(a)

Under this chapter, site plan submittal and staff review shall be required for all development and redevelopment projects, except single-family, two-family or three-family dwelling units, or alterations thereto, and minor commercial improvements. Further, site plan submittal and planning and zoning board review is required for the following:

(1)

New commercial buildings or structures.

(2)

New residential structures with four or more dwelling units.

(b)

Staff review under section 110-223 is also required for minor amendments to a site plan. However, at the discretion of the community development director, planning and zoning board review under section 110-223 is not required for such minor amendments to a site plan that has been previously reviewed by the planning and zoning board, if during the staff review process it is determined that one of the following limited circumstances exists:

(1)

For property of one-half acre or less, the property must have been designed for development and incorporated into a previously reviewed site plan and the minor amendment shall not decrease, increase or otherwise modify by more than 20 percent the existing amount of structure or impervious surface area or residential density previously reviewed or constructed.

(2)

For property greater than one-half acre but not greater than one acre, the property must have been designed for development and incorporated into a previously reviewed site plan and the minor amendment shall not decrease, increase or otherwise modify by more than 15 percent the existing amount of structure or impervious surface area or residential density previously reviewed or constructed.

(3)

For property greater than one acre, the property must have been designed for development and incorporated into a previously reviewed site plan and the minor amendment shall not decrease, increase or otherwise modify by more than ten percent the existing amount of structure or impervious surface area or residential density previously reviewed or constructed.

Staff decisions on proposed minor amendments to site plans shall be in writing and the planning and zoning board shall be provided written notice of such decisions as part of the board's next meeting agenda.

(Code 1981, § 645.05(A); Ord. No. 13-2011, § 6, 12-20-11; Ord. No. 19-2019, § 2, 1-21-20)

(a)

Site plan application submittal requirements under this chapter shall be as follows:

(1)

Plan drawn to scale by an appropriately licensed design professional, no greater than one inch to 50 feet, on sheets two feet by three feet, showing the following site data:

a.

Size, height, number of units and location of proposed and existing structures and their relationship to property lines, setbacks, easements, streets, etc.

b.

Dimensions and total gross acreage of the site and percentage devoted to structures and percentage of parking area devoted to landscaping with curbs and water provisions.

c.

Total number of units proposed; total number and size of on-site parking spaces and loading zones.

d.

Traffic flow diagram to ensure that an orderly and safe traffic flow is permitted within the site and that no traffic problems are created by the proposed ingress and egress routes. In addition, a traffic report prepared by a traffic engineer shall be submitted to demonstrate compliance with the city's site plan requirements. The traffic report may be waived by the city if the anticipated traffic impact of the proposed project is deemed minor by the city. This traffic report is in addition to any traffic impact study required by section 86-6(2) of the City Code related to capacity and level of service thresholds for arterial and collector transportation facilities.

e.

Calculation of density (dwelling units per acre).

f.

Location and dimension of areas for parks, canals, waterways, boat slips, parking areas, swimming pools, driveways, recreation, trash and garbage pickup, sidewalks, dune crossovers, etc.

g.

In those site plans which require a subdivision of land, no site plan shall be approved until the city council has given approval to the preliminary plat.

h.

The type of enclosure for and location of communal-type trash containers (dumpsters). Type of enclosure shall be subject to approval and acceptance of the planning and zoning board.

i.

Fire alarm and standpipe data, when required.

j.

Site vicinity map.

k.

Location of planned landscaping in compliance with sections 110-566 and 110-567.

(2)

Topographic survey, including the following:

a.

USC and G.S. datum plane.

b.

Existing and proposed streetlights, water, sewer, paving, storm drains, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc.

c.

Lot lines and dimensions of all setbacks, structures and easements.

d.

Location of established seawall line and information for construction, if required.

e.

Surveyor's certification.

f.

Elevations to be given on one-foot intervals.

g.

Range markers and coastal construction setback line, where required.

h.

Location and type of existing trees four inches in diameter or larger.

(3)

Engineering data, including the following:

a.

Finished grades for entire parcel, finished elevations for floors, streets, parking lots, sidewalks, ten inches of adjoining property, etc.

b.

Details, sections and specifications required of all improvements, such as streetlights, water and sewer (structures, pipes, appurtenances), paving and drainage, curbs, storm drainage and sidewalks.

c.

Engineer's seal required in drawings.

d.

Engineering storm drainage design calculation and drainage maps.

