High Springs commission rejects conditional use permit for 12-unit duplex project

The High Springs City Commission voted down Resolution 20‑26‑A on Aug. 13, 2026, rejecting a conditional use permit (CUP 25‑01) that would have allowed six duplex buildings with a total of 12 dwelling units on a 1.53‑acre parcel accessed from Northwest 210th Lane.

Sergio Cruz, the land planner for the applicant, told the commission the record now includes a geotechnical report, a traffic study and a planning‑level market impact analysis. “The project is expected to generate 82 daily trips with 6 AM peak hour trips and 6 PM peak hour trips,” Cruz said, and the traffic study concluded the site access operates at level‑of‑service A with no projected queue. He said soils borings found the seasonal high water table roughly 6 feet below grade and that landscape and buffering plans exceed minimum code requirements.

Residents and homeowners objected that the physical form—two‑story attached duplexes clustered on a single parcel—is inconsistent with the detached single‑family character of adjacent River Run Plantation. A letter entered into the record and signed by Lance Bridal urged the commission to weigh “character and existing land‑use patterns,” noting River Run’s documented pattern of single detached homes on individual lots. Hal Cohen, a River Run resident, called the proposal “wildly out of place” for a neighborhood of mostly 1‑acre lots.

Commission discussion focused on standard No. 2 of the land development code—compatibility with surrounding character—and on enforceable buffering. One commissioner said the revised elevations, removal of rear‑facing windows and a continuous landscape buffer helped the case; others said a 10‑foot buffer would not be adequate to mitigate a two‑story duplex cluster adjacent to existing homes. After deliberation the roll‑call vote was read: Mayor Miller — No; Vice Mayor Bloodsworth — No; Commissioner Grunder — Yes; Commissioner Howe — Yes; Commissioner White — No. The motion failed 2–3.

The application had been recommended for approval by the plan board with conditions addressing the western buffer. Community members asked commissioners either to deny the permit or defer it so the applicant could submit designs that create a more gradual transition to the neighborhood. The commission did not set a new hearing date for this item during the meeting.