Commission Agenda Item

MEETING DATE:  6/10/2019

SUBJECT:  Ordinance 19-30, First Reading: Site-Specific Amendment to the Official Zoning Atlas - A request by Clay Sweger, AICP, LEED-AP, of eda engineers-surveyors-planners, inc., applicant and agent for The Laser Investment Group, LLC, property owner, to amend the Official Zoning Atlas from Commercial Intensive (“CI”), Light and Warehouse Industrial (“ILW”) and Industrial Services and Manufacturing (“MP”) (Alachua County) to Corporate Park (“CP”) on the subject property on a ±82.40 acre subject property. Consisting of Parcel Numbers 05962-002-000, 05855-005-000, and a portion of 05855-004-000 (Quasi-Judicial Hearing).

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Staff recommends that the City Commission:

1) approve Ordinance 19-30 on first reading; and,

2) schedule second and final reading for June 24, 2019, upon making the following motion:

Based upon the competent substantial evidence presented at this hearing, the presentation before this Commission, and Staff’s recommendation, the City Commission finds the application to be consistent with the City of Alachua Comprehensive Plan and in compliance with the Land Development Regulations and approves Ordinance 19-30 on first reading, and schedules second and final reading for June 24, 2019. 

Summary

The proposed Site Specific Amendment to the Official Zoning Map (rezoning) is a request to amend the Official Zoning Atlas from Commercial Intensive (“CI”), Light and Warehouse Industrial (“ILW”) and Industrial Services and Manufacturing (“MP”) (Alachua County) to Corporate Park (“CP”) on the subject property.

The subject property currently has the Industrial, Commercial and Rural Employment Center (Alachua County) Future Land Use Map designations.  A companion application proposes an amendment to the City’s Comprehensive Plan that would amend the subject property to the Corporate Park Future Land Use designation. This application is currently under review by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity under the Expedited State Review process.

The Corporate Park (“CP”) Zone District is described as follows in Section 3.5.2 of the Land Development Regulations (LDRs):

CP, Corporate Park District.

(1) The CP District is established and intended to accommodate a range of research and development, technology and life sciences/biotechnology industries, office, supporting retail, and limited residential uses. By allowing a range of permitted uses, the CP District is intended to accommodate the development of "flex space" arrangements. Flex space allows a developer to establish different combinations of uses on a site over time.

(2) Clustered residential development criteria. Development within the Corporate Park zoning district that consists of greater than 100 acres of contiguous land may provide clustered residential development. The amount of residential development available on any property zoned Corporate Park is further limited by subsections (a) and (b) below and as set forth in Table 5.1-3.

(a) Clustered residential development:

(i) Consist of at least 60 percent of the total allowed residential units within the contiguous area zoned Corporate Park.

(ii) Must be developed at a net density of six to 12 dwelling units per acre.

(b) For purposes of calculating available residential density, the maximum number of dwelling units permitted in a contiguous area shall be determined by the acreage contained in the property in common ownership as of the effective date of the ordinance adopting the rezoning to Corporate Park.

At the May 14, 2019 Planning and Zoning Board hearing, the Board voted 3-0 in favor of transmitting the proposed rezoning application to the City Commission with a recommendation to approve.