Orange Park's Planning and Zoning Board is set to vote Thursday on two proposals that would rewrite development rules along some of the town's main commercial corridors.

The board meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at Town Hall, 2042 Park Ave. The agenda calls for the board to make recommendations to the Town Council on the Town Square Form-Based Code and Commercial Design Guidelines.

The vote follows months of workshops and planning. As we reported Sept. 30, the proposed form-based code would allow developers whose projects meet all requirements to receive administrative approval without going through public hearings.

New code would change how projects are approved

The form-based code would establish new development rules within a defined Town Square area centered around portions of Park and Kingsley avenues.

Rather than focusing primarily on permitted uses, the code would regulate the physical form of development, including building placement, height, parking and how buildings interact with streets and sidewalks.

The proposal establishes low-, medium- and high-intensity areas. Buildings in the low-intensity area could generally reach two to three stories, while the medium-intensity area would allow two to four stories. The high-intensity mixed-use area would permit three to five stories.

Developers in the high-intensity district could earn additional height by providing qualifying features such as mixed-use space, green-building certification, structured parking or publicly accessible parks and plazas.

Retail floor plates in the high-intensity district would be capped at 50,000 square feet, a provision intended to discourage big-box-scale development. Fleming Island-Orange Park Times

Parking would generally be pushed behind buildings, while structures would sit closer to streets to create a more pedestrian-oriented environment.

Developers could bypass public hearings

One of the most significant changes involves the approval process.

Projects that meet all of the form-based code's requirements could receive administrative approval without returning to the Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council for a public hearing.

Town staff could also approve deviations of up to 10%. Departures of more than 10% and up to 30% would go before the Planning and Zoning Board, while larger deviations would require a major waiver. Fleming Island-Orange Park Times

The proposal also provides transition periods for existing properties that do not comply with the new standards. Nonconforming signs would have seven years to come into compliance, while nonconforming uses would have 10 years.

A $175,000 minimum threshold would provide flexibility for structural improvements to existing properties, with the town tracking permit activity over time.

Design guidelines would remain advisory

The Commercial Design Guidelines are a separate, nonregulatory companion document covering areas such as site design, signage, architecture and parking along commercial corridors outside the Town Square district.

Unlike the form-based code, the guidelines would not impose mandatory requirements.

At a June 24 workshop, Haskell senior planner Mikhail Alert described the distinction between the two documents: "The code 'shall,' the guidelines 'encourage.'"

The guidelines are intended to influence future development along commercial corridors while allowing property owners greater flexibility than projects inside the mandatory Town Square form-based code area.

Proposal grew from Orange Park's Vision 2040 plan

The Town Square concept traces back to Orange Park's Vision 2040 planning effort, completed in 2020. Haskell developed a conceptual Town Square plan in 2024, and the Town Council later asked the company to develop zoning tools that could put that vision into practice. Fleming Island-Orange Park Times

The Planning and Zoning Board held another workshop Sept. 24 specifically to review the Town Square Form-Based Code and design standards before bringing the proposals forward for action. Muyni

After the board makes its recommendation, the proposals would move through additional review before final action by the Town Council.

The town's meeting calendar lists the Planning and Zoning Board's next regular meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.