The first zoning regulations in Palm Beach County were developed and adopted by the Board of County Commission in 1957. In 1973, the Zoning Code was greatly expanded and the County was rezoned to ensure consistency with the Code. In 1990, to meet the requirements of the State’s Growth Management Act, the Code was again revised to be consistent with the newly adopted 1989 Comprehensive Plan. It was agreed that a more comprehensive revision would occur in a second phase.

This move extensive revision, the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) was adopted on June 22, 1992, in order to: (1) conform to the State mandate of consolidating land development regulations into a single volume; and (2) meet the Board of County Commissions’ goal of modernizing the Zoning Code and Sign Code, and streamlining the land development process. In 2003 the ULDC was amended to address the Managed Growth Tier System (MGTS), as well address new provisions for Traditional Developments. During this re-write staff also addressed reformatting and streamlining provisions. The Interactive Web ULDC was also approved in 2003 and went online in mid 2004. The Interactive code provides the user with a web version of the code.

The Zoning Division staff levels have grown over the past 40 years. The staff handles several hundred applications yearly as well as public Zoning related inquires. The Zoning Division continues to strive to provide the public with the best customer service possible. The Zoning Division in 2004 released the following electronic information:

• Interactive ULDC
• GIS Layer Zoning Maps
• EPZB – electronic database for Planning, Zoning & Building information
• e-Zinfo – Information related to PCN, Plant Wizard and Frequently Asked Questions.
• On-line Submittal – Currently testing to be released in late 2005 to the public.

This is an exciting time for the Zoning Division, as land becomes scarcer the challenge to provide incentives to redevelopment and maintain the quality of living and environments is ever challenging.