title
REZONING TO SIGNIFICANT ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES OVERLAY DISTRICT (B)
Ordinance No. 0-05-92, Petition No. 109ZON-05PB
An Ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, amending the Zoning Map Atlas by rezoning and imposing the Significant Ecological Communities Overlay District category on certain properties zoned "RSF-1: 3.5 units/acre single-family residential district", and "I-1: Limited industrial district"; consisting of approximately 358 acres, and generally located south of NE 53rd Avenue, east of NE 15th Street, north of NE 39th Avenue and west of Waldo Road; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an immediate effective date.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STAFF MEMORANDUM
On August 28, 2003, the City Plan Board made a final recommendation for a petition to the City Commission to establish a Significant Ecological Communities ordinance. The City Commission adopted this ordinance on second reading at its November 8, 2004, meeting. The ordinance establishes standards for protecting significant ecological communities within the City.
The next step necessary to implement this ordinance is to rezone parcels ranked "outstanding" or "high" (in terms of assessed environmental value) so that the Significant Ecological Communities regulations become an overlay to the land development regulations that apply to those parcels.
The subject property has been deemed "outstanding" by City Nature Operations staff, and is 358 acres in size. The property has split zoning and land use: single-family and industrial.
The Significant Ecological Communities Overlay Zoning District standards would operate in conjunction with underlying zoning district regulations for this property. The regulations of the underlying zoning districts would remain in effect and would be further regulated by the Overlay District standards. If the provisions of the Overlay District standards conflict with the underlying zoning, the provisions of the Overlay District would prevail.
Over the course of the next several months, staff will be presenting additional petitions for the Plan Board to consider regarding the remaining parcels that have been ranked "outstanding" or "high" by staff.
The Plan Board heard the petition and recommended that the City Commission approve the petition.
Public notice was published in the Gainesville Sun on July 5, 2005 and August 28, 2005. Letters were mailed to surrounding property owners on July 6, 2005 and August 26, 2005. The Plan Board held a public hearing July 21, 2005 and the City Commission held a public hearing September 12, 2005.
CITY ATTORNEY MEMORANDUM
The City Commission, at its meeting of September 12, 2005, authorized the city attorney's office to prepare and advertise the necessary ordinance rezoning and imposing the Significant Ecological Communities Overlay District on certain lands within the City of Gainesville.