The AI tool, intended to summarize and highlight errors in applications, promises to reduce review times by assisting human planners rather than replacing them. Discussions centered around the accuracy and reliability of the AI system, its ability to integrate specific codes and land development information, and the potential legal implications of errors in approved plans. The board expressed a commitment to maintaining human oversight in the review process, with a workshop proposed to better understand the AI system’s functionality and challenges.

Deliberations on the soil amendment ordinance revealed the board’s intent to mandate native vegetation and involve the Titusville Environmental Commission (TEC) in reviewing the ordinance. The board sought to strengthen language in the ordinance to protect existing vegetation and ensure plant viability in areas with imported fill soils or those impacted by paving. Although the motion to approve the soil amendment ordinance was made with a recommendation to emphasize native plantings, concerns were raised about the recommendation’s alignment with the legal advertisement for the ordinance. An ongoing process to revise the planting list by the contractor, which will be reviewed by TEC, was also highlighted during the discussion.

The Golden Knights Boulevard ordinance was another focal point of the meeting, addressing the visual aesthetics surrounding the Space Coast Regional Airport due to increased development interest. The draft ordinance proposed a 50-ft landscape buffer and building setback for M2 zoned properties adjacent to the boulevard. The board contemplated adding an illustration to clarify the requirements for applicants and debated the need for an absolute visual barrier for both existing businesses and new developments. During public comments, a resident suggested implementing a concrete wall or dense foliage for an opaque barrier, a sentiment echoed by the airport authority director.

Further, the concrete crushing plant proposal prompted a debate on the correlation with the demolition of the NASA Causeway Bridges and its visual impact on the neighborhood. The board considered amendments to the ordinance to require an opaque hedge within the landscape buffer, using berms and landscaping for visual and sound buffering, and discussed the suitability of living walls over cement blocks for intense industrial zoning districts. A motion to table the discussion was made to allow staff to return with a revised version of the ordinance.

The meeting also included the swearing-in of a new alternate member of the Planning and Zoning Commission and a brief introduction by Mike Fendler, who works at Kennedy Space Center. Discussions touched on the importance of board member training, with a proposal for a training session at the next meeting, and the suggestion of a rotating schedule for members to attend TEC meetings.