Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Conservation Easement Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves revised preserve and future-land-use change at 1 Town Center despite EAB opposition
Summary
The board approved a site-plan amendment to reduce one preserve area and establish a new 0.7-acre preserve at 1 Town Center, and approved a concurrent future land use map amendment and conservation easement; votes were 5–2.
On June 5 the Planning and Zoning Board approved a developer request to relocate and redesignate an existing preserve area near Town Center Mall, approving both a site-plan amendment and a future land-use-map change for a new 0.7-acre preserve.
Senior planner Heather Waldstein told the board the application would reduce an existing 2.1-acre preserve area and create a new approximately 0.7-acre preserve area with plantings intended to restore pine flatwoods and other upland habitats. Staff recommended approval and described added conditions including a five-year monitoring and temporary irrigation program, replacement of certain proposed species, consultation with county and water-management agencies on pesticide use, and a courtesy presentation of educational signage to the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB).
Waldstein said the existing preserve had been significantly diminished over time and that the new preserve would restore diverse habitat, be protected by a conservation easement, and be redesignated as conservation on the future land use map. The project was controversial with the city’s EAB: staff noted the EAB voted to recommend denial (recorded as a 4–0 board vote at the EAB meeting) over concerns about the preserve’s size and location adjacent to a major roadway. The applicant, David Millage, told the board the site had a complex regulatory and plat history and said the submission included additional measures requested by the EAB; he said the relocation provides the city a clearer management plan and enforceable conservation easement.
Several nearby residents spoke in opposition at the public hearing, citing traffic, privacy and safety concerns and saying they had expected the area to remain a permanent preserve. Lynn Newberry, who said she lives across the street, said the change would prepare 1.4 acres for future development and could permit a seven-story building on the site. The board voted 5–2 in favor of both the land-use amendment and the related site plan; the no votes were cast by Commissioners Dornblazer and Salon.
