Local

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Local environmentalist Rhonda Long was killed in an accident in South Florida on June 19. Long was well known in the High Springs community and among environmental groups associated with the rivers that offer beauty, recreation and water from the aquafer. For Long, the rivers were her playground where she spent much of her time kayaking. And this love of the local environment and rivers led her to dedicate herself to preserving them.

She was the Stewardship Chair for the Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) organization, Director for the Riverfest Songwriters benefit and Founder of the Eelgrass Restoration Project. Long also taught classes at Fort White High School in Aquatic Horticulture. She was the co-founder of a suicide prevention organization that raised funds for preventing suicides and helping surviving family members cope with the loss.

The primary method of fund raising was a 96-mile river paddle each year, which she completed for the past four years. Long also worked at Rum 138 canoe outpost, giving tourists advice about the best parts of the rivers to visit. In addition, she also often portrayed a mermaid at various fundraising events for the rivers, earning her the nickname of “Mermaid Rhonda.”

Long’s passion for the environment was just part of how she gave back to others. She worked on various benefits, helped those who needed assistance medically or for transportation, including her parents, Donna and Joe Long, who she moved from Illinois due to multiple medical issues.

Friends recall that Long always projected a happy and warm personality, lighting up the room and had nothing but kind words for everyone. She was well known for all her charity work and popular figure in town with her ability to make those she was talking with the undivided focus of her attention.

Long had travelled to Coco Beach on June 19 to attend the wake of her friend, Randy Fortner, who had died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. Driving home to High Springs at 10 p.m. on a two-lane Highlands County road, the car in front of her stopped on the highway and attempted a U-turn, blocking both lanes. With no time to react, Long hit the car broadside. Killed in the accident was a 13-year-old girl in the other car and Long, who passed while being life flighted to a hospital.

Long’s friends were both shocked and devasted that someone so full of life, passion and kindness was suddenly gone. It was especially devasting for her elderly parents who were dependent on Long for everything, including her house, which still had a mortgage on it.

People wanted to honor her life and her dedication to both the environment and her friends and family. A Go Fund Me page was set up to raise funds for her family and her final expenses. It was also decided to hold a Celebration of Life with some of the many musicians she knew and enjoyed hearing.

The group of friends approached Baram Kim, owner of the Great Outdoors and Pink Flamingo restaurants in High Springs to inquire about using one of the venues for a concert. Kim, who was also a friend of Long, immediately offered the Pink Flamingo to hold the event.

On Saturday, July 30 there will be that memorial Celebration of Life fundraiser at the Pink Flamingo to raise funds for Long’s elderly parents who have multiple medical issues. Music will be provided by Thom Duncan, Mike Bouleware and In The Moment band, along with possible special appearances by other musicians who knew her. All are playing for free so all proceeds will go to her family. There will also be a 50-50 drawing, a silent auction featuring donated art and other objects from local artists and businesses, along with a raffle of smaller objects.

The event is open to everyone who would like to attend. All proceeds will go to Long’s family to either use for their expenses or give to her environmental organizations, if they choose. But just as important, the Celebration of Life will honor a woman who dedicated herself to others with a life well lived but cut short too soon.

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NEWBERRY ‒ On July 11, the City of Newberry approved annexation of nearly 88 acres into the City. Approved was a petition by owners Joshua P. and Tracie A. Blackford for 22.75 acres located on the west side of Northwest County Road 235 at the terminus of Northwest 46^th Avenue, west of the Gatorback Cycle Park. Also approved was a petition by Richard Marion Fowler III to annex 20.68 acres located on the southwest corner of West Newberry Road/State Road 26 and Southwest 226^th Street. Todd and Lori Martin petitioned for annexation of two parcels totaling 40 acres located on the east side of Northwest 298^th Street (county line), approximately 1,200 feet north of Northwest 32^nd Avenue. And Clifton A. and Shari D. Brown petitioned for 4.35 acres located on the east side of Northwest 32^nd Avenue, approximately 2,500 feet east of Northwest 298^th Street to be annexed into the City.

