Envision Alachua Task Force Meeting June 27, 2011 Welcome and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Envision Alachua Task Force Meeting

June 27, 2011

Welcome and Introductions

Meeting Agenda

I. Welcome and Introductions II. Orientation to the Envision Alachua Planning Process A. Task Force Purpose and Charge B. Operating Principles C. Meeting Schedule and Timeline III. A Brief History of Planning in Alachua County and the Gainesville Area IV. An Overview of Plum Creek Lands in East Alachua County: Opportunities and Constraints V. Task Force Member Expectations for Envision Alachua Process VI. Summary and Next Steps

Orientation to the Envision Alachua Planning Process

Task Force Purpose and Charge

The purpose of the Envision Alachua Task Force is to provide input into the visioning process for Plum Creek lands in Alachua County. The specific charge to this group is to:

• Advise on issues related to the economic, environmental

conservation and community aspects of Plum Creek lands in Alachua County

• Articulate key community planning and design principles

to guide the planning, development and conservation of Plum Creek lands in Alachua County;

Task Force Purpose and Charge

• Identify recommended strategies and actions

for addressing community concerns regarding the visioning process;

• Serve as a communication link

between the Plum Creek project team and the various community groups and agencies that are interested in county land use and development issues; and

• Provide input and feedback to the Plum Creek project

team on a draft and final visioning document that includes goals and planning principles to guide decisions related to Plum Creek lands in the county.

Operating Principles

The Envision Alachua Task Force will carry out its charge through a series of regularly scheduled, facilitated meetings. To ensure a useful and productive exchange of information, the Envision Alachua Task Force will conduct its work according to the following operating principles:

Operating Principles

• Transparency
• Balanced Dialogue
• Inclusivity
• Accessibility
• Respectful and Responsive Engagement
• Facilitated Meetings
• Meeting Documentation

Meeting Schedule and Timeline

Date Topics

1

Monday, June 27, 2011 6:00 – 9:00 pm  Orientation to the process  Organizing Framework  Opportunities and Constraints

2

Monday, July 25, 2011 6:00 – 9:00 pm  Environmental analysis  Potential sites

3

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 6:00 – 9:00 pm  Preliminary vision and goals

4

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 6:00 ‐9:00 pm  Plan principles

5

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 6:00 – 9:00 pm  Alternative land use scenarios

6

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 6:00 – 9:00 pm  Respond to community workshop comments  Finalize vision document

Brief History of Planning in Alachua County and the Gainesville Area

Geographic Progression

• Early settlement centered around

lakes, creeks, and wetland areas

• King Ferdinand of Spain establishes

the Arredondo Grant in 1817

• Many municipalities and

preservation areas have original settlers’ names

• William Bartram
• Accompanied traders from St. Johns River in

1744 to the Indian village near Micanopy and Alachua County

Instrumental Leaders and Innovators

• Native Communities
• Created unique cultures
• Established village complexes
• Increased social organization
• Developed cultivated agriculture
• Traded throughout the south east

Development Directions

• Agriculture and trade
• Gainesville became one of the large

cotton shipping stations in Florida

• Timber, citrus, vegetable, and tung oil

production drive local economy

Development Directions

• 1800’s Alachua County originally included modern day Gilchrist County
• Transportation routes define corridors
• Corridor crossings create places
• Places become our cities/towns

Geographic Progression

• Major urban settlement continues in Gainesville
• 1853: Seminary takes over Kingsbury Academy in

Ocala

• 1906: University established and

moves to Gainesville

Geographic Progression

• Political acknowledgment of environmental culture
• Population, stewards, and elected officials
• Local form definition begins in Gainesville
• William R. Thomas, Thomas Center
• John F. Seagle Building

Instrumental Leaders and Innovators

Leaders began to shape development patterns

• Andrew Sledd, UF’s 1st

President Oversaw UF’s move to Gainesville

• William Augustine Shands

Gainesville City Commissioner

• Florida State Senator
• Enhanced the Gainesville

community by advocating state‐funded med college

Instrumental Leaders and Innovators

• Local government Comprehensive Plans and Land Development Codes

support:

• Common open space preservation and mandatory set aside
• Federal Emergency Management Agency Floodplains
• National Wetlands Inventory
• Karst Sensitive Geology
• Strategic Ecosystems
• Floridan Aquifer

Community Policies

Community Policies

• Both Public and Private Efforts create our Sense of Place
• San Felasco Hammock State Preserve
• Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
• Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
• Austin Cary Memorial Forest
• Devils Millhopper State Park
• Morningside Nature Center
• Gum Root Swamp

Number 7 "Greenest Cities in America," DailyBeast.com 2011

Plans and Codes have reinforced environmental conservation patterns

Community Policies

Downtown Downtown to North Main to North Main

• N. Main Street
• N. Main Street

to 13 to 13th

th Street

Street N 13 N 13th

th Street to

Street to W 34 W 34th

th Street

Street W 34 W 34th

th Street to

Street to Archer Road Archer Road Archer Road to Archer Road to the Oaks Mall the Oaks Mall

• Successive development based on ‘new’
• fferings

Geographic Progression

Oaks Mall to Oaks Mall to SpringHill SpringHill

• Scientific innovators established worldwide legacy
• Promoting Enhanced Community Development
• Dr. James Robert Cade ‘Gatorade’

