title
Quasi-Judicial - Rezoning 1,778 Acres of Property Known as Plum Creek (B)
Ordinance No. 190534
An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, amending the Zoning Map Atlas by rezoning approximately 1778 acres of property generally located north of U.S. 441 and NW 74th Place, east and west of SR 121 and CR 231, and south of NW 121st Avenue, as more specifically described in this ordinance, from Alachua County Agriculture (A) district to City of Gainesville Agriculture (AGR) district; providing directions to the City Manager; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an effective date.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
STAFF REPORT
This ordinance amends the Zoning Map Atlas of the City of Gainesville by rezoning approximately 1,778 acres of property generally located north of U.S. 441 and NW 74th Place, east and west of SR 121 and CR 231, and south of NW 121st Avenue, as more specifically described in this ordinance, from Alachua County Agriculture (A) district to City of Gainesville Agriculture (AGR) district.
The southernmost portion of the property (approximately 460 acres) was annexed in 1992, and the remaining acreage was annexed in 2007. At the time of annexation the property had a future land use designation of Alachua County Rural/Agricultural and a zoning designation of Alachua County Agriculture. In 2009, the City adopted Ordinance No. 070447 and assigned the following four City land use designations with conditions to specified portions of the subject property: 1) Planned Use District (PUD) overlay, with an underlying land use designation of City Agriculture); 2) Single-Family; 3) Residential Low-Density; and 4) Conservation. This 2009 ordinance included a requirement that the subject property's owner timely apply for an obtain City Planned Development (PD) zoning on the PUD portion within 18 months of the effective date of the 2009 ordinance. If the property owner failed to meet that deadline, the 2009 ordinance mandated that the PUD overlay automatically becomes null and void and that portion of the subject property retains solely the underlying land use designation of City Agriculture. Upon four separate requests of the property owner, that 18-month PD zoning deadline was extended by the City Commission four times (Ordinance Nos. 100189 in 2010, 110700 in 2012, 150540 in 2016, and 170996 in 2018).
To date and since the subject property's annexation into the City in 1992 and 2007, City zoning has never been assigned to the subject property and therefore the property's zoning remains Alachua County Agriculture (enforced by the City). In addition, the subject property has never been developed and is currently being used by the property owner for agriculture/silviculture, and has been used for this purpose for the entirety of the time since its annexation into the City.
On July 18, 2019, and after expressing that significant changes have occurred regarding the subject property since the adoption of Ordinance No. 070447 over a decade ago (including amongst other things the adoption of significant revisions to the City's Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code and environmental regulations, and the significant alterations and inconsistencies with the delineation of wetlands and associated environmental areas on the subject property and its associated maps), the City Commission directed City staff to process and bring back to the City Commission an ordinance changing the subject property's land use designation to Agriculture, with an associated ordinance implementing the subject property's zoning from Alachua County Agriculture to City Agriculture. The City Plan Board held a public hearing on January 23, 2020, and voted to recommend denying this rezoning.
This ordinance requires two hearings and shall become effective when the amendment to the City of Gainesville Comprehensive Plan adopted by Ordinance No. 190533 becomes effective as provided therein.