LABELLE -- Hendry County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve two measures presented by Margaret Emblidge, AICP, Planning & Community Development Director during its regular Sept. 28 meeting during its public hearings segment.

The first was a request by the county itself, requesting to amend the Hendry County Comprehensive Plan infrastructure element and the concurrency management element, and to adopt by reference the Hendry County 10-Year Water Supply Facilities Work Plan Dated September 2021.

Florida law allows local governments to amend respective comprehensive plans and outlines and requires by statutes to update the 10-year water supply facilities work plan for the purpose of ensuring adequate water supplies for new developments.

The county has identified projects within the planning period to develop adequate water supplies, including alternative water supplies and continued use of traditional supplies.

Permitting of increased withdrawals from the Sandstone aquifer for PLUS after 2020 will require onsite aquifer performance testing to determine site-specific aquifer properties and demonstrate that requested withdrawals will meet SFWMD permitting criteria.

If the results of this study indicate that additional allocation cannot be developed from the Sandstone aquifer and the projected demands within the PLUS service area will require an increase in permitted allocation, PLUS will conduct a Floridan aquifer testing, design and permitting program.

The cost of this program is estimated to be 10% of construction costs for expansion into the Floridan aquifer.

The second petition, also by the HCBOCC, relates to various parcels of Montura Range Estates, requesting to amend the Future Land Use Element Text and map of the county comprehensive plan to create a new land use designation.

“This would include both the Montura Ranch and Woodland subdivisions,” Emblidge said. “It’s a result of the land use study on July 27.”

At that time the BOCC recommended to transmit the comprehensive plan to state reviewing agencies and Planning and Community Development heard from four reviewing agencies giving the green light to the proposal, noting there were no significant adverse effects to local resources or facilities.

Two qualifiers were required however, one being the residential density had a minimum of one unit per acre and was intended to be a maximum of one unit per acre, she said.

“Which keeps it the same as it is today, which is a result of the community wanting to keep the area as rural as possible,” she said.

The other was to clarify the commercial development as a policy, not an overlay like the two other overlays which are referred to as County Road 833 Corridor Overlay and the Village Center Overlay.

According to project documents, the purpose of the Montura Ranch future land use category is to create a long-term vision for development in the two subdivisions with future development maintaining the present rural character that permits residential, commercial, light industrial, civic, institutional and recreational uses.

“The land development code amendments had to be readvertised and will be heard in October, the first reading being Oct. 12 and the second reading and adoption hearing on Oct. 26,” Emblidge said.