Newberry City Commission forwards land use change for NC Ranch development to the State for approval

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN
NEWBERRY, Fla. – At a December 12 Special Meeting, the Newberry City Commission heard a first reading of an ordinance amending the future land use map in the Comprehensive Plan to change approximately 1,293 acres from Agricultural to Planned Development.
Mayor Jordan Marlowe began by giving a simplified explanation before turning the presentation over to staff: “I think I can explain this in a way that I might be able to understand it. We’re not doing rezoning tonight. All that’s on the agenda tonight is future land use. Future land use. from the 20,000-foot level, is ‘Do I see commercial in this area at some point in time? Do I see residential in this area at some point in time?’ We’re not changing any rezoning tonight. That’s not on the agenda. All that’s on the agenda tonight is, ‘In this area of Newberry, how do we envision that area to grow at some point in time?’ So that’s what future land use is. That’s the only thing that’s on the agenda tonight.”
Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez gave an overview of the process and the steps that have already been taken. He said staff had two goals for the meeting: amending the future land use map and also passing a text amendment, establishing clear guidance and a plan for the NC Ranch project. The third goal, rezoning, is not yet ready for its first reading, Perez said.
Perez mentioned that the Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the NC Ranch land use and zoning changes on October 25 (read our story here, which includes more details about the planned development), and the text amendment was written during a Planning and Zoning Board meeting on December 4. If the future land use map amendment and text amendment are passed on first reading, Perez said, they will be transmitted to the Florida Department of Commerce, and City staff will continue to work on the rezoning petition, with a first reading planned for the near future. Then they will have second readings of all three petitions during a single meeting in February or March, Perez said.
Echoing earlier presentations, Perez explained that the 1,293-acre site is to be developed over 50 years at a rate of approximately 100 homes per year. In total, there will be 3,875 single family homes, 125 attached units, and 500 multi-family units. There will be 700,000 square feet of commercial space, including a shopping center, medical office, and self-storage warehouse. Additionally, there will be 250 Assisted Living Facility beds. The slide below shows the number of different types of homes planned for construction over ranges of years.

Perez explained that the historic and current uses for the property are the same: pasture, silviculture (trees), and field crops. He said the land lies within the designated Urban Service Area, an area available for urban and suburban development with planned access to utilities.
Perez listed some of the items included in the text amendment, which gives protections to the City: a 50-year time horizon, a residential density of less than 4 dwellings per acre, non-residential/commercial areas, a mixed-use core, protections for the rural edges of the property, and standards for the implementation of public facilities.
Perez displayed the following slide, which lists the anticipated areas of increased infrastructure demand as the project grows and some ways to meet those demands.

