Title
Proposed amendments to the "Design Guidelines Manual: Development of City of Gainesville Buildings" (B)
Explanation
The existing manual, previously adopted by the City Commission, calls for establishing a standing architectural review committee to review all City buildings. Formation of such a committee was proposed in order to provide architectural expertise to confirm conformance to the manual. The committee has not been established to date because the City has not begun new construction or rehabilitation projects since the manual was adopted. The two projects already underway at the time of adoption of this program were handled by an informal staff project team. At this time, staff recommends that the City Commission may wish to modify the guidelines to specify that the City Commission appoint an ad hoc committee for each individual building.
The City Commission also has referred to staff the issue of whether the guidelines should be provided to Alachua County for consideration of adoption by the County. Staff believes it is appropriate for Alachua County to adopt a design guidelines manual for County buildings, that tracks or is similar to the City guidelines, particularly when the building is constructed within an incorporated or urban area, with the following amendment. A provision should be added to the Sec. IV. "Other" section, to the effect that "Important natural areas (if any) on the site are conserved or mitigated, and incorporated into a walkable urban design for the site. These important natural areas are prominent site amenities that are to be protected through sensitive design techniques, or otherwise mitigated." The same provision should be added to the City guidelines also. (Note also that new County buildings such as the proposed courthouse are affected by the Traditional City ordinance if located within that area.) The County should also consider establishment of an architectural review committee to implement the gui...
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