(4)

Square footage of building for the following:

a.

Living.

b.

Parking.

c.

Other.

d.

Total under roof.

(5)

Drawing notes required as follows:

a.

Sidewalk and sanitary sewers to be constructed to city standards.

b.

Water lines to conform to City of Cocoa standards.

c.

Where applicable, fire alarm system to be installed and connected to city fire department standards.

(6)

For mean high water, survey shall be done by procedures established by F.S. § 177.25 et seq.

(7)

Proposed applications to amend a previously approved site plan are required to contain such relevant information and amended plans and surveys, as required by this section, that are deemed necessary by the city to support the amendment.

(b)

The following review criteria shall be applied by the city when making any final decision on whether to approve, deny, or approve with conditions any site plan application:

(1)

Whether the applicant has demonstrated the site plan, including its proposed density, height, scale and intensity, hours of operation, building and lighting design, setbacks, buffers, noise, refuse, odor, particulates, smoke, fumes and other emissions, parking and traffic-generating characteristics, number of persons anticipated using, residing or working under the plan, and other off-site impacts, is compatible and harmonious with adjacent land uses, and will not adversely impact land use activities in the immediate vicinity.

(2)

Whether the applicant has demonstrated the size and shape of the site, the proposed access and internal circulation, and the design enhancements to be adequate to accommodate the proposed density, scale and intensity of the site plan requested. The site shall be of sufficient size to accommodate design amenities such as screening, buffers, landscaping, open space, off-street parking, safe and convenient automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian mobility at the site, and other similar site plan improvements needed to mitigate against potential adverse impacts of the proposed use.

(3)

Whether the proposed site plan will have an adverse impact on the local economy, including governmental fiscal impact, employment, and property values.

(4)

Whether the proposed site plan will have an adverse impact on the natural environment, including air, water, and noise pollution, vegetation and wildlife, open space, noxious and desirable vegetation, and flood hazards.

(5)

Whether the proposed site will have an adverse impact on historic, scenic, and cultural resources, including views and vistas, and loss or degradation of cultural and historic resources.

(6)

Whether the proposed site will have an adverse impact on public services, including water, sewer, stormwater and surface water management, police, fire, parks and recreation, streets, public transportation, marina and waterways, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

(7)

Whether the site plan and any related applicable traffic report provided by the applicant, details safe and efficient means of ingress and egress into and out of the neighborhood and adequately addresses the impact of projected traffic on the immediate neighborhood, traffic circulation pattern for the neighborhood, and traffic flow through immediate intersections and arterials.

(8)

Whether the proposed site will have an adverse impact on housing and social conditions, including variety of housing unit types and prices, and neighborhood quality.

(9)

Whether the proposed site avoids significant adverse odor, emission, noise, glare, and vibration impacts on adjacent and surrounding lands regarding refuse collection, service delivery, parking and loading, signs, lighting, and other sire elements.

(10)

Whether the applicant has provided an acceptable security plan for the proposed establishment to be located on the site that addresses the safety and security needs of the establishment and its users and employees and minimizes impacts on the neighborhood, if applicable.

(11)

Whether the applicant has provided on the site an acceptable plan for the mass delivery of merchandise for new large footprint buildings (greater than 15,000 square feet) including the hours of operation for delivery trucks to come into and exist the property and surrounding neighborhood, if applicable.

(12)

Whether the applicant has demonstrated that the site plan has been designed to incorporate mitigative techniques and plans needed to prevent adverse impacts addressed in the criteria stated herein or to adjacent and surrounding uses and properties.

(13)

If required by the city, whether the applicant has agreed to execute a binding development agreement to incorporate the terms and conditions of approval deemed necessary by the city including, but not limited to, any mitigative techniques and plans required by City Code.

(Code 1981, § 645.05(C); Ord. No. 07-2006, § 3, 6-20-06; Ord. No. 13-2011, § 6, 12-20-11; Ord. No. 19-2019, § 2, 1-21-20)

(a)

The required number of copies of the site plan, prepared, signed and sealed by an appropriately licensed design professional shall be filed with the planning and development department no later than 30 days prior to the meeting date at which the applicant is seeking planning and zoning board review. Filing fees as set forth in appendix B to this Code shall be paid at this time.

(b)

The site plan shall be submitted by the planning and development department to the following department directors for their review and comments:

(1)

City engineer or registered engineers approved by the city.

(2)

Building and code enforcement department.

