Divided Newberry Commission Approves 220-Acre Development

NEWBERRY ‒ By a narrow margin, the City of Newberry Commission approved a 220-acre development that at build out will include over 600 homes and 140,000 square feet of commercial space. First reading of the ordinance to rezone the 220 +/- acres from Agricultural (A) to Planned Development (PD) was the most discussed item at the Newberry City Commission’s Feb. 13 meeting. The property is currently owned by Gary Weseman – Tanglewood Properties of Gainesville LLC.

The application was brought on behalf of the owner by Gerry Dedenbach of Causseaux, Hewett and Walpole, Inc. (CHW), who addressed the Commission during the quasi-judicial hearing.

Dedenbach presented a four-phased plan for development, which is to occur over a 20-year period. The project is expected to include 636 detached and attached homes and 140,000 square feet of commercial properties. The property is located south of West Newberry Road/State Road 26 and west of Southwest 202^nd Street.

A small amount of commercial development will be included in Phase One of the development with a larger portion of commercial development to occur in Phases three and four. The developer will install a municipal water tower on the property.

“A homeowners association is planned to take care of maintenance of the entrance and open areas,” said Dedenbach. “A commercial area association will be created to maintain the commercial areas as well.”

The water management district will require all water to be addressed within the development, Dedenbach explained. Notifying potential homebuyers of the location of Tropic Traditions Nursery, located next to Phase One of the development, as well as the possibility of agricultural smells, use of pesticides and fertilizers and the location of the nearby mine would all be included in the residential homebuyer’s information and final paperwork, he said.

City Manager Mike New addressed concerns about how and when commercial development would take place by suggesting that commercial development should occur when 75 percent of the residential properties in each phase were under contract.

The rezoning application was approved by a vote of 3 – 2 with Commissioners Marty Farnsworth and Tony Mazon in dissent.

Second reading of an ordinance to change the Future Land Use Map classification from Agriculture to Planned Development on the property was also approved by a 3 – 2 vote with Commissioners Marty Farnsworth and Tony Mazon in dissent.

Public Facilities Zoning District

The Newberry City Commission will now have final approval authority on some projects. Newberry has established a Public Facilities “PF” zoning district to align existing and proposed public buildings and uses with the public future land use classification.

The PF classification consists of areas which are used for public buildings and grounds, other public facilities including sewer facilities, solid waste facilities, drainage facilities and potable water facilities, public health facilities, solar energy facilities (commonly referred to as solar farms) and educational uses.

“The proposed text amendment modifies the site and development plan process to require City Commission, in lieu of the Board of Adjustment, approval of proposed development within the Public Facilities zoning district,” said City of Newberry Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez.

The Planning and Zoning Board will still serve as a recommending body. This allows the City Commission to have final approval authority on City projects which may have budgetary implications and history, and development by other governmental agencies and entities such as county, state, and federal. This district may only be applied to government owned or leased land which serves a public purpose.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Design

Newberry is one step closer to a new wastewater treatment plant facility. Assistant City Manager Dallas Lee presented the ranking results of seven firms that responded to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for design engineering services for the facility. The highest-ranked firm was Adkins North America, Inc., Tampa. The Commission authorized the city manager to begin negotiations with Adkins to enter into an agreement for engineering design services. Should the negotiation not be successful, the city manager is authorized to begin negotiating with the second ranked firm.

Wild Spaces Funding

The Newberry City Commission has weighed in on how the Wild Spaces Public Places (WSPP) one percent surtax should be divided between Alachua County’s nine municipalities. The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved the WSPP surtax initiative in 2022, which authorized a $3 million grant for all cities to share. The authorization did not identify actual funding levels for each city, although the City of Gainesville is slated to receive an additional $3 million above any additional distribution of the shared $3 million.

County commissioners indicated they would consider a unanimous agreement by the nine cities as to how to divide the funds. The cities met several times to discuss and developed five different methods for distributing the funds. Although the cities have not reached unanimous agreement, allocation option four – division of funds equally at $333,333 to each city, was the consensus.

There was also support for allocation option five as it would be a more equitable division of funds with the eight smaller cities receiving $375,000 each if the City of Gainesville were to opt out of receiving an additional portion of the shared $3 million.

The Newberry City Commission voted unanimously for allocation option five, but asked that the resolution be written to accept allocation four as a second preference.

The next City Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m.

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