Board/Committee Agenda Item

MEETING DATE:  3/10/2020

SUBJECT:  Special Exception Permit - Tara Baywood – Townhouses: A request by Chistopher Gmuer, P.E., of Gmuer Engineering, LLC, applicant and agent for Alachua Development Co, LLC, property owner, for consideration of a Special Exception Permit to allow townhouses in the Residential Single Family-6 ("RSF-6") zoning district related to the proposed Tara Baywood Preliminary Plat,; Consisting of a portion of Tax Parcel Number 03067-006-000; FLUM: Medium Density Residential; Zoning: Residential Single Family - 6 ("RSF-6").

PREPARED BY:  Adam Hall, AICP

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Staff recommends that the Planning & Zoning Board approve the Special Exception Permit for townhouses in the RSF-6 zoning district, upon making the following motion:

Based upon the competent substantial evidence presented at this hearing, the presentation before this Board, and Staff’s recommendation, this Board finds the application to be consistent with the City of Alachua Comprehensive Plan and in compliance with the Land Development Regulations and approves the Special Exception Permit for townhouses in the RSF-6 zoning district for the Tara Baywood preliminary plat, subject to the two (2) conditions provided in Exhibit “A” and located on page 14 of the Staff Report.  

Summary

This application is a request by Christopher Gmuer, P.E., of Gmuer Engineering, LLC., applicant and agent for Alachua Development Co, LLC ., property owner, for consideration of a Special Exception Permit for to allow townhouses in the RSF-6  (Residential Single Family- 6) zoning district related to the Tara Baywood Preliminary Plat.

Table 4.1-1 of the City’s Land Development Regulations (LDRs) establishes the uses permitted within each zoning district. Townhouses are permitted by Special Exception Permit in the RSF-6 (Residential Single Family -6) zoning district.

Section 2.4.4(A) of the City’s LDRs states that uses that require a Special Exception Permit are those which are, “…generally compatible with the other uses permitted in a zone district, but require individual review of their location, design, configuration, density, intensity, and public facility impact to determine the appropriateness of the use on any particular site in the district and their compatibility with adjacent uses.”  Once a Special Exception is granted, the approval shall run with the land and shall not be affected by a change in ownership, unless specifically conditioned as part of the approval.

Townhouses are subject to Use-Specific Standards provided in Section 4.3.1(A)(3) of the City’s LDRs. An analysis of this application’s compliance with the standards established in Section 4.3.1(A)(3) is provided within this report.

This Special Exception Permit application is a companion application to an application for the Tara Baywood Preliminary Plat.