TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Anthea Gianniotes, Development Services Director
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: November 2, 2026
Title
ORDINANCE NO. 44-26: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A SMALL-SCALE LAND USE MAP AMENDMENT REDESIGNATING A PARCEL OF LAND MEASURING APPROXIMATELY 0.24 ACRES LOCATED AT THE 116 SOUTHWEST 5th AVENUE, AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN, FROM COMMERICAL CORE TO MEDIUM DENSITY, 5-12 DU/ACRE, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE “COMMUNITY PLANNING ACT”, FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 163.3187; PROVIDING A CONFLICTS CLAUSE AND A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. (QUASI JUDICIAL/FIRST READING)
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Consider Ordinance No. 44-26, a privately initiated request for a small-scale Land Use Map Amendment for a 0.24-acre parcel located at 116 SW 5th Avenue, from Commercial Core (CC) to Medium Density (MD), 5-12 DU/AC.
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Background:
The applicant is requesting a Land Use Map Amendment for a 0.24-acre parcel from CC to MD. This request is being reviewed concurrently with a rezoning (Ordinance No. 45-26) from Central Business District (CBD) to Medium Density Residential (RM).
The property is currently vacant and has had no structures since 1981. The property has been owned by the same family since 1983, when it was acquired by Ruthie Daniels Russel, inherited by Mary Hardy in 2013, and retitled to the Daniels Family Living trust in 2022. The applicant intends to build a duplex for two members of the Daniels family in collaboration with the “We Are Home” workforce housing project. The current CC land use and CBD zoning do not permit duplex structures as a principal or conditional use.
Pursuant to LDR Section 3.1.1, Required Findings, certain findings regarding the Land Use Map, concurrency, consistency, and compliance with the Land Development Regulations must be made prior to approving development applications. The attached Planning and Zoning Board staff report provides a full analysis of this request. The proposal meets the concurrency of the Always Delray Comprehensive Plan and results in less traffic, with a potential decrease of 645 daily trips.
Policy NDC 1.1.13 directs the City to “apply the most restrictive residential zoning district(s) that is appropriate to the neighborhood based on existing development patterns and lot sizes, unless another zoning district better supports the implementation of an adopted neighborhood or redevelopment plan”. When originally purchased, the subject property and the surrounding parcels were zoned RM. The City later initiated zoning changes, altering the designation General Commercial (GC) in 2004, and CBD in 2005. The justification at the time was that the 2003 Southwest Area Redevelopment plan called for “redevelopment of properties along 5th Avenue… to include neighborhood-oriented retail and office uses, as well as a variety of housing types.” Other relevant Comprehensive Plan objectives and policies are detailed in the Staff Report.
More recent redevelopment plans including the 2014 CRA Community Redevelopment Plan and the 2020 & 2026 Set Plan shift the focus toward addressing vacant and underutilized property, promoting infill and workforce housing, and supporting Delray Beach locals in becoming homeowners and establishing generational wealth to expanding the city’s tax base.
Comprehensive Plan Policy 1.1.12 states that the City should “develop and redevelop remaining infill lots in residential neighborhoods using zoning that is identical or most similar to the zoning of adjacent properties or that results in same or less intense development.” The current CC land use designation creates balanced density along both sides of 5th Avenue (up to 30 dwelling units per acre and an FAR of 3.0). However, in 2006, the properties abutting to the north were rezoned to Community Facilities (CF), leaving the subject site as the only commercially zoned property on its block. This isolation under CBD zoning constrains the site’s development potential and mandates a minimum intensity of development that conflicts with the applicant goals. Amending the land use to MD, with a standard density of 12 dwelling units per acre with no FAR and a 24 dwelling units per acre revitalization incentive, aligns with the properties abutting to the west and south.
On September 28, 2026, the Planning and Zoning Board voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the request.
City Attorney Review:
Ordinance No. 44-26 was approved to form and legal sufficiency.
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
N/A
Timing of Request:
The Land Use Map Amendment request will be heard concurrently with Ordinance No. 45-26 for the rezoning. The second reading is anticipated for November 17, 2026.