In response to a question from Mayor Marlowe, Perez said that the Commission will be provided with reports from the developer every two years, and “It’s a phased development, so each phase needs to go through an approval process… You’re going to have a master plan community that has to come in through phases over the next 50 years.”
Marlowe emphasized the need to deal with the School Board directly, to avoid any miscommunication about the project.
Perez said the recommended action is to approve the motion and transmit the petition to the Florida Department of Commerce for expedited review.
Frances Marino, a professional planner consultant hired by the City, gave her report and findings about the proposed NC Ranch: “I’ve been working as a professional planner for over 37 years in the State of Florida. In that time, I’ve worked for local governments. I’ve been a staff person in local governments, a planning director for local government. I’ve been a consultant for cities and counties and private developers. I’ve written comprehensive plans, plan amendments, plan policies, land development regulations, and I’ve done entitlements for very-large-scale developments, much larger than the one you’re dealing with tonight. In addition, I have extended experience with the planning horizon that’s beyond 50 years. I drafted Sarasota 2050’s 50-year planning horizon. It was the first one in the state to get adopted with a 50-year planning horizon. I also drafted Smart Charlotte, Charlotte County’s 2050 comprehensive plan. So I think the things that you have in front of you tonight, a very-large-scale development with a longer planning horizon–it’s something that you haven’t done before in the city, but it’s something I’ve been doing for a really long time.”
Marlowe stopped her and said he wanted to applaud the staff for hiring her to keep them from making any possible mistakes on such an important project.
Marino continued, “[The Urban Service Area] is a very clear indication about ‘This is where I want to look at Urban Development.’ So to put it really simply, when I look at this, I’m saying, ‘Does it meet that?’ Yes, this is a project that’s located in your city limits. It’s inside the Urban Service Area. It’s the area you say [you] want to grow and develop… And secondly, it does have that companion text amendment. So in addition to being a place where you want growth, the applicant has submitted a text amendment that says how that happens.”
Marino finished by saying she found no compatibility issues and the proposed amendments are consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Commissioner Tim Marden asked Marino if she was comfortable with the talent level of the staff and also the developers. She answered, “(I’m) surprised and impressed in terms of the amount of staff that you have here. It’s a small town, and, frankly, I do a lot of private entitlements in towns of this size that have no staff. They outsource everything. They use outside consultants, and that’s a real challenge. You have in-house staff who have a lot of experience and talent.”
Gerry Dedenbach of CHW Professional Consultants and developer Tripp Norfleet spoke, both reiterating points made at the Planning and Zoning Board meetings. Norfleet emphasized that he wants the project to look good, be clean, be safe, and be something to be proud of. He said he wants to make it possible for young people to stay in Newberry and work instead of having to work elsewhere once they finish their education.
Several members of the public spoke, with a strong majority in favor of the development; jobs and opportunity were cited by many as important considerations. Speakers who did not favor the development expressed concerns about traffic and roads, and others mentioned the inconvenience and dust from constant construction.
Commissioner Mark Clark made a motion to pass the future land use map amendment, and Commissioner Rick Coleman seconded the motion. Commissioner Tony Mazon asked to amend the motion to require a town hall neighborhood meeting before proceeding with rezoning. Marlowe explained that the special meeting was the equivalent of a town hall. Marden said a town hall sounded like a good idea, but he wanted to keep the motion simple. Mazon’s request to amend the existing motion failed for lack of a second. The original motion passed unanimously.
Perez then introduced the text amendment to the future land use amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. Perez had discussed the text amendment in his earlier presentation, and he recommended approving and transmitting it to the State, together with the previous ordinance. No members of the public wished to speak.
Marden made a motion to pass the text amendment, and Coleman seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Welcome to Orlando…..
People of Newberry and west Alachua County better wake up as these people have big plans to forever change Newberry to something none of us will recognize. Development will begat development. They promise these will be small changes but incrementally it will change everything. Some people will get rich and benefit from this but by far most of us will just watch our beautiful little town grow into a suburban nightmare.
All the critical infrastructure including
k-12 schools need to be ready before this happens. If not it’s always lagging way behind the development that is leading the way.
For an example in your Sister City High Springs the new 2,000 homes getting ready to begin is definitely not ready.
The plan currently is to bus all students over to open seats in Gainesville. The open seats are in crime ridden area and all the of the Elementary schools listed just again graded out as “F” schools.Hint, there is a reason they have open seats.
Let me ask you this simple question? You just bought a new $250k and up home and your children have up to 2 hours a day bus ride to a failing school where gun fire around it is common? That’s what the seller or realtor are leaving out of the sales pitch.
The developer on the HS site has offer 25 acres in a low flood prone elevation to the school system in Alachua County to build on. The absolutely lowest value location that will need a great deal of build up to even put down a foundation! Next major problem the school system is flat out of any construction or bond opportunities for at least 8 more years!
Ask more questions and secure iron tight guarantees on this.
Alachua, Newberry where have all the rural towns gone? Big develoments are ruining Alachua County and it’s cities. Vote these people out!! Save your towns.
Absolutely and here in Gainesville we have to try and beat back this UN model city / smart city / 15 minute city mess. The actual name being used here is New American City. UF and City have been working together quietly for years by wiping out the areas adjacent to UF to prep for redevelopment.
https://coo.ufl.edu/strategic-development-plan-unveiled/
Here’s a photo of Eastman “Unveiling the “New American City” initiative as a UF Strategic Plan Steering Committee Member 2016”
https://bryaneastman.com/about