(3)

Fire marshal.

(4)

Public works services department.

(c)

Within 14 days of the time the plans are received by the various department directors, they shall submit, in writing, to the planning and development department, a written report commenting on factors relating to the site plan.

(d)

The planning and development department shall give a copy of the written comments to the applicant or his representative to review, respond to and make any changes deemed appropriate to conform to the comments and recommendations from the department directors.

(e)

The applicant shall submit the required number of copies of the revised site plan, along with the architect's and engineer's comments in response to the department reviews, to the planning and development department.

(f)

All plans shall be made available to the planning and zoning board for its review and recommendation to the city manager or the city manager's designee. The planning and development director shall prepare a site plan checklist to be submitted to the planning and zoning board when a site plan is reviewed.

(g)

The planning and zoning board, following a duly noticed public hearing and review of any submitted site plan, shall make a written recommendation to the city manager or designee recommending approval, approval with conditions, or denial of the application based upon the site plan's compliance with the city's Code and comprehensive plan. Such recommendation shall include the reasons for the board's recommendation and show the board has considered the applicable site plan criteria set forth in this article.

(h)

Upon receipt of the planning and zoning board's recommendation, the city manager or designee shall make a final decision on the application approving, approving with conditions, or denying the application. Following the decision by the city manager or designee on each site plan application, the city shall send to the applicant written notice of the action taken and the right to appellate review. The city shall additionally provide notice on the city's website of the decision on each site plan reviewed pursuant to this article and the right of interested parties to appeal same.

(i)

If the city manager or designee elects to grant conditional approval of a site plan subject to any conditions or contingencies, the applicant shall have 90 days from the date of conditional site plan approval to satisfy any such conditions and/or contingencies. If all conditions and/or contingencies are satisfied, the final site plan approval date shall be either the expiration of the 90-day period; or the date the city manager or designee certifies by notation on all city site plan copies, that all conditions and/or contingencies are satisfied, whichever first occurs. If the conditions and/or contingencies are not satisfied before the expiration of the 90-day period the conditional approval shall be automatically withdrawn and the application shall stand as denied. The 90-day compliance period may be extended at the discretion of the city manager or designee, upon written request of the applicant prior to the expiration of the 90-day compliance period, and where the applicant demonstrates unusual circumstances or undue hardship.

(j)

Any party adversely affected by a final site plan determination of the city manager or designee may appeal such determination to the city council. Parties seeking appellate review shall submit a request for appeal in writing to the city clerk within 30 days of the city manager's or designee's determination. The city clerk shall schedule the city council's consideration of the appeal for the next available regular city council meeting and shall provide the party seeking appellate review with written notice of the date, time and location of said meeting. The city council's consideration of the site plan determination being appealed shall be de novo. The city council shall hear and consider the evidence and testimony of any interested party and shall either affirm or reverse, wholly or in part, the determination of the city manager or designee. Failure of any adversely affected party to appeal to the city council pursuant to this section shall be deemed a waiver of that party's right to judicial review.

(k)

A proposed site plan shall not be considered by the city unless:

(1)

The applicant has adequately and completely addressed all items on the site plan checklist prepared by the planning and development department; and

(2)

The applicant has otherwise complied with all matters contemplated under this section.

(Code 1981, § 645.05(B); Ord. No. 37-93, 10-19-93; Ord. No. 2-94, 2-1-94; Ord. No. 35-2003, § 2, 10-21-03; Ord. No. 03-2005, § 2, 4-5-05; Ord. No. 13-2011, § 6, 12-20-11)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 03-2005, § 2, adopted April 5, 2005, deleted § 110-233.5, which pertained to appeal and derived from Ord. No. 35-2003, § 2, adopted Oct. 21, 2003.

All site plans approved under this article shall expire 12 months after the date of final approval unless the building permit for construction of the principal structure is issued. Upon written request, the city manager or designee may authorize one or more extensions of time for additional periods not exceeding 12 months each, provided that the applicant demonstrates justifiable cause for the extension and there have been no changes in any applicable city regulations since the date of final site plan approval. Any such extension authorized by the city manager or designee shall remain subject to the terms and conditions imposed as part of the final site plan approval.

(Code 1981, § 645.05; Ord. No. 10-91, §§ 1, 2, 11-7-91; Ord. No. 13-2011, § 6, 12-20-111; Ord. No. 12-2014, § 2, 1-20-15)