Rural Event Center Gains Additional Approval

NEWBERRY – The Newberry Board of Adjustment (BOA) approved application SE 22-03, related to a Rural Event Center during the Feb. 28 meeting. Shabnam Rumpf-Monadizadeh, acting on behalf of her company Ecovibe, LLC, received permission to take her conceptual plan to the final design stage.

The property is located approximately .25 mile west of the intersection of Newberry Road and 170^th Street. Rumpf-Monadizadeh reviewed possible uses at the proposed Rural Event Center including a Yoga/meditation center, indoor and outdoor classrooms, nature trails, gardens, green houses, plant nursery, petting zoo, open space/play areas, food truck area, café and beer garden.

She said hours of operation would likely be 10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. However, the application was approved with permission to create three larger special events per year following notification to the City approximately two weeks prior to those events.

To alleviate concerns about parking, the owner explained that there was a one-acre drive loop on the south end of the property that could be used for overflow parking. Currently, the property will require a well and septic system to address water and waste discharge. However, as with all City developments, when water and sewer lines are located within 800 feet of the property, the property owner will have one year to hook up to the City systems.

Planning and Economic Development Director Bryan Thomas explained that FDOT would not require modifications for traffic flow as the number of expected trips did not come up to the minimum amount required for such action. He also pointed out that when the actual site plan was developed, the plan would again be heard by the BOA for final approval. Also, as part of the approval process, the application would be reviewed one year after the Special Event Center was fully operational. If there are no problems or complaints at that time, the BOA could change the next review period to five years, as is routinely done with other Special Exception events.

Should the property owner choose to sell, the Special Exception would not automatically be granted to the buyer unless they were going to continue with the same type of business. At that time, the BOA would decide whether to grant the new owner the same Special Exception status.

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