City of Alachua Commission Agenda

ALACHUA BIG BOX ALERT
12 Zoning Variances for a Lowe`s big box store will be approved on Monday night`s Board of Adjustment Agenda
Meeting begins at 7pm at Alachua City Hall

There has been no previous public discussion about this development, or the impact it may have on the community. It is troubling that the first public hearing on this development (a quasi-judicial hearing) is being held in order to grant the developer zoning variances. Before taking this step, why isn`t the City Commission scheduling a workshop where the public can be fully informed about the scope of this development and its potential impact on the community? Regardless of whether one believes a Lowe`s big box store is an appropriate development for this location, the citizens and taxpayers of Alachua have a right to know what ALL our options are before approving a project of this size in the center of Alachua.

Contact information for the commissioners:
Mayor Gib Coerper 462-2265 gcoerper@cityofalachua.com
Vice Mayor Bonnie Burgess 418-6100 bburgess@cityofalachua.com
James Lewis 462-1785 (home) 352-215-9901 (mobile) jlewis@cityofalachua.com
Orien Hills 462-2336 ohills@cityofalachua.com
Jean Calderwood 462-3229 jcalderwood@cityofalachua.com

The following information about the January 28 Board of Adjustment and City Commission Meeting is from the City of Alachua website:

AGENDA A on the January 28 Board of Adjustment and City Commission Agenda request by Upham Inc., agent for Alachua Development Company LLC, owner, and Lowe`s Home Centers Inc., developer, for twelve (12) Zoning Variance Requests to Article 6 of the Land Development Regulations for a proposed Large Retail Establishment to be located near the intersection of US Highway 441and N.W. 147th Drive. A portion of tax parcel #03067-006-000. (This is a quasi-judicial hearing).

This request for Zoning Variances is associated with a proposed Lowe`s Large Retail Establishment. The parcel subject to this variance request is located near the intersection of US Hwy 441 and N.W. 147th Drive. FLUM: Commercial; Zoning: Commercial Intensive (CI). The twelve (12) zoning variance requests are from Article 6, Development Standards. More specifically, the variance requests are being made from the following sections: Off-street Parking and Loading Standards (5
variance requests), Fencing standards (2 variance requests), Signage (2 variance requests), and Large Retail Design Standards (3 variance requests). The proposed Lowe`s Store is to consist of 139,410 gross square feet of floor area and 31,660 square feet of gross floor area for a garden center.

The rest of the backup materials for the January 28 Meeting Agenda can be viewed at the end of the agenda on the city`s website. Look in the upper righthand portion of the website in tiny print for the link to this public information or click here http://alachua.govoffice2.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={C1E6C983-2B3B-46CC-BC0C-E8C53C00D949}.

Click for printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend