TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: An Ordinance of the City of North Port, Florida, Amending the Future Land Use Designation From Conservation to Agricultural Estates for ± 3.30 Acres of Land Generally Located West of Jennings Boulevard in Section 24, Township 40 South, Range 20 East of Sarasota County and Further Described in Instrument No. 2022010157 in Official Records of Sarasota County; Amending the City of North Port Comprehensive Plan Chapter 2, Future Land Use Map 2-7; Providing for Findings; Providing for Adoption; Providing for Transmittal of Documents; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; and Providing an Effective Date.
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Recommended Action
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2025-22 on first reading and continue to second reading on September 23, 2025.
Recommended Action for Second Reading
Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-22.
City Commission Options
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2025-22 on first reading and continue to second reading on September 23, 2025.
• Pros: The Comprehensive Plan amendment assigns an appropriate designation to privately owned property and will not adversely affect the public interest, health, safety, and general welfare.
• Cons: The comprehensive staff analysis concluded that there are no identifiable drawbacks to the approval of Ordinance No. 2025-22.
Option 2: Deny Ordinance No. 2025-22.
• Pros: The comprehensive staff analysis concluded that there are no identifiable advantages to the denial of Ordinance No. 2025-22.
• Cons: Denying Ordinance No. 2025-22 would create a hardship for the property owner and could result in a takings claim.
General Information
Information for Second Reading
The City Commission voted unanimously to continue Ordinance No. 2025-22 to second reading on September 23, 2025.
The subject property is a privately-owned ±3.30-acre vacant tract of land that is surrounded by the public lands of the Myakka State Forest. Prior to the creation of this parcel in 1986, the subject land formed part of a broader area that, according to the 1988-1998 North Port Comprehensive Plan and the 1998 Myakka State Forest Five-Year Resource Management Plan, was formerly known as “Myakka Estates” and was to be developed by the General Development Corporation (GDC) in accordance with the former Myakka Estates Development of Regional Impact.
The subject City-initiated petition is the result of an effort to correct the future land use designations of privately held lands that are currently assigned a Conservation future land use designation on the City’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM), but that were not intended to be included in the Conservation land use category. The Conservation future land use designation is described in the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan as follows:
FLUE Policy 1.2.3(C) - These lands are designated to protect environmentally sensitive lands by maintaining them in a nearly pristine state as aquatic preserves, wilderness areas, wildlife sanctuaries, passive recreation, or government uses. No other uses may be permitted within Conservation Areas, with the exception of the Winchester Boulevard hurricane evacuation route through the Myakka State Forest, which is deemed necessary to protect human life from the threat of natural disasters provided that such facility is constructed so that the impact upon native habitat and wildlife populations are minimized consistent with the policies in the Conservation Plan, and consistent with the requirements of all permitting agencies.
The Conservation future land use designation prohibits the establishment of any uses not listed in the Policy above including the use of the property for the construction of one single-family residence. Due to the restrictive nature of this designation, Conservation future land use designations are typically reserved for environmentally sensitive lands and other properties that are held publicly or are otherwise intended to be held and maintained solely for the uses listed above. The subject property was excluded from the State Forest, and from the conservation program associated with the Forest, because the property was held in separate private ownership. While the property does contain portions of land considered environmentally sensitive, the Unified Land Development Code and existing state and federal regulations provide controls on any development proposed for the site that ensure a balanced approach to protection of those natural resources and reasonable use of the site.
Approval of Ordinance No. 2025-22 will change the future land use designation of the subject property from Conservation to Agricultural Estates.
Ordinance No. 2025-22 has been reviewed by the Interim City Attorney and is legally correct as to form.
Strategic Plan
Economic Development & Growth Management
Financial Impact
Not applicable.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No. 2025-22 - Second Reading
2. Ordinance No. 2025-22
3. Staff Report with Exhibits
4. Presentation
5. PZAB Action Report
Prepared by: Gabriel Quintas, AICP, CFM, Assistant Director, Development Services Department
Lori Barnes, AICP, CPM, Deputy Director, Development Services Department
Department Director: Alaina Ray, AICP, Director, Development Services Department