title
TEXT CHANGE AND REZONING - SOUTHEAST GAINESVILLE RENAISSANCE INITIATIVE (SEGRI) SPECIAL AREA PLAN (B)
Ordinance No. 090483; Petition No. PZ-09-02TCH & Petition No. PZ-09-03ZON
An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, rezoning certain property and amending the Land Development Code in order to repeal the Five Points Special Area Plan and create and impose the Southeast Gainesville Renaissance Initiative (SEGRI) Special Area Plan; by repealing the regulations for the Five Points Special Area Plan as set forth in Appendix A, Section 8 of the Land Development Code; amending the zoning map atlas to remove the Five Points Overlay Zoning District from certain properties (as imposed by Ordinance No. 050162); by creating new regulations hereinafter known as the Special Area Plan for Southeast Gainesville Renaissance Initiative (SEGRI); by rezoning (by imposing the SEGRI Overlay Zoning District) on certain property generally located in the Five Points area and South of University Avenue and East of Main Street as more specifically described in this ordinance; providing directions to the City Manager; providing directions to the codifier; providing a severability clause; providing for operation to pending applications for development order; and providing an immediate effective date.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT
This ordinance consolidates Petition No. PZ-09-02TCH, a text change amendment to the Land Development Code to create Special Area Plan (SAP) regulations for the Southeast Gainesville Renaissance Initiative (SEGRI) area; and Petition No. PZ-09-03ZON, an amendment to the Zoning Map Atlas to rezoning certain property to apply the SEGRI SAP as an overlay zoning district.
Sections 1 and 3 of the ordinance implement the necessary text changes to the Land Development Code by repealing the existing regulations for the Five Points SAP and imposing new regulations for the SEGRI SAP. Sections 2 and 4 of the ordinance implement the necessary zoning changes by removing the Five Points SAP overlay zoning district from certain properties (as was imposed by Ordinance No. 050162) and by imposing the new SEGRI SAP overlay zoning on certain properties as described in the ordinance.
The new SEGRI SAP covers approximately 930 acres (which includes the Five Points area) within a defined area of southeast Gainesville. SEGRI is a planning effort that expands the implementation of Plan East Gainesville, a study adopted by the Gainesville City Commission in 2003.
Development of the SEGRI SAP began with the Five Points SAP, which was focused on the commercial core or "downtown" of east Gainesville, around the Waldo Road and East University Avenue intersection. The existing Five Points SAP was adopted in 2005 and in 2006, the City Commission approved Petition 24TCH-06 PB (Legistar No. 051020) which was to create an overlay for an expanded five points area. However, Petition 24TCH-06PB was not brought to ordinance stage, as a larger SEGRI overlay district began to be considered. The focus then shifted to the larger area including nearby neighborhoods, and this broader planning initiative resulted in additional planning considerations.
Key development areas within the SEGRI SAP area include the intersection of Waldo Road and East University Avenue; the Five Points area; Gainesville Technology Enterprise Center, a business incubator supported by the City's Economic Development Department; Lincoln Middle School and Williams Elementary School; and the former Kennedy Homes site. SEGRI also includes several neighborhood associations, including North Lincoln Heights, Lincoln Estates, Sugarhill, Southeast Evergreen Trails, and portions of the Springhill and Duval neighborhoods.
The SEGRI SAP is an overlay zoning district. It establishes additional regulations that guide architectural form and aesthetics, parking and street design, sidewalks, and landscaping for new development and redevelopment. The SEGRI SAP regulates commercial, office, mixed-use and multi-family development, including single family attached. It does not regulate industrial educational services, agriculture, public facilities and single-family detached development.
The goal of these efforts is to ensure high-quality residential development, limit sprawl and traffic congestion, and improve neighborhood, commercial and retail opportunities in east Gainesville. The southeast Gainesville community was heavily involved in meetings and workshops to develop the SEGRI SAP.
Public notice was published in the Gainesville Sun on September 8, 2009. On September 4, 2009, the Plan Board heard the petition and by a vote of 7-0, recommended the City Commission approve the petition. On November 5, 2009, the City Commission approved the petition by a vote of 7-0, conditioned on an amendment as follows: "On-street parking is encouraged; such parking, if feasible, can be counted towards a project's total required parking spaces." Since that time, the petitions and draft ordinance have undergone extensive review by City staff and Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency staff to ensure that the ordinance will effectively implement, and not impede, the community vision for development and redevelopment in the SEGRI area. In addition, provision has been made to allow applications for development orders pending as of the effective date of this ordinance to continue to be processed under current regulations.
CITY ATTORNEY MEMORANDUM
As described above, this ordinance:
- subsumes Petition 24TCH-06 PB (Legistar No. 051020) which was intended to create an overlay for an expanded five points area; but such expanded area is now included in this SEGRI SAP;
- removes the Five Points SAP overlay zoning district from certain properties (as was imposed by Ordinance No. 050162);
- repeals the existing Five Points Special Area Plan in the Land Development Code; and
- consolidates Petition No. PZ-09-02TCH (SEGRI SAP regulations) and Petition No. PZ-09-03ZON (rezoning to impose the SEGRI overlay zoning district).
- any pending application for development order may continue to be processed under the current regulations.
Should this ordinance pass on first reading, second and final reading will be held on April 7, 2011.