By GARETT VALCOURT
Town and county officials met on December 1 following concerns from Ponce de Leon leaders who said they were “blindsided” by a request for the town to adopt the newly drafted Holmes County Comprehensive Plan.
“Seems to be some confusion between the city and county,” Mayor Shane Busby said during the meeting, noting that town officials were unaware the community had been specifically named in the county’s updated plan.
A comprehensive plan is a long-range, state-mandated blueprint that outlines how a Florida municipality manages future growth and development. It guides decisions on land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, and conservation, and serves as the legal foundation for local regulations and zoning.
A comprehensive plan:
- Manages growth by providing a framework for orderly economic, physical, environmental, and social development.
- Protects resources related to public health, safety, and the environment.
- Ensures adequate services such as roads, utilities, and public facilities to support future growth.
- Defines community vision, goals, and long-term objectives.
- Guides government decisions and overrides conflicting land-development codes.
Because the plan is legally binding, being named in the document raised concerns among Ponce de Leon officials who feared it could limit the town’s authority as an independent municipality.
During the workshop, Allara Mills of The Planning Collaborative — the firm hired by Holmes County to draft the plan — joined by phone to clarify her role. Mills said her firm was not contracted to notify or coordinate with each municipality during the planning process.
“We were not hired to contact the municipalities,” Mills said. “The county was provided that option but declined to pay for it.”
According to County Planner John Feeney, Ponce de Leon was advised several months ago that the town would need to adopt its own comprehensive plan. Without one, he said, the county could no longer process development applications on PDL’s behalf.
PDL Attorney Michelle Jordan began reviewing the issue in September, seeking clarification on whether Ponce de Leon had previously adopted its own comprehensive plan or entered into a formal interlocal agreement with Holmes County. Records show an interlocal agreement was drafted in 1991, but no signed copy has been located.
For decades, both the town and the county operated under the assumption that the 1991 agreement was in effect. That changed this summer when the county’s engineering consultant, Alday-Howell, determined they would no longer process municipal development applications.
Both parties agreed that the solution moving forward is twofold:
- Ponce de Leon will adopt the county’s September 2024 Comprehensive Plan, providing an immediate regulatory framework.
- The town and county will revise and update the interlocal agreement to clearly define each government’s responsibilities and authority in development review.
Mills also noted that outreach to each municipality would have cost an additional $2,000 per jurisdiction — a fee the county opted not to include in the scope of work.
Town and county officials committed to working together to repair communication gaps and ensure Ponce de Leon maintains appropriate control over local development processes.
Staff Report 