Instrumental Leaders and Innovators

• Education
• City College
• Santa Fe College
• University of Florida

“#14 Smartest City in America“, National Brainpower Index, Portfolio.com 2010

Development Directions

• Expand Biotech, Research &

Development

• Enhance local educational offerings
• Retain our educated generations
• Cultivate innovation economy
• Grow intellectual capital

University of Florida

Ranked #1 Public University for transferring research discoveries to the marketplace

Development Directions

Enterprise Zones Community Redevelopment Areas

Special Area Studies

Special Area Plans

Activity Centers

Community Policies

Regulatory requirements

• Strategic visioning efforts
• Metropolitan Transportation Planning

Organization, Transportation & Land Use

• Livable Community Reinvestment Plan
• Plan East Gainesville
• East Gainesville Development Task Force
• Strengthen heritage, define future
• Supportive of traditional urban form
• Promote sustainable future
• Grow innovation economy

Community Policies

“More incubators per capita than any other U.S. city”

• Bright minds, best place to be
• Community alignment
• Civic momentum
• No. 3 "Top Small College Towns for Real Estate

Investment," Nuwireinvestor.com 2007

Community Opportunities

• Sustainable future development pattern emerging
• Gainesville Technology Enterprise Center (GTEC)
• Council for Economic Outreach efforts
• Innovation Gainesville initiative
• Airport Industrial Flex Space
• Cade Museum

Industrial Flex Space

NO.1 "Top Tech Cities" in Florida, Popular Science Magazine 2005

Community Opportunities

Community Opportunities

Top 10 "Best Places to Live and Play: Cities" National Geographic Adventure Magazine 2007

• No. 10 "Best Places for Outdoor Activities"

Sperling's Best Places 2005

• No. 1 "Tree City USA"

National Arbor Day Foundation 1997

An Overview of Plum Creek Lands in East Alachua County: Existing Conditions

Plum Creek

• Timber
• Land & Real Estate
• Manufacturing
• Natural Resources
• Largest private land owner in the nation
• Approximately 7 million acres in 19 States
• Publicly Traded Real Estate Investment Trust

(REIT)

• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Certified &

Third Party Audits

A pa l a c h e e B a y POLK COLLIER LAKE LEVY MARION LEE BAY PALM BEACH MIAMI- DADE OSCEOLA HENDRY VOLUSIA TAYLOR DIXIE WALTON LEON CLAY GLADES DUVAL ORANGE BROWARD PASCO GULF ALACHUA LIBERTY JACKSON PUTNAM HIGHLANDS MONROE BAKER MARTIN CITRUS SANTA ROSA MANATEE HARDEE DESOTO MADISON NASSAU HILLSBOROUGH WAKULLA SUWANNEE ST. LUCIE CALHOUN HOLMES FRANKLIN GADSDEN LAFAYETTE HAMILTON CHARLOTTE HERNANDO BREVARD OKALOOSA COLUMBIA SUMTER OKEECHOBEE ST. JOHNS FLAGLER SARASOTA WASHINGTON INDIAN RIVER SEMINOLE PINELLAS

4 75 10 27

231 1 91

Miami Miami Tampa Tampa Hialeah Hialeah Orlando Orlando Holly- Holly- wood wood Cape Cape Coral Coral Clearwater Clearwater Tallahassee Tallahassee Jacksonville Jacksonville Coral Coral Springs Springs Pembroke Pembroke Pines Pines

• St. Petersburg
• St. Petersburg

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale

Palatka Palatka Gainesville Gainesville Lake Butler Lake Butler Gulf Gulf Hammock Hammock

• h

Acreage Plum Creek Office/Facility Plum Creek Property National Lands Employees: Contractors Employed: Customers/Mills: 22 36 53 Plum Creek: Forest Industry: Total Timberlands: 590,000 4,016,000 14,636,000 Legend Statistics

• 2001 Entry into Florida by Merger with The Timber Company (Georgia Pacific)
• 2004 Acquisition of Soterra Lands
• Approximately 590,000 acres of lands in 22 Counties of Florida
• 1st

Private landowner to enter into Conservation Easements.

• Leading Seller of Lands into Public Ownership

1970s – Waccasassa Bay State Preserve (17,300 ac.) 1980s – USFW Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (13,300 ac.) 1990s – Tiger Bay State Forest (4,300 ac.) and Bayard Point Conservation Area (2, 230 ac.) 2000s – Lake City Well Field (1,120 ac.) and Rice Creek Conservation Area 4,200 ac.) 2010s – Fowler’s Prairie (1,200 ac.) and Torreya State Park Addition (550 ac.)

Plum Creek In Florida

Grove Park Wildlife Management Area

Gopher Tortoise Habitat Conservation Easement

First in State under new FWCC Guidelines Phase I – 560 acres

Community Mixed Use Project – Gainesville 121 Project

Gainesville 121

• Approximately 65,000 acres in the County
• 24,000 acres under Conservation Easements
• Florida Headquarters in Gainesville Office
• Seller of Lands into Public Ownership
• Grove Park WMA
• Gopher Tortoise Species Habitat CE
• Community Development Project – SR 121

Plum Creek In Alachua County

• Economic Development
• Environment
• Community Values

Today and Tomorrow in Alachua County

Task Force Member Expectations and Desired Outcomes for Envision Alachua Process

Summary and Next Steps

Case Study Examples

Next Meeting and Plum Creek Lands Tour

• Wednesday

August 10 8:00 am to 12 noon

• Thursday

August 11 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm

• Saturday

August 13 8:00 am to 12 noon

Envision Alachua Task Force Meeting

June 27, 2011