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Planning commission approves Flamingo Sports Center special exception with noise and buffer conditions
Summary
The Alachua County Planning Commission approved a special exception for the Flamingo Sports Center, a proposed 21-acre outdoor recreation facility on Southwest Archer Road, with conditions including a 10-foot acoustical wrap to achieve a 24 dB reduction and a 50-foot vegetative buffer; detailed traffic, septic and stormwater plans will be reviewed at development-plan stage.
The Alachua County Local Planning Agency and Planning Commission voted Nov. 20 to approve Z24-00007, a special exception that allows a planned outdoor recreation facility with multiple tennis and pickleball courts, a clubhouse, pavilion and accessory structures on about 21 acres at 9409 Southwest Archer Road outside the Gainesville urban cluster.
County staff recommended approval with conditions covering hours, lighting, parking and sound mitigation. Staff's written conditions call for a maximum 6,500 square feet of enclosed building area and require sound-mitigation measures including a minimum 10-foot-tall acoustical wrap manufactured to achieve at least a 24-decibel reduction at the fence line.
Clay Swager, a certified land planner representing the applicant, said the project reuses an older YMCA site and aims to be "a great facility" while addressing neighbors' concerns. "The acoustical screening ... is a minimum 10 foot tall fence with acoustic wraps designated to achieve a minimum sound attenuation of 24 decibels," Swager said during the presentation.
Neighbors and commissioners pressed staff and the applicant for more detail about traffic, septic capacity and the effectiveness of noise barriers. "My wife almost got t boned in our driveway tonight," Dave Larson, who identified himself as representing Celebration United Methodist Church, told the commission when explaining why the church sought party status. Larson said ongoing shared-driveway safety and maintenance are his primary concerns.
Staff and the applicant said traffic impacts, stormwater design and wastewater capacity must be addressed at the later development-plan review stage, when applicants submit engineering calculations, mobility-fee obligations and parking layouts. Principal planner Chris Dawson told commissioners that stormwater and wastewater standards "are applicable regardless of whether you're inside or outside the cluster" and must be demonstrated at development review.
The commission approved the special exception including staff recommendations and an additional condition offered by the applicant to pay for a wooden privacy fence along the east property line. Commissioners debated but did not approve proposed amendments to shorten Sunday hours or to add mandatory paving and additional signage; the main motion with the privacy-fence addition carried by voice vote.
Next steps: the applicant must submit a detailed development plan showing stormwater treatment, septic or alternative wastewater design, parking and the specific manufacturer specifications for the acoustical barrier that will be relied on to meet the 24 dB reduction. The commission's approval establishes the special-exception framework but does not authorize construction until the county approves subsequent development plans and any required permits.
