Seth Johnson
The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted Tuesday on how the city of Gainesville will mitigate wetland impacts at its Eastside Health and Economic Development Initiative (EHEDI) off Hawthorne Road.
Because of site challenges and the importance of the project, the BOCC voted 4-0 to enact staff’s recommendations that lead to the city paying $108,852 in wetland mitigation to a site in Marion County.
UF’s Eastside Urgent Care Clinic broke ground in June, and the city of Gainesville plans to build a complement of amenities at the location to fill out the EHEDI vision—economic development east of Main Street.
The 22-acre site, owned by the city except for the urgent care clinic, contains wetlands not originally included in the concept plan. The city bought an adjacent parcel that added wetlands, and development plans will encroach on the wetlands, forcing mitigation.
Mark Brown, the county’s natural resources program manager, presented three options of how county staff and the city tried to work through alternatives to minimize impacts and preserve the wetlands—around 1.22 acres of forested wetland habitat with 1.88 acres of wetlands buffer.
Option one would move a stormwater basin underneath a Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) easement where power lines run above and would also rearrange building placement.
But, GRU doesn’t allow stormwater basins underneath its power lines. Robert Walpole, president of CHW Professional Consultants and a contractor for the city, said other utilities, including Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light, have the same policy.
Option two would redraw the southeastern stormwater basin to include a section of high-quality wetlands. Under the plan, the city would need to dig a deep basin that would throw off the basins ability to retain seepage hydrology during the dry season.
Option three places the entire high-quality wetland within the southeastern stormwater basin. This plan uses a smaller area of wetlands overall, meaning water will stay on the surface of the stormwater basin for longer periods.
“In order to try to save that portion, then it just becomes too many factors that result in either the wetlands receiving too little or too much water,” Brown said.
He added that whether the site saves half an acre of wetlands or even a full acre, the area will be surrounded by pavement, cutting off wildlife access and making it a “relic of what historically was present.”
The southern portion of the EHEDI site will have around 80% impervious surface, Brown said.
As a result of the hydrological challenges, the number of facilities proposed for the site and Gainesville’s demonstration of a “public interest” defined in state law, the county staff recommended that the city pay $108,852 for wetland mitigation at the Mill Creek Mitigation Bank in Marion County.
Brown said neither onsite improvement nor offsite improvements within the city are available right now. The BOCC allowed the city to pay for improvements at the Mill Creek site in 2021 as well for its SW 62nd Boulevard extension project.
Brown added that he doesn’t think BOCC approval will lead to developers cramming sites with more facilities and bypassing wetland protection. He said developers know the county considers those impacts first.
Commissioner Ken Cornell said the county typically requires a developer to start by protecting natural resources and then work buildings into the plan. With a 22-acre site and only 1.2 acres of wetlands, he said mitigation shouldn’t have been a problem.
Cornell said the city is trying to squeeze buildings into the site, resulting in wetlands loss.
“It really bums me out that not only did we add so many uses to this site that we have to get rid of the wetlands, but we acquired the wetlands to add all these uses,” Cornell said.
Cornell said a city site with fewer uses doesn’t mean a bad project. It might be better, he said, and use multiple stories.
Cornell also asked what the city planned to use the buildings for.
Phil Mann, GNV’s special adviser for infrastructure and capital projects, said the city has spoken with the community on additional services at the EHEDI site. An RTS transfer station is already planned, but Mann said the City Commission hasn’t decided yet.
Mann said city staff have heard options like a dentist office, bank and other mixed-use space. He said some workforce housing would be available above these spaces. He pointed out Magnolia Parke on NW 39th Avenue as a model.
Cornell said he wouldn’t want to see any affordable housing or subsidized housing on the site because of a county policy change. The county stopped an affordable housing project in December 2022 and implemented a new policy to build new housing projects west of Main Street.
Mann said he couldn’t speak for the commission, but the plan lacks affordable housing at the moment. The workforce housing would aim for nurses, RTS employees or others who will soon fill jobs on the EHEDI site.
“To me, having that mix of housing—so that these places really do become live or play spaces—makes a lot of sense as well, and I would hope that that would be a priority,” BOCC Chair Anna Prizzia said.
The BOCC voted to not oppose housing if it is supported by the community and City Commission.