The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 7 authorized staff to proceed with a package of recommended updates to the county’s Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) and Transit‑Oriented Development (TOD) design regulations, asking planners to return with draft ordinance language.

Christine Baresch, Development Review Manager in Growth Management, reviewed feedback from stakeholder workshops and a recent Urban3 fiscal analysis the county had commissioned. Baresch said the revision package is intended to reduce unnecessary complexity in phasing requirements, make minor plan adjustments easier for applicants and staff review, and emphasize the physical form and infrastructure needed to create walkable mixed‑use places. "We want the flexibility, but what we don't have is we don't know where they are going to focus that commercial," she said, explaining a proposal to require more clarity on Preliminary Development Plans (PDPs) about where commercial and other uses will be located to better plan infrastructure.

Why it matters: staff and consultants told the board that dense, walkable mixed‑use development patterns produce higher tax revenue per acre and are more adaptable over time than low‑density suburban forms. Revising the TND/TOD rules is meant to encourage that pattern while removing regulatory obstacles developers said were slowing or complicating redevelopment.

Key recommendations commissioners agreed to send forward:
- Simplify phasing requirements so conditions focus on infrastructure triggers (traffic, utilities) rather than rigid percentage mixes of uses.
- Allow more minor PDP changes to be approved administratively (Design Review Committee) so small adjustments do not require repeated board action.
- Prioritize mixed‑use outcomes by form rather than a strict vertical‑mix mandate that requires commercial under residential; staff recommended keeping multi‑story scale but allowing flexible placement of residential and nonresidential uses to improve feasibility.
- Create clearer rules for block coverage, utility stub‑outs and temporary uses so that early phases are marketable yet preserve the ability to meet final build‑out form.
- Explore a voluntary "main street" option within a TND/TOD: an applicant could designate a central, higher‑priority corridor with stricter frontage/building standards and an allowance for back‑of‑house service alleys to permit large users without undermining main‑street frontages.
- Adopt a tiered approach to auto‑centric uses and drive‑throughs: limit or prohibit drive‑throughs on main‑street frontages while allowing them in specific contexts and lower tiers that match the roadway and transit context.

Board discussion and public input: Commissioners asked staff to avoid rules that would make small local developers uneconomic and urged flexibility in sequencing commercial and residential phases so that projects remain feasible. Commissioner concerns focused on protecting walkability without imposing rigid requirements that prevent development at all. Several speakers from the development community — including Craig Fraser (CSW/MB) and Clay Swager (EDA) — supported the direction while asking for continued collaboration on details that affect project feasibility. "There's an opportunity there with the main street — you focus the priority spine of the project, and maybe you also look at adding some level of relief on some of the secondary streets," Fraser said.

Outcome: The board voted to proceed with the recommended updates and asked staff to return with draft code language for public hearings. The motion covers the list of items presented (phasing, minor changes, vertical mix/form, block coverage/utility stub‑outs, temporary uses, stormwater amenity language, glazing/facade flexibility, and the main‑street concept including back‑of‑house provisions), and also asked staff to consider thresholds and locations in the tiered approach to drive‑throughs.

Next steps: staff will draft ordinance language and bring it back for public hearings and an eventual ordinance advertisement. Staff said the package would include specific criteria for where drive‑throughs and other auto‑centric uses can be allowed, draft language for the main‑street option, and clearer standards for interim/temporary uses and utility stub‑outs to support later infill.