Evaluation and Appraisal Report of Comprehensive Plan (EAR)

Overview

All local governments in Florida are required by state law (Chapter 163, Florida Statutes) to adopt a Comprehensive Plan. A Comprehensive Plan is a document containing goals, objectives and policies that are intended to guide future land use. Comprehensive Plans also provide policies to guide the provision of services such as potable water, sanitary sewer, drainage and transportation. In addition, the Comprehensive Plan is required to provide policies regarding the preservation of environmental and historic resources, and may provide policies guiding park and open space provisions.

To determine if a local comprehensive plan needs to be revised, and whether it is achieving its objectives, the same state law that requires a local Comprehensive Plan also requires an evaluation of that plan. An Evaluation and Appraisal Report (also known as an “EAR”) is the state-required report that evaluates progress in achieving the policies of a local government’s Comprehensive Plan and determining if changes are needed.

The Issues

An EAR is required to be written every seven years. The State of Florida is now in an EAR cycle, and Fort Lauderdale is beginning this process. Public input is an important part of this process.

Each EAR cycle may emphasize different issues. During this cycle, state law requires local governments to report on certain major issues, and also allows local governments to report on major issues of significance to the local area. The issues that state law requires all local governments to evaluate during this cycle include, among others:

• Population projections (what they are, where will the new population growth take place, and how will it be served);
• How well is the local government coordinating land development approvals with the plans of the Water Management District and the School District;
• How well did the plan anticipate where growth and redevelopment would actually take place;
• Are there any changes in state law that call for a change in the plan; and
• How to address possible nonconforming residential densities in the coastal high-hazard areas.

The EAR Process

The EAR process begins with a public “scoping” meeting to encourage input on major issues of local significance. Once the City and state agencies agree on the “scope” of the EAR, work will begin on the research and writing portions of the project. The completed EAR  is presented to the Planning and Zoning Board (acting as the Local Planning Agency, or “LPA”) at a public hearing for review. If the Planning and Zoning Board recommends approval, the report  is presented to the City Commission at a public hearing for adoption by resolution and, afterward, forwarded to the State and other reviewing agencies for a Finding of Sufficiency.   A list of various LPA and City Commission meetings that have been held on the City’s EAR is provided below.

Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan

Once the state agencies accept the EAR, the City of Fort Lauderdale has one year to adopt “EAR-based” amendments to the Comprehensive Plan. Unlike other public planning or visioning initiatives, however, the state requires that any amendment that adds a new service to the City’s Comprehensive Plan needs to be fiscally feasible at the time it is adopted.