Gainesville City Commission transfers parcels to GRACE Marketplace, rezones Old Terwilliger property

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the November 6 Gainesville City Commission meeting, Commissioners discussed their agreement to close a street for Santa Fe College, postponed a decision on improvements to Morningside Park, adopted a resolution to transfer two parcels to GRACE Marketplace, and rezoned the Old Terwilliger property.

Santa Fe License Agreement to close part of NW 5th Street

On September 18, Commissioners approved a license agreement that allowed Santa Fe College to close NW 5th Street between NW 3rd Avenue and NW 5th Avenue to serve as a closed area for students to test-drive vehicles used in the college’s Automotive Technology Training Center. At the October 23 General Policy Committee meeting, Commissioners asked for a more robust discussion of how these agreements are granted, particularly regarding public engagement.

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said that in this case, “the public was not involved or was not aware that it was coming forth… I would say to Santa Fe, you really, really need to be sure that you involve the community.”

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she learned from Santa Fe College representatives that they held a community engagement meeting, and six people attended. She asked how people were informed about the meeting. 

Commissioner Ed Book said the community engagement meeting happened after the licensing agreement was finalized. He pointed out that since the issue was not a zoning or land use item, the neighborhood workshop process did not apply, and he supported adding some requirements for this type of licensing agreement in the future. 

Commissioner Casey Willits made a motion to direct staff to bring back an amendment to the City’s real property policy that is consistent with the public notification process in the land development code. Duncan-Walker seconded the motion.

During public comment on the motion, four residents of the Pleasant Street neighborhood said the process should have required a neighborhood workshop; they also asked Commissioners to terminate the licensing agreement.

Commissioner Bryan Eastman responded, “It’s kind of a decision of — either there has to be a place to put these cars, or this has to be built up in [Santa Fe College’s] Northwest Campus. And so I love the idea of having a more urbanized Santa Fe downtown campus and having a little bit of flexibility with them, and at the same time, just feeling deeply uncomfortable at the idea of cutting off a road and having just a gate up there. So I’m happy to vote on the motion; I’ve had mixed feelings about this for a little while.”

The motion passed 6-0, with Commissioner James Ingle absent. 

In response to the people who had spoken, Mayor Harvey Ward said, “I understand that doesn’t make everybody happy. We never do… In this instance, I am not prepared to move forward [with terminating the licensing agreement].”

20-year Master Plan for Morningside Nature Center

After a 45-minute presentation about the 20-year Master Plan for Morningside Nature Center, Willits noted that the morning session had gone well into the usual lunch break and said, “I feel a little uncomfortable. I feel like we’re a little rushed right now.” He said the Master Plan involved “a lot of money” and reiterated his frequent request for a new park in his district (southwest Gainesville) and improvements to existing parks in his district. He continued, “This is a very big commitment in one area, which I’m not opposed to, but I’ve got to understand where this fits into the larger plan, to make sure we are achieving [access to nature] for all residents of the city, not just [Morningside Park].” He said he just wanted “a playground, a piece of playground equipment, and a paved parking space so people can access nature in my district.”

Duncan-Walker said she would also like to see an overall plan for parks so Commissioners could make decisions about spending while looking at the big picture.

Book also said he was “not prepared to vote” at that meeting: “This is going to have to be on a future agenda” where Commissioners can discuss how the budget for the Morningside Park Master Plan would impact other projects. 

Ward said he knew he would “disappoint some folks who I’m sure want to have a long conversation about this, but we’re about done with it for the day.” He proposed putting the Master Plan on a General Policy Committee or Special Meeting agenda “because we have punted this very item several times already, but in the very near future.” He said they would need the whole list of Wild Spaces Public Places projects to make a decision. 

General Public Comment

During the afternoon General Public Comment session, several people from the Fifth Avenue Neighborhood and Historical Association asked the City to reconsider designating 10th Street and 12th Street as one-way pairs. 

Declaring two parcels as surplus and conveying them to GRACE Marketplace

After a break, Commissioners voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution declaring City-owned parcels as surplus so they can be conveyed to GRACE Marketplace for the operation of a Continuum of Care facility. Willits made the motion to adopt the resolution, and Eastman seconded the motion. Commissioners Ingle and Chestnut were absent.

City Manager Andrew Persons said the property was given to the City “for the express purpose of operating a homeless shelter, emergency shelter, or Continuum of Care facility.” The transfer of the property to GRACE “comes with a reverter clause by which the property has to remain exclusively and perpetually a Continuum of Care facility. If ever it were to cease, the property would then revert back to the City for future use.”

Old Terwilliger property

The Commission also rezoned the Old Terwilliger property, owned by the School Board of Alachua County, from Education to Urban 6 on a vote of 5-0. Eastman made the motion, and Duncan-Walker seconded it. 

One-way pairs

At the end of the meeting, Commissioners asked staff to bring back information on the one-way pairs of 10th Street and 12th Street for a discussion in the near future. Ward said the community members who are concerned may or may not be satisfied with the Commission’s decision, “but we can promise to hear it.”

Chief Operating Officer Brian Singleton said the construction agreement for the two-way pairs is already signed, and subcontract awards are being made. He also said the project is funded by ARPA funds, and those funds can only be reallocated to Vision Zero projects that can be completed by the end of 2026. 

Annexation

Referring to his comments earlier in the meeting about GRU customers annexing into the city, Ward said, “It would be voluntary. I don’t want anybody to think we’re going to force it upon anyone, but it is a discussion whose time has come, I believe, and we’ll have much more discussion about that, going forward.”