Newberry Home Growth Continues, Tanglewood and Magnolia Acres Advance

NEWBERRY – The Newberry Planning and Zoning Board met on Nov. 6 to consider four issues. All four items received unanimous approval and are being recommended to the City Commission for consideration at the Nov. 27 Regular City Commission meeting.

The Planning and Zoning Board conducted a legislative public hearing to consider an application by I S Property Holdings, LLC to amend 0.28 +/- acres from Residential Low Density to Commercial on a site formally known as the Cold Storage property, located at Northwest 254^th Street and Northwest 1^st Avenue. Although the property was zoned Residential, it has been used as Commercial property. This request is to formalize the Future Land Use Plan Map to coincide with the property’s actual use.

There was no mention of what the owner intends to do with the property, but the change is being requested at this time because the owner told the City they would like to begin development.

The Board also conducted three quasi-judicial public hearings, including a request to rezone the City Hall and Cold Storage properties from Residential, Single-Family (RSF-2) and Commercial, Central Business District (C-CBD) to Public Facilities (PF) and Commercial, Central Business District (C-CBD) on the 1.93 +/- acre site. The property is located at 25440 West Newberry Road and 98 Northwest 254 Street.

Newberry Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez said the intent was to align the zoning districts with their existing uses. As the Cold Storage property was to be rezoned, it seemed reasonable to rezone the entire block at the same time. Board members agreed and unanimously authorized approval of the request.

In other business, Tanglewood Planned Development received approval for a preliminary plat for Phase 1, which includes 106 of the 636 detached single-family homes that are part of this subdivision. It will also include an amenity center and a future commercial area, which will eventually come back to the Board for consideration as a separate site plan.

“The preliminary plat includes a condition which has already been incorporated into the resolution,” said Newberry Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez. “The developer is to work with the City Manager or their designee to mutually agree upon the best route and timing for connection of the 12-inch potable water main line to the water tower site.”

Details such as the intersections and on-street parking will be provided in the construction plan phase, which is the next step. After that a final Plat will be presented to the Board, followed by Site Development, which will include earthwork and infrastructure. Following that, Lot Development would be presented to show the homes, buildings and structures on the property. Following that, Phase 2 would begin.

Upon questioning about an open area behind the Commercial area and the proposed homes by Board member Naim Erched, Walker Owen said that was the area where Duke Energy’s transmission lines run through the property and that it would be developed as walking trails and related amenities.

Erched also requested information about trees on the property and the number of homes that would be built in a year. Developer Gary Weisman said trees in the vegetative buffer would remain, but trees where the homes would be built would be removed. He also said he expected that they would construct 40 – 60 homes in a year, depending on the market.

Concern was also raised about children in the subdivision being sent to different schools. Perez said he would send a request to their contact at the Alachua County School Board requesting that all the children in the 106 homes be sent to the same school.

The Board also gave approval for the Preliminary Plat for Magnolia Acres Subdivision, 79.3 +/- acres located south of Southwest 15^th Avenue and east of Southwest 266^th Street. The project site is for 15 single-family lots that range from five to seven and a-half-acres in size. Plans call for gated community with a homeowners’ association and a 40-foot vegetative buffer.

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