Policy & Planning Services
The Northeast Florida Regional Council (NEFRC) provides policy and planning services for the seven-county region including Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties. Further, the NEFRC supports the 25 municipalities within the seven-county region, notably, smaller communities with smaller budgets that require planning assistance.
The NEFRC also reviews comprehensive plan amendments for regional impacts, provides visioning and strategic planning, works with transportation stakeholders, provides technical assistance daily, and with the support of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, conducts outreach for projects and programs, maintains a standing Affordable Housing Committee, and manages or leverages State and Federal grants.
Comprehensive & Land Use Planning
The Council plays a key role in the Region’s strategic, comprehensive and project planning for growth management, community development and quality of life. The Council reviews comprehensive plan amendments for consistency with the Strategic Regional Policy Plan and for extra-jurisdictional impacts.
Visioning & Strategic Planning
The NEFRC helps communities with visioning and strategic planning. This includes towns in Putnam and Clay Counties, as the pressures of growth are seen throughout the region. In fact, in 2023, the NEFRC is supporting Clay County and Welaka with respective Strategic Plans and expectedly Interlachen with a Vision Plan. In some cases, smaller communities need the planning expertise of the NEFRC because they it is less cost-effective to maintain their own staff.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
The NEFRC provides technical GIS assistance to local governments. The NEFRC uses the ArcGIS suite of products, hosts data and provides a variety of GIS services relating to different topic areas such as comprehensive planning, evacuation planning and floodplain management.
Transportation Planning
The NEFRC works closely with the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), Florida Department of Transportation, Jacksonville Port Authority, Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), and local governments to ensure an efficient, well-planned regional transportation system. The Council, in its role as the Designated Official Planning Agency for all seven Northeast Florida counties, works with the Transportation Disadvantaged Community Transportation Coordinators and Local Coordinating Boards, and is a member of the Regional Transit Working Group.
Local Government Technical Assistance
The NEFRC provides technical assistance to the seven counties and the 25 municipalities within the Region. The Council can provide assistance in areas such as the following:
Preparation and/or review of Comprehensive Plan Elements or Amendments
Preparation and/or review of Evaluation and Appraisal Reports
Geographic Information Systems Mapping (supporting map exhibits, study inquiries, presentation maps)
Preparation and/or review of applications and reports related to land development regulations
Policy Consultation
Affordable Housing
The NEFRC maintains a standing Affordable Housing (AH) Committee that reviews best regional public and private practices notably for the latest State, county, and municipal policy and legislation. In the last year, this has included the first Coast Apartment Association and the Jacksonville Housing Authority.
Also, in 2022, the AH Committee developed its “Affordable Housing Strategic Plan,” which includes recommendations (tasks) such as (1) recognizing the significance of the workforce to address their needs from all angles and (2) considering the impact of transit on affordable housing. The NEFRC asked Northrup Grumman to present how it tackles its own labor shortage which thereby helps entry level workers purchase starter homes, given the approximately six percent inflation in the last two years. In the latter case, the NEFRC helped the City of Jacksonville with the Critical Quality of Life Issues process and report and leading the TCRP J-11/Task 47 panel on ‘Affordable Housing and Transit.’
Throughout 2023, the AH Committee has worked to address the current state of affairs, tiny homes, and most recently the Live Local Act in Rural Areas—which includes presentations (from the Florida Housing Coalition, Palatka Housing Authority, and Nassau County), as well as a memo and video (from a virtual meeting) update on the Live Local Act by the Florida Housing Coalition.
Leverage & Manage Grants
The NEFRC successfully manages projects by leveraging federal and State grants, notably from the Florida Department of Environmental Quality. This includes for its Competitive Florida Partnership and Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant Programs which respectively addressing economic development and other various support including Comprehensive Plan updates for compliance. The NEFRC also works with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau and other agencies to consider available federal funding that best support Northeast Florida communities.