Developers building along Kingsley Avenue and Park Avenue could skip public hearings entirely under a proposed zoning overhaul that Orange Park's Planning and Zoning Board reviewed Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026.

The form-based code for a new Town Square district would grant administrative approval to projects meeting all design standards. No return trip to the board or Town Council would be required.

Deviations up to 10 percent could also be approved by staff. Larger departures, between 10 and 30 percent, would go before the board. Anything beyond 30 percent would trigger a major waiver.

Haskell senior planner Mikhail Alert and colleague Fred Jones presented the plan at the workshop in Town Council Chambers. Economic and Community Development Director Stephen Smith and Planning and Permitting Coordinator Maddie White attended for staff.

The high-intensity mixed-use zone along Kingsley and Park avenues would allow buildings of three to five stories. Developers could earn bonus height by including mixed-use space, green building certification, structured parking, or publicly accessible parks and plazas. Retail floor plates in that zone would be capped at 50,000 square feet to prevent big-box-scale buildings.

Medium-intensity areas would permit two to four stories. Low-intensity areas would allow two to three.

Existing businesses that do not conform to the new standards would get transition time. Nonconforming signs would have seven years to comply. Nonconforming uses would have ten years.

A $175,000 minimum threshold was set as a flexibility measure for structural improvements, using just value rather than assessed value. The town would track permit records digitally to monitor incremental improvements over rolling time periods.

The code would also eliminate pole signs and require monument or marquee signs with landscaping. Shared parking and on-street parking could reduce dedicated parking requirements.

Design guidelines for commercial corridors outside the Town Square boundary would function as recommendations, not mandatory requirements.

Chairman Paul Bement and board members Dena Olejnik, Marc Jernigan and George Niles were present; Alex Hawkins was absent. No audience members spoke.

At the June 24 workshop where the concept was first presented, Alert cited Nashville's experience with form-based codes. "Once developers realized compliant projects could skip public hearings and go straight to administrative approval and construction, applications increased sharply while variance requests dropped," Alert said at that June session.

The Town Square concept traces to the Vision 2040 plan completed in 2020. Haskell produced a Phase I conceptual plan in 2024, and the Town Council asked the firm to return with zoning tools to implement the vision.

Smith said the next step is public review, followed by the board considering the proposal as an action item at its next meeting. The board would then send a recommendation to the Town Council, and staff would transmit a required Comprehensive Plan amendment to the state Department of Commerce for review.