TO: Board of County Commissioners
THROUGH: John A. Titkanich, Jr., County Administrator
FROM: Patrick J. Murphy, Chief, Long Range Planning
DATE: January 28, 2026
SUBJECT: County Initiated Request to Amend the 5-Year Capital Improvements
Program and the Capital Improvements Element of the Comprehensive
Plan for the Period FY 2025/26-2029/30
__________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
Indian River County adopted its comprehensive plan on February 13, 1990. According to state law, all development activities must comply with the comprehensive plan, and all county activities must conform to their policies.
While local governments can amend their comprehensive plans periodically, there is no annual requirement to update them, except for the Capital Improvements Element (CIE). The CIE is the only element that must be amended every year in compliance with state regulations.
State law allows amendments to the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) schedule and its supporting data and analysis through local government ordinance adoption/amendment procedures. These procedures require only one hearing, while other comprehensive plan amendments involve multiple public hearings and several months of review.
To comply with state requirements, County staff has prepared the annual update of the County's existing Capital Improvements Element.
ANALYSIS
The process for updating the CIE involves collaborating with the budget and finance departments to gather information about past and predicted future revenues and expenditures, then working with each county department to determine the status of their capital improvements programs. For each department, data related to completed and proposed projects, costs, revenues, prioritization, and other factors were collected. Individual departments worked collectively with the Office of Management & Budget and County Administrator to make any necessary changes to ensure financial viabili...
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