In other business, the Commission voted 4-1 on first reading to change the Future Land Use Map classification on 220 acres from Agriculture to Planned Development for Tanglewood Properties of Gainesville, LLC. The property is located on the south side of West Newberry Road/State Road 26, between Southwest 218^th Street and Southwest 202^nd Street. Commissioner Tony Mazon casting the dissenting vote.

After lengthy discussion, the Commission also approved rezoning the same property from Agricultural (A) to Planned Development (PD). Final approval is contingent upon the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity approving changing the Future Land Use Map Classification.

In other unanimous actions, the Commission approved a rezoning, a re-platt, a final plat and an amendment to the City’s Land Development Regulations. The Commission approved 5-0 on second and final reading to rezone 1.69 acres from Residential, Single Family to Planned Development in the Economic Development Overlay District and partially located within the City’s Historic District. The proposed development is an infill project that seeks to add 14 cottage- style single family townhomes to the site, while leaving the existing single-family house as-is. A central alley will bisect the block and automotive access to each lot will be provided from the alley. Commissioners also approved a variance from the requirement that 10 percent of the development be devoted to common open space, which is not practical due to the size limitations of the parcel. The site encompasses a full block bounded by Southwest 1^st Avenue to the north, Southwest 257^th Street to the east, Southwest 2^nd Avenue to the south and Southwest 258^th Street to the west.

Commissioners unanimously approved a request by Brown and Shapphard/Bison Construction LLC to re-plat Bartley Lane, Lot 10, which consists of 0.14 acre, to remedy a building setback line encroachment on the front yard building setback line. The encroachment was discovered by the title insurance company while researching the property in advance of the sale of the newly constructed single-family residence.

Commissioners also unanimously approved a request by Michael Steinberg for approval of the Dylan’s Grove Phase 2A Final Plat consisting of 39.9 acres located south of Southwest 15^th Avenue and west of Southwest 188^th Street. Phase 2A is part of the Dylan’s Grove Planned Rural Residential Development. This approval is conditioned upon receipt of fully executed surety device approved by the City Attorney.

The Commission unanimously approved amending the City’s Land Development Regulations to allow Small-Scale Rural Subdivisions as a Special Exception within the Agricultural Zoning District.

In other action, Commissioners approved an application to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) following a second public hearing. The application is for the Neighborhood Revitalization (NR) category. In a related matter, Commissioners authorized submittal of a Florida Jobs Growth Grant Fund application for public infrastructure funding in the Newberry Ag-tech Innovation Park.

Parks and Recreation Director Travis Parker reviewed the 2022 Babe Ruth softball season, highlighting the Newberry 10 and under team that won the Babe Ruth State Tournament for their age division on June 27.

Mayor Jordan Marlowe read a resolution into the record celebrating Park and Recreation Month in Newberry identified as “We Rise Up for Parks and Recreation!” month.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Changes are in store for people driving and parking in downtown High Springs.  The High Springs City Commission earlier this summer approved an ordinance that restricts the use of vehicles of more than three axels from traveling on Northwest 186^th Avenue (formerly known as U.S. Highway 27 Alternate). And concerns over large vehicles parking in the downtown area prompted changes to parking in that area in an effort to relieve traffic congestion, especially along Main Street.

“The City has been working on various plans to deal with the traffic and congestion in our downtown roads,” said High Springs Public Information Officer Kevin Mangan. “We are initiating a plan to limit parking to compact car parking only on High Springs Main Street between US Highway 27 and Northwest 185^th Avenue.”

Main Street was designed over 100 years ago as a quiet two-lane road with parking places designed for smaller cars than many of the current SUVs and pickup trucks. Today, High Springs’ burgeoning downtown business district, along with steady truck traffic along Main Street, creates congestion and potentially unsafe conditions.  The street was not designed for the current traffic load and cannot be expanded without removing all parking and extensive street work, not a viable option according to the City of High Springs.

The best solution at least cost is to limit what vehicle lengths can park on Main Street to help limit obstructions and the flow of traffic. City officials say the new restrictions will help alleviate traffic congestion and hazards, reduce bumper overhang on roadways, ensure the maneuverability of emergency vehicles, and provide a proactive approach to help reduce accidents. 

The City is defining a “compact” car or vehicle between 100 and 109 cubic feet of interior space and between 161 and 187 inches in length and does not include trucks, vans, or large SUVs.

