The Gainesville City Commission will meet Thursday for its first regular meeting in June, voting to establish a special election for November, to set a summer schedule for RTS routes, to redevelop Morningside Nature Center and to approve new zoning near UF.  

The meeting will start at 10 a.m. in the City Hall Auditorium (200 East University Ave.) with a morning, afternoon and evening portion.  

In mid-May, the City Commission started the process to set a special election for November 2025. City Attorney Dan Nee will return with an ordinance that directs staff to move forward with the election. The ordinance will need two votes to be finalized—the first on Thursday and the second later in June. 

The special election would contain a referendum to amend Gainesville’s charter and eliminate the Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) Authority—the same question posed to voters in November 2024.  

Gainesville residents voted 73% to remove the GRU Authority, but litigation by the authority has prevented the referendum from being enacted. In April, an Alachua County judge ruled that the city has the right to amend its charter via a referendum but said the ballot language used was misleading.  

That decision is currently being appealed, but city leaders said at the May meeting that they didn’t want to wait.  

Proposed rezonings and land use changes 

The City Commission will vote on land use and rezoning requests for a 1.19-acre parcel on NW 16th Street and a 0.66-acre parcel on University Avenue across from Library West. 

The first parcel would change from Urban 4 to Urban 6 zoning, allowing a certain indoor recreational use currently prohibited. The second parcel would change from Urban 8 to a planned development, with allowances of up to 750 bedrooms and 14 stories in height. The plans show retail on the bottom floor with residential filling in the other stories.  

If approved on Thursday, both developments would need to submit development plans for approval. 

Morningside Nature Center 

The City Commission will hear a 20-year master plan for Morningside Nature Center that proposes a new Nature Center, a new Resource Education & Training Center and a second public entrance in the coming phases.  

The plan includes improvements to the Living History Farm, trails and needed infrastructure for the new buildings (a lift station and stormwater basin). The master plan anticipates a $6 million budget for the first phase.  

Commissioners will give feedback on the plan with a staff recommendation for approval. 

Summer RTS schedule 

For its summer schedule and reflecting changes in UF funding, RTS proposes replacing campus routes 122 and 127 with the UF Campus Connector Routes and reinstating route 118 for the fall.  

Within the city, RTS will combine several routes: 12, 34 and 35; 16 and 17; 20 and 21. Routes 5, 8, 15 and 43 will have reduced frequencies.  

In backup documents, RTS said the changes respond to funding availability, improve service efficiency and reflect service priorities. 

Persimmon Elementary  

The commission will also vote on a first reading for Persimmon Elementary School off NW 16th Boulevard. The plan board discussed the item in March.