The City of Pensacola has spent the past year reviewing its Land Development Code (LDC), with the help of Inspire Engagement. The first public draft is now available online. Visit the webpage.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Mayor D.C. Reeves outlined the two transformative changes residents can expect from this comprehensive code revision.
Cleaning Up Decades of Band-Aid Fixes
The most substantial change addresses a problem that has plagued city development for years: contradictory and duplicative language scattered throughout the existing code.
“We had parts of our code where so many duplicative things,” Reeves explained, describing the current system as “band-aids on band-aids, on band-aids where you could actually read a part of the code and interpret it one way and then turn 20 pages and interpret it another way.”
The cleanup effort aims to eliminate the confusing, sometimes combative language that has created uncertainty for both city staff and residents. While this change may seem clerical on the surface, it represents a fundamental shift that should benefit everyone involved in the development process.
Strategic Neighborhood “Thickening” to Address Housing Crisis
The second major focus tackles Pensacola’s ongoing housing shortage through what the mayor calls “neighborhood thickening”—strategically increasing density in appropriate locations without compromising neighborhood character.
This approach doesn’t mean high-rise buildings in every neighborhood, but rather consideration of where additional housing units, such as duplexes or garage apartments, could be added to existing residential areas.
Community Engagement
The LDC revision process, which began last December, has had broad community input from council members, residents, city staff, and Inspire consultants. This collaborative approach recognizes that different stakeholders—architects, contractors, and planning professionals—bring unique perspectives to the table.
- Reeves said, “The goal is not that everybody’s going to get everything they want, but then we end up with something harmonious that puts us in a better place.”
The mayor stated that streamlined processes and clear regulations are equally important tools in addressing the housing crisis. Large-scale residential developers often choose between multiple communities for their projects, and unclear or cumbersome development codes can be decisive factors in those investment decisions.
- Reeves said, “I think speed of development and clarity of development could be just as valuable as quite literally changing zoning code that would allow two units to be built instead of one,”
Two additional public workshops are scheduled, including an open house in mid-October. The draft LDC is currently available for review on the city’s website.
