Growth Management Response to EDAC Strategic Plan and AHAC issues

1. Growth Management Response to EDAC Strategic Plan and AHAC issues April 9, 2013

2. Original Requests by BOCC • Review the Strategic Plan of the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) to encourage Economic Development (10/2/12) • The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) requested that the BOCC review the Cost of Housing Analysis for the 2012 ULDC Update (8/1/12) • Commissioner Pinkoson’s inquiry on development phasing and expiration dates

3. EDAC Recommendations for Development Readiness • Quick Response Team for Development Review • Flexibility in permitted uses for zoning districts • Streamlined Development Review Process • Review Redevelopment Standards

4. Quick Response Team • Pre-Application Conferences include staff from GM, EPD, and PW who explain the application process and identify potential issues • These meetings are held for Development Plans, Re-zonings, Special Use Permits, Special Exceptions, and Comp Plan Amendments

5. Flexibility in permitted uses for zoning districts • Uses listed as special exception have been changed to permitted or limited uses in ULDC since 2005 • TOD/TND do not require re-zoning or land use change • Reduced need for re-zoning/Comp Plan Amendments • Fewer applications need to be heard at BOCC

6. Types of Review by Growth Management Staff • Building Permits • Administrative Staff Review • Development Plans (preliminary, final) • Zoning (Special Use Permits, Special Exceptions, Planned Developments) • Comprehensive Plan Amendments

7. Administrative Staff Review • Staff level approval for minor changes to developed sites that result in less than 1,500 s.f. of additional impervious area • Administrative approvals do not require advertising or public hearings and are therefore quicker to process

8. Development Plans • Depending on scale of project, development plans are heard by DRC or BOCC • Two-step process (preliminary and final)

9. Processing times

10. Actual Examples of Application Timelines

11. Jonesville McDonald’s Development Plan CHRONOLOGY (Preliminary Development Plan): • Application Submittal: 10/03/11 • Insufficiency Report Issued: 10/24/11 • Application Resubmitted: 11/28/11 • Sufficiency Determination: 12/21/11 • Preliminary Development Plan Hearing: 01/05/12 CHRONOLOGY (Final Development Plan): • Application Submittal: 02/27/12 • Insufficiency Report Issued: 03/15/12 • Application Resubmitted: 03/26/12 • Sufficiency Determination: 04/11/12 • Final Development Plan Hearing: 05/03/12 Staff time ( 77 days) ; Non-staff time (136 days)

12. Fast track options available • Applications times can be expedited by overlapping (e.g. CPA and Zoning apps) • Preliminary Development Plans can be reviewed simultaneously with SUP and Special Exceptions • Preliminary and Final Development Plans can also be combined

13. Zoning Review Process • Rezoning applications require a Pre-Application Conference which explain the process and identify potential issues • Applicant holds Neighborhