event 24-hour duration shall be controlled by a detention facility and released at a rate of discharge not to exceed the peak discharge rate from the site in its undeveloped condition. Special engineering features all be incorporated in minimize the transport of pollutants remaining in the detention facility. C. All detention facilities shall discharge design flow through structural discharge facilities. When direct discharge will degrade waters ofr natural streams, marshes, environmentally sensitive areas, shellfish classification waters, or lands naturally receiving sheet flow, the discharge structure shall direct the flow to an intermediate spreader swale system. d. No new untreated point sources of discharge will be permitted. (5)General information for engineered plans: a. The location ofareas on the site where storm water collects or percolates into the ground; and the size, location and land use ofany off-site areas which drain onto, through or from the project area. b. A map showing topography at a minimum contour interval of one-foot, vegetative cover, soils and seasonally high-water table elevations. Also show the location of any soils boring or percolation tests. C. Details ofhydrograph, side slopes, depths, elevations of all system components including wetlands, a topographical map with a minimum contour interval of one foot. 5 d. An erosion and sediment control plan to retain sediment on-site. The plan shall describe, in detail, the type and location of control measures the stage of development at which they will be put into place and provisions for maintenance. e. A description of scheduled maintenance, ifapplicable, of the storm water system. (6)Calculations to be submitted: a. All runoff calculations used in the design ofthe storm water system including a description ofthe methodology, assumptions and parameters. Include calculations showing discharges, elevations and volumes retained or detained and the volume of storm water treated for applicable design storm events. Ifa computer program is used for analysis, a copy oft the printout shall be submitted. b. Computations of state-storage and stage-discharge for all structures. C. Computation of off-site inflows. d. Actual acreages and percentage of the project area for impervious surfaces, natural water bodies and wetlands, artificial lakes, retention or detention area, swales, pervious surfaces and total project area. e. Computation of pre-development and post-development runoff and storage. f. Identification of the entity responsible for the perpetual care, operation, maintenance, and associated liabilities of the system. Ift the entity is to be a public body such as a county, municipality, or special district, a letter or other evidence of acceptance must be included. If the entity is a non-public body such as a homeowner's association or private corporation or person, documentation ofits existence, fiscal and legal ability, and willingness to accept the responsibility must be included. (Ord. No. 2020-03, S 3, 5-5-2020) 6 - I o 4 4 4 5 5 O 7 7 8 8 8 C 0 0 0 00 : - - - a