A compact car parking space will be a minimum of eight feet in width and 16 feet in length. Parking spaces are now visibly marked as “Compact Car” parking spaces with signage on both sides of the street.

“We are going to start with the signs and an information campaign to make people aware of the change,” said Mangan. “This will help with traffic flow and is just the first step in the City’s plan to work with the Department of Transportation to deal with the increasing traffic.” 

The High Springs Police Department will be helping with an information campaign by putting flyers on vehicles that are too big for the spaces for a couple months to warn drivers of the new rules.

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NEWBERRY ‒ Newberry residents turned out to raise concern about a zoning change from Residential, Single-Family RSF-2 to Planned Residential Development (PRD) on a 6.95-acre property that could be developed into townhouses and single-family dwelling units. The City of Newberry Planning and Zoning Board met on July 5 to consider three applications, with the Eden’s Garden application receiving the greatest citizen opposition.

JBPro’s Director of Engineering Chris Potts addressed the Board on behalf of property owners Joel and Sophie Lancaster. The property, known as Eden’s Garden, is located northeast of the Newberry Oaks subdivision.

The current Residential Low Density future land use permits up to four units per acre, while the potential density with the zoning change is 28 units. However, due to existing overhead Duke Energy transmission lines that run parallel to the abutting limits of the Newberry Oaks subdivision, an area of approximately 2.31 acres, maximizing the potential development is not possible and 23 units are proposed.

Development will be a combination of 11 detached and 12 attached townhouse single-family dwelling units. Overall density will be approximately 3.31 dwelling units per acre, which is less than the potential density within the RSF-2 zoning district.

The PRD zoning district allows the owners to take advantage of unique lot configurations in order to make the site developable which would otherwise not be possible within the existing RSF-2 zoning district, which requires a gross lot area of 10,000 square feet or approximately 0.25 of an acre.

City of Newberry staff confirmed utility capacity exists for this development and the Public Works Department had no objection to the zoning change. “Staff finds the request consistent with the City’s Land Development Regulations and the Comprehensive Plan and recommend the Planning and Zoning Board forward a request to approve Ordinance 2022-35/LDR 22-14 to the Commission,” said Perez.

Several citizens from the neighboring Newberry Oaks Subdivision were on hand to protest the action. Residents voiced concerns about using the roadways in their subdivision to access the proposed development. However, as the roadways are public streets and not owned by Newberry Oaks Subdivision, access to proposed development can’t be limited. Other objections included construction noise, reduced property values for existing homes, problems with water drainage, traffic concerns, potential for sinkholes and mining blasting impacting the new subdivision as well as development disrupting the endangered animal species on the existing property.

Some nearby residents said they were okay with single-family homes but didn’t want tall three-story condos. Potts responded by saying they could eliminate the three attached homes.

Board Members voted 4-1 to recommend approval of Ordinance 2022-35/LDR 22-14 to the Commission for first reading at the July 25 meeting.

Application Denied

In other Board business, the Planning and Zoning Board denied an application for Bass Farms, Inc., to change the zoning on approximately 302.53 acres from Agricultural (A) to Planned Rural Residential Development (PRRD).

The application was submitted by JBPro, acting as agent for Bass Farms, Inc., Trevor Bass, owner. The site is located between at the southeast corner of Southwest 46^th Avenue and Southwest 282^nd Avenue. The property has an Agriculture future land use designation in which PRRD zoning is permitted.

Bass is proposing 60 single-family dwelling units on existing crop and cattle land. In accordance with the PRRD land development regulations, the owner is setting aside 80 percent of the site, approximately 242 acres, which will remain undeveloped. The residential portion will be developed into one-acre lots. The overall density proposed is 0.198 dwelling units per acre, below the 0.20 dwelling units per acre or one unit per five acres allowed in the Agricultural land use designation and zoning district.

“It is not expected the proposed level of development will negatively impact the current capacity or require mitigation for the additional road trips generated,” Perez said.

Vice-Chair Donald Long made a motion, with Chair Naim Erched providing the second, to deny recommending the application to the Commission. The motion to deny was approved in a 3-2 vote with Board Members Linda Woodcock and Annie Polo casting the dissenting votes.

