Newberry Sets Focus on Zoning Changes

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The Newberry City Commission on Feb. 26, 2024, approved a number of land-related ordinances. The Commission unanimously approved a large-scale change to the future Land Use Map on 161 +/- acres owned by Whitehurst Cattle Company from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agriculture. The property is located east of County Road 337/Southwest 282^nd Street.

This matter was earlier approved by the Newberry City Commission on first reading, and the amendment was forwarded to the Florida Department of Commerce for review. The state offered no comments or changes to the proposed action which allows the City to consider it on second reading.

The zoning change aligns the existing and proposed uses with City of Newberry zoning districts and changes the zoning to Agriculture, which allows one dwelling unit on five acres of land.

Zoning Change - Marlowe

Also unanimously approved by the Commission were two actions related to three parcels of land annexed into the City owned by Herbert A. Marlowe, Jr. The first was a Future Land Use Map classification amendment to the Comprehensive Plan from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry, Agriculture on 29 +/- acres of land.

The second action aligns the existing and proposed uses with the appropriate City of Newberry zoning districts and changes the zoning to Agriculture, which allows one dwelling unit on five acres of land.

Zoning Change to CI

The Commission approved on first reading a small-scale Future Land Use Plan Map amendment changing 3.67 acres from Agriculture to Commercial. The property, owned by Intellectual Partners LLC, is located on the south side of West Newberry Road/State Road 26 and partially bordering the west side of Southwest 218^th Street.

Intellectual Partners LLC recently purchased the property and also owns All Florida Enterprises, a fence installation supply company, which is leasing its current location about a half mile to the west of the property on SR 26. Plans are to move the business to the new site.

In a second related action on the same property at 21831 West Newberry Road, the Commission approved rezoning from Agricultural (A) to Commercial, Intensive (CI). CHW’s Gerry Dedenbach, representing Intellectual Partners LLC, addressed concerns regarding spot zoning and other aspects of CI zoning. He said that other businesses planning to locate in this industrial park area would be required obtain a special use permit from the City of Newberry. This matter will come before the Commission again for second reading.

Abandoning Alleyways

Commissioners unanimously approved first reading of an amendment to the downtown plat addition, providing for closing, abandoning, releasing and vacating of public alleyways as part of the plat entitled Original Newberry Chapman and White’s Addition. This amendment affects a series of downtown plats found in Ordinance 25-14.

The next Newberry City Commission meeting is scheduled for March 11.

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