About Planning and Development
Planning & Development is responsible for assisting customers to comply with the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan and the Seminole County Land Development Code and related ordinances through a managed review process. The Construction Inspection Team ensures that projects are constructed in compliance with all approvals including Development Orders and construction plans.
Staff processes applications for land use amendments, rezoning, commercial site plans, subdivision plans, vacates, variances, special exceptions, special use permits, excavation, fill permits and other miscellaneous permits. The Division provides technical data and recommendations for land development proposals to the Board of County Commissioners, Planning and Zoning and the Board of Adjustment.
The Planning & Development review system has been established to ensure development requests are processed with a minimum amount of delay, and applicants are kept advised as to the status of their project and a line of communication to the various County staff members who are involved in reviewing the plans.
APPLICATION SUBMITTALS
All development requests are submitted to the Planning & Development Division located on the Second Floor of the Seminole County Services Building, 1101 East First Street, Sanford, FL 32771. If the application and plans are complete, and allowing for sufficient review time, the project will be scheduled for the next available Development Review Committee (DRC) staff meeting. The County requires a minimum of three weeks to review the initial submittal. Note: Projects consisting of less than 2,500 square feet of new impervious area will not be scheduled for a formal DRC meeting, but routed for staff review only.
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE (DRC)
The Development Review Committee meeting is attended by staff from several County Departments and Divisions that have the responsibility for reviewing development proposals. This may include representatives from the Planning & Development Division, Health Department, School Board, Sheriff's Office, Public Works, Building & Fire Prevention, and Environmental Services. Staff comments pertaining to each project will be available to applicants at least one day prior to the meeting. These comments are faxed or e-mailed to the applicant and/or consultants listed on the project’s application.
At the DRC meeting, each project is assigned a time slot on the agenda, and the applicant is allotted time to review the staff comments and ask any questions they may have. Although this meeting is not intended to be a work session, staff will be available to provide guidance to the applicant as to what changes, if any, will be needed to bring the project into compliance with all County codes. At the conclusion of each project review, the applicant is advised that (1) the project has received DRC approval and what steps will be needed to obtain necessary permits, or (2) the project was not approved, but only minor revisions are required in which case the project should be resubmitted for staff review only, no formal DRC meeting required, or (3) the project was not approved and as it requires major modifications, it will need to be resubmitted for another DRC review.
Projects which need to be resubmitted for full DRC staff review will comply with the same submittal deadlines as the original submittal whereas projects which only need staff review, may be submitted at any time and the staff will complete their review within ten (10) working days. In order to assure accurate tracking of plans, all submittals or resubmittals must be submitted through the Planning & Development Division.
PROJECT STATUS CONTACT
Information regarding the status of any project in the Planning & Development review process may be obtained by calling our office at (407) 665-7371. Telephone numbers of County staff reviewing the plans are provided at the end of the staff comments. Those individual staff members may be contacted regarding questions about any comment they made.