Woodcock and Polo said they cast dissenting votes because they believed the applicant met the requirements of the existing ordinance and that some of the items discussed during the meeting were not on topic.

Increased Density

In other action, the Board approved a property zoning change on 48.2 acres, reducing the 10,000 square foot minimum lot size to 5,000 square feet. Acting as agent for property owner Pat Post, eda consultants, inc., requested to amend the City’s Official Zoning Atlas by changing the zoning from Residential (Mixed) Single-Family/Mobile Home (RSF/MH-2) to Planned Residential Development (PRD).

The property is located on the east side of Northwest 266^th Street, between Northwest 8^th Lane and Northwest 3^rd Place and has a future land use designation of Residential Low-Density allowing for up to four residential units per acre. Although no change to the future land use category was proposed, under the current future land use designation of Residential Low Density, the maximum density possible is 193 dwelling units.

With the PRD zoning, the owner can establish his own lot sizes and setbacks. At this time the developer is proposing a lot size of 5,000 square feet consisting of 180 single-family dwellings. Approximately 16.2 acres, roughly 33 percent of the site, is being dedicated for stormwater retention and open space.

With the reduction of lot size requirements, 35 units more will be created than the estimated development potential under current zoning regulations. City of Newberry Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez Perez said, “Prior to the issuance of a site development plan approval, the owner must obtain an approved Public School Student Generation Calculation Form demonstrating capacity exists for the additional students generated by the new dwelling units, or mitigate any impacts on level of service to be coordinated with the School Board.””

City Planning Staff recommended approval of the application and the Planning and Zoning Board voted to recommend approval of Ordinance 2022-34/LDR 22-13 with conditions to the City Commission for first reading at the July 25 meeting. The conditions were that the applicant will work with City staff to finalize the parameters of the development order, correct a scrivener’s error and incorporate the requirement that the developer work with the School Board to provide for the necessary concurrency for this project.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs Historical Society aims to preserve a bit of High Springs for 70 years. The organization was granted permission by the City Commission to bury a time capsule to the right of the front steps of the Historic High Springs Elementary School and Community Center located at 23760 N.W. 187^th Avenue. The time capsule is slated to be buried on Oct. 22, 2022 and opened on Saturday, May 24, 2092.

The Historical Society anticipates the 2092 opening date to be used to commemorate the 200th anniversary of High Springs. High Springs was incorporated in 1892 after changing its name from Orion on May 24, 1888.

The High Springs Historical Society proposes a day-long celebration of burying the time capsule on Oct. 22, 2022 if their special event permit is approved. The event will include a bar-b-que contest and tractor show. The time capsule will be filled with artifacts relating to High Springs.

The City will have an opportunity to place a small box of items in the time capsule, while others in the community will also be able to place items in the capsule by purchasing a manila envelope or small bag. The time capsule will serve as a fundraiser for the Historical Society while also serving as the beginning of High Springs’ bi-centennial celebration.

City officials will be invited to participate in the time capsule burying ceremony.

The time capsule will measure 3 feet x 2 feet x18 inches and will be sealed. In order to ensure the safety of the time capsule and surrounding area, items such as liquids, explosives and perishable will be prohibited.

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ALACHUA ‒ Brianna Denise Thomas, 19, Gainesville, and Shaniya Nycole Wilson, 18, Alachua, were arrested on Thursday, July 14, following a fight in the 14200 block of Northwest 156^th Place in Alachua.

At about 4:30 p.m., Alachua Police Department officers responded to reports of an altercation involving multiple parties. The victim, who reportedly recorded much of the incident on video, reported that Wilson, Thomas and others approached her vehicle “aggressively.”

Multiple witnesses reported that Wilson was holding a knife and that there were many bystanders nearby, including children. One witness reported that once it became known that the police had been called, Wilson ran away from the scene, dropped the knife, then came back and continued the dispute unarmed. Officers searched the area and reportedly found the knife nearby.

Thomas allegedly beat on the window of the vehicle while making threats to “beat” the occupant. She was charged with simple assault and released on signature bond.

Wilson was charged with aggravated assault and was released on her own recognizance.

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