title
LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE - TRANSPORTATION CONCURRENCY (B)
Ordinance No. 0-09-33; Petition No. PZ-09-66TCH
An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, relating to transportation concurrency; amending Division 3 under Article III of the City of Gainesville Land Development Code relating to Proportionate Fair-Share for transportation concurrency by clarifying the exception for developments within the City's existing transportation concurrency exception area, by creating an exception for developments within the state-mandated transportation concurrency exception area, and by clarifying the status of annexed property; creating a new Division 4 under Article III of the City of Gainesville Land Development Code establishing the findings, intent and purpose, procedures and requirements for the state-mandated transportation concurrency area and designating property in certain zones; providing a sunset clause; providing directions to the codifier; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an immediate effective date.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT
This petition is a text change to the Proportionate Fair-Share section of the Land Development Code. There are three primary purposes for this petition:
1. To amend the Proportionate Fair-Share section of the Code to make it consistent with and implement the 2009 Senate Bill 360 (SB 360) changes in Growth Management laws that impact Gainesville's transportation concurrency management procedures.
2. To provide clarity for the City, the development community, and the public as to the implementation of the new, state-mandated Transportation Concurrency Exception Area during the interim period prior to adoption of comprehensive plan amendments, thus reducing the potential for moratoria or unacceptable lack of transportation alternatives to support development.
3. To implement short-term strategies that fund transportation mobility needs for the area within city limits that the State of Florida designated as a Transportation Concurrency Exception Area.
Background
On June 1, 2009, SB 360 (now known as Chapter Law No. 2009-96) was signed into law. Among other things, SB 360 requires each City or County that is certified as a Dense Urban Land Area (DULA) to be automatically designated as a Transportation Concurrency Exception Areas (TCEA). SB360 defines a DULA as: (a) a municipality that has an average of at least 1,000 people per square mile of land area and a minimum total population of at least 5,000; (b) a county, including the municipalities located therein, which has an average of at least 1,000 people per square mile of land area; or (c) a county, including the municipalities locate therein, which has a population of at least 1 million. The City meets the definition under (a) above, with approximately 2,064 persons per square mile of land area as of April 1, 2008 (the last official date for population estimates). Even taking into account the recent Butler Plaza and SW 20th Avenue annexations in 2008 and 2009, the City still meets the DULA definition (June 1, 2009 population estimate of 131,639/62.58 square miles of city area) with approximately 2,103 persons per square mile. The City was designated as a DULA on July 8, 2009.
With the adoption of 2009 SB 360 and Gainesville's DULA designation, the entire area within city limits is a TCEA. The City first established a TCEA (Zones A and B) in 1999 with the adoption of the Concurrency Management Element. In 2005, Zone C was added to the TCEA by a Comprehensive Plan amendment. Those zones covered a sizable portion of the Gainesville city limits. However, as annexations occurred after 2005, the City did not extend the TCEA limits. To clarify the TCEA discussion in this memorandum, the following terminology will be used consistently. "Existing TCEA" refers to TCEA Zones A, B, and C as adopted in the City's Comprehensive Plan prior to the date the City was designated as a DULA. "State-mandated TCEA" refers to the areas outside of the Existing TCEA that became a TCEA upon official DULA designation by the State.
As stated above, development in the Existing TCEA is regulated by objectives and policies in the Concurrency Management Element. In order to clarify and implement the development regulations in the state-mandated TCEA, the City is proposing Land Development Code changes to provide short-term procedures through amendments to the Proportionate Fair-Share section. This is consistent with a provision in 2009 SB 360 (Chapter 163.3180 (f)) that states, "The designation of a transportation concurrency exception area does not limit a local government's home rule power to adopt ordinances or impose fees."
