Commissioners discuss stormwater alternatives, incentives and potential policy changes

Panama City commissioners and staff discussed alternative stormwater strategies and potential policy changes to reduce the burden and long‑term maintenance costs of individual on‑site stormwater ponds.

A commissioner presented low‑cost “tree pit” or soil‑cell concepts to treat runoff before it reaches the bay and asked staff engineering to evaluate the approach for historic and waterfront districts. The concept is to capture and treat runoff in vegetated curb‑level pits that provide local filtration and reduce pollutants entering the bay.

Commissioner Street urged the city to create standardized mechanisms allowing developers to invest in shared, off‑site stormwater facilities (for example BaySavers or consolidated ponds) or to pay into a fund rather than build on‑site ponds that often degrade without maintenance. He said the city has examples of underground storage beneath parking lots and power‑line easements and asked staff to pursue creative solutions rather than defaulting to the most expensive, site‑by‑site engineered ponds.

Mayor Branch told the commission that Florida passed Senate Bill 7040 in February 2024, which he said allows performance‑based criteria for stormwater rather than mandating ponds. "The Florida actually passed senate bill 70 40 in 02/2024, which allows for performance based criteria as a stormwater, not just ponds," he said.

Commissioners discussed examples where businesses invested in underground storage beneath parking to maximize usable surface area; staff said that work has been done in St. Andrews and at Oaks By The Bay where underground systems increased parking without adding surface ponds. Staff also noted existing code mechanisms that can allow parking‑in‑lieu or alternate compliance, and asked engineering staff to review possible updates to the unified land development code to expand incentives or alternate compliance pathways.

No policy action was taken; staff were asked to coordinate with the city engineer and return to a forthcoming workshop (staff noted the October 23 virtual workshop and a subsequent workshop on stormwater where staff will include Ms. Rouse, the city engineer).