Leon County committee advances charter amendment to study historic harms

A Leon County committee voted unanimously to move forward an amendment that would require periodic, public community-impact assessments of adverse conditions tied to historic public policies, after public comment highlighted legacy harms in neighborhoods such as Smoky Hollow.

Catherine Kurzweil, an FSU student and Tallahassee resident, urged the committee to add a "historic harms" question to the ballot, saying Smoky Hollow "was an 85 acre land, and it was a community in Tallahassee where black people lived and found community after Jim Crow laws and segregation" that was later split by the construction of Apalachee Parkway and damaged by a landfill and a gasification plant. Kurzweil told the panel she wanted county staff to research descendants and compensation for families harmed by those policies.

Thomas Spears, a committee member who spoke in favor of the amendment, cited environmental records and said the area later became a Superfund site: "the initial environmental investigations did not happen until 1985," and he added that the site was not officially declared clean "until 2019." He urged the committee to advance the amendment so county staff, with broader access to records, can identify other locations that may warrant investigation.

A staff member, Nikki Bridal, summarized the draft language and said it contains three primary components: establishing periodic community impact assessments of adverse conditions tied to historic laws, policies and practices; requiring those findings to be made publicly available; and directing the Board of County Commissioners to publicly review and respond to each assessment during a board meeting. Bridal also noted minor wording edits recommended by the county attorney and that the full draft appears as Attachment 1 in the committee materials.

Committee members asked technical questions about wording — whether to use "periodic" or "recurring" — and staff recommended consistent use of "periodic" in the charter language; the committee agreed it could still make final wording adjustments at the July 30 public hearing. Members also discussed briefing all county commissioners on the long-form language before the board considers the amendment; the committee was told the Board of County Commissioners will hear the measure on Aug. 17 and Election Day is Nov. 3.

With a quorum present the committee approved the consent calendar and minutes (a motion by Thomas Spears, seconded by a committee member) and later voted to adopt "Option 1" to advance the amendment; the motion passed unanimously. The committee set a third and final public hearing for July 30.

The committee's action does not itself change policy; it advances the draft language for further public review and for the county commission's consideration. The item returns to the committee on July 30 and to the Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 17.