Procedures and New Regulations
Revisions to the Proportionate Fair-Share section of the Code, including the addition of a new Division 4. State-Mandated Transportation Concurrency Exception Area, provide procedures for implementing the new state-mandated TCEA. The state-mandated TCEA regulations in Division 4 follow the general philosophy and procedures of the City's Existing TCEA, thus providing clarity about regulations. In addition, the adoption of Division 4 creates an equitable situation for developments inside and outside of the Existing TCEA based on geographic region (zone) and transportation needs in the zone.
Procedures are established for the following:
1. Application filed prior to DULA designation and processed with a proportionate fair-share requirement. Any development outside the Existing TCEA that filed an application for a final development order prior to DULA designation that was processed with a condition that a proportionate fair-share agreement be signed may choose to enter into a proportionate fair-share agreement with the City to expedite the final development order. Alternatively, the owner/ developer may choose to wait on the final adoption of the ordinance associated with this petition and proceed under the Division 4. State-mandated Transportation Concurrency Exception Area section of the Code.
2. Application filed after DULA designation. Any development outside the Existing TCEA that files an application after the City was designated a DULA shall be processed under the proposed Division 4. State-mandated Transportation Concurrency Exception Area section of the Code. This section places state-mandated TCEA areas in zones for the purpose of outlining transportation mitigation strategies appropriate to the area. In some cases, properties were added to existing Zones A, B, or C. Three new zones have been created for other areas.
Zone D is the area west of I-75 that falls within city limits. The primary strategy in this area is support for the extension of SW 40th Boulevard from SW Archer Road to SW 47th Avenue to provide a parallel road facility for I-75 relief. Other strategies include mitigation support for the construction of a new or expanded bus maintenance/operations facility to allow expansion of the transit fleet (currently the Regional Transit System has extremely limited fleet expansion ability due to the lack of maintenance facilities).
Zone E is the northern area of the city that primarily consists of vacant lands distant from the city core. The primary transportation mobility strategy in this area involves the widening of SR 121 (the extension of NW 34th Street) past US 441 to CR 231. This strategy is appropriate because much of the vacant land shares the use of SR 121 with truck and industrial traffic in the area. Other strategies include mitigation support for the construction of a new or expanded bus maintenance/operations facility to allow expansion of the transit fleet (currently the Regional Transit System has extremely limited fleet expansion ability due to the lack of maintenance facilities).
Zone M contains the Butler Plaza and SW 20th Avenue annexed areas that are anticipated to be more densely and intensely developed with commercial and residential uses as part of the Butler Plaza expansion and the Urban Village overlay plan. Zone M is designated primarily as a multi-modal zone with strategies to support transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, and a more gridded street network in the area (including the extension of SW 62nd Boulevard and the construction of Hull Road as approved in Option M by the MTPO).
3. Development on annexed property without a City land use designation. Development on annexed property within the state-mandated TCEA that does not have a City land use designation (either pre- or post-DULA status) shall be regulated for concurrency in accordance with Future Land Use Element Objective 4.4 and its sub-policies and Section 171.062(2), which state that such developments shall continue to be subject to the County land use plan and county zoning regulations until such time as the City places its land use designation on the property. The County's transportation level of service standards and concurrency management procedures shall apply to these properties.
In addition to the zone designations and mitigation requirements, there are additional regulations that mirror rules in the Existing TCEA. Redevelopment credits are still emphasized in order to incentivize redevelopment over Greenfield development. There are special regulations for auto-oriented uses, design policies, streetscaping and landscaping requirements, and restrictions on excess parking.
This petition and ordinance will not have a direct impact on the provision of affordable housing. However, since it relates to the expansion of the TCEA, more affordable housing may become available as a result of changing the strict adherence to transportation concurrency requirements, which limits development potential in areas with roads not meeting adopted LOS standards.
Public notice was published in the Gainesville Sun on June 9, 2009. The Plan Board held a public hearing June 25, 2009. Planning Department staff recommended that the Plan Board approve the petition. The Plan Board, by a vote of 6-0, recommended that the City Commission approve Petition PZ-09-66 TCH.