Key Points
Alachua residents must wait until the new year to speak on a special exception permit for the Tara April development after the city’s Planning and Zoning Board granted the applicant a continuance during a regular meeting on Tuesday.
The unanimously approved continuance will postpone the hearing for the permit until Jan. 13.
Tara April is one piece of a five-prong development plan that includes more than 1,000 homes and commercial components. The project has received intense scrutiny from Alachua residents and the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, who set aside $1 million in 2024 for any lawsuits and legal experts needed to oppose the project.
Find a full timeline of the Tara developments here.
Tuesday’s continuance enraged some public commentors, who argued with the board that the continuance is the second time the permit has been delayed. In September, Alachua staff removed it from a meeting agenda without a future meeting date.
If approved, the stormwater infrastructure proposed for the Tara April property would make way for new development near Mill Creek Sink, a sinkhole which connects to an underground karst cave system and feeds into the Floridan aquifer.
The applicant, Tara Forrest LLC., sent an email requesting the continuance at 6:20 p.m. on Monday, the night before Tuesday’s meeting.
The board justified the delayed hearing by citing the city’s Land Development Regulations that applicants are allowed one continuance. Alachua City Attorney Scott Walker said the September delay didn’t constitute the applicant’s one continuance.
Tara Forest LLC. requested the application return at the Dec. 9 next meeting, and Board member Virginia Johns initially proposed a motion to allow the request.
But Alachua County’s Assistant County Manager Missy Daniels, who represented the county as an effected party, said the date conflicted with a county hearing and asked the board to set a different date.
Residents agreed with Daniels and said they’d want to attend both the county hearing and the Alachua meeting.
Editor’s note: This story was underwritten by a grant from the Rural Reporting Initiative at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. To learn more or get involved, click here.
