- The Gainesville City Commission voted to review historic buffer zones on University Avenue as it considers updating mobility fees for new developments.
- Gainesville plans to delay its state-required comprehensive plan, which has been in progress for seven years, with a new timeline expected after April.
- The proposed mobility fees would create four districts with different rates, potentially including previously exempt areas like downtown and East Gainesville.
The Gainesville City Commission voted to review the historic buffer zones along University Avenue as it considers updates to its mobility fee placed on new development on Thursday.
The city also prepares to delay its comprehensive plan, with staff expected to return with a new timeline following an initial April deadline. That comprehensive plan is required by the state and has been in the works for seven years. In December, commissioners aimed to hit the April deadline.
During the General Policy Committee, the city commissioners considered updating its mobility fee, creating four districts across Gainesville with different rates for new development.
These rates would be charged for all types of developments, from residential to commercial to recreational. The mobility fee program would pay for improvements within the zone where the funds were collected, paying for sidewalk, street and intersection improvements.
The city adopted these fees in two zones in 2002, but city growth forced additional zones to be added. However, one of the original zones that covers UF, downtown and East Gainesville was exempt from the fees.
Consultant Jonathan Paul said it’s a policy-level decision whether or not to begin implementing a fee in those areas.
“A lot of the development, redevelopment, you’ve seen around the University of Florida over the past 10 years . . .they have not been paying the fee to date,” Paul said.
The City Commission has broad latitude to amend the program. It could decide to keep exempting downtown and east Gainesville from the fees, or, like the consultant’s recommendation, the city could assess fees in those areas. The recommended fees would be lower for East Gainesville than for any other zone.
Only the funds collected in each zone can pay for projects in that zone.
The mobility fee wouldn’t apply to redevelopments, and Paul said the fee is usually applied to any project that needs a development plan submitted to the city.
Paul said Gainesville’s new fees, if approved, would remain lower than in Alachua County for nearly every land use category. He said Gainesville’s policy remains less restrictive than other areas of Florida.
Thursday’s presentation was informational, and the commissioners will return in February to discuss and act on policies for mobility fees and exemptions.
Mayor Harvey Ward said one topic that dovetails with mobility fees is why development continues to occur on the south side of University Avenue between NW 13th Street and NW 6th Street but not on the north side.
The north side abuts historic district buffer zones and Commissioner Bryan Eastman asked staff to analyze the zones and bring back any recommendations. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut and passed unanimously, with Commissioners James Ingle and Desmon Duncan-Walker absent.
Gainesville staff plan to pivot on its comprehensive plan, eliminating narrative and non-required sections. Forrest Eddleton, director of sustainable development, said the city plans to take those sections to create a more flexible implementation plan, versus including them in a state-required document with a set of standard expectations.
Eddleton told the City Plan Board that the delay could be up to 10 months.