The city of Newberry will observe a temporary ordinance change for road maintenance requirements on subdivided tracks of land and take back control of Champions Park from RADD Sports following unanimous votes by the City Commission on Monday. 

Staff said the interim zoning ordinance aimed to address whether owners of subdivided land parcels have to pave the property’s road and how the city would have them do that. 

Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez clarified that the subdivision ordinance applies to dividing a parcel into smaller sections as opposed to a subdivision of housing development. 

He described the interim zoning ordinance as a stress test for unadopted regulations. After one year, the ordinance expires but can be continued or stopped by the commission without needing another ordinance to do so. 

With Commissioner Donald Long absent, the commission determined the interim ordinance will require owners of plats subdivided seven to nine times to install a lime rock road and 10 subdivisions or more a paved road. Six and under can keep natural, all-weather roads so long as emergency vehicles can maintain access. 

Commissioner Mark Clark asked whether the ordinance could provide different requirements for families looking to subdivide a parcel over developers.  

City Manager Jordan Marlowe said while there’s no way to make that distinction, encouraging people to build homes on 5-acre tracks should kill a developer’s ability to buy up large parcels at one time. 

“We’re all looking at a crystal ball here and making the best guess that we can to preserve the character of the community to the best of our ability while respecting private property rights,” Marlowe said. 

The ordinance also removes the city’s current exemption of 5-acre subdivisions from planning requirements.  

Perez said the exemption directly conflicted with state law because the number of splits on a parcel of land determines whether it falls under planning requirements as opposed to its size.  

The ordinance is not retroactive in that it will not apply to tracks of land that have already been acquired and subdivided with houses prior to when the city adopted its comprehensive plan in November 1992. 

The City Commission also voted Monday to take back control of Champions Park after staff said the end of its lease with operator RADD Sports is approaching. 

No reason was given for the decision; however, Marlowe said the commission and community members advocated during a summer workshop for Champions Park management to come back under the city’s parks and recreation department.  

The workshop followed Newberry’s reallocation of $2 million in June to fix critical infrastructure needs at Champions Park, such as baseball field netting, uneven sidewalks and restroom renovations. 

Three different management companies, including RADD Sports, have overseen the park since the city partnered with Alachua County to open it in 2013. RADD Sports also manages the Alachua County Sports and Events Center. 

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.