Comprehensive Planning

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The Comprehensive Planning Section carries out long-range planning and transportation functions within the Planning Division at the City of West Palm Beach. The Comprehensive Planning team is responsible for the establishment, review, and enforcement of the City of West Palm Beach Comprehensive Plan. Comprehensive Planning reviews the City's Comprehensive Plan through the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) process.

What is the Comprehensive Plan?

Information about Comprehensive Planning and Transportation

One of the functions of the Comprehensive Planning Section is to work on different aspects of transportation planning for the City, including to:

Administer, interpret, and implement the Transportation Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan
Provide technical assistance on transportation planning to City officials, the general public, special interest groups and other agencies
Derive and develop transportation policies, programs, codes, and services to further the City’s Transportation Vision
Draft transportation policies and related codes
Assist in the implementation of the City’s Transportation Management Initiative (TMI)*, which seeks to manage congestion by encouraging commuters to consider alternative transportation modes, through coordination with the South Florida Commuter Services (SFCS)
Utilize transportation principles to research, develop, and update elements of the City’s Comprehensive Plan
Lead through liaison, communication, research and work with other departments, community groups, levels of government, local to national organizations, and the general public
Represent the City on various transportation and related boards and committees and at transportation meetings.

Evaluation and Appraisal Review of the Comprehensive Plan

Chapter 163.3191 of the Florida Statutes indicates that, at least once every seven (7) years, each local government shall evaluate its Comprehensive Plan to determine if plan amendments are necessary to reflect changes in state requirements since the last update, and notify the state land planning agency as to its determination.

The statutes also specify that if the local government determines amendments to its Comprehensive Plan are necessary to reflect changes in state requirements, the local government shall prepare and transmit within one (1) year such plan amendment(s) for review. This collective process is called the Evaluation and Appraisal Review (EAR).

The City’s last EAR took place in 2016 and resulted in a series of amendments to the different elements and maps of the Comprehensive Plan, which were then adopted in February 2017. For the most part, the EAR-based amendments to the City of West Palm Beach’s Comprehensive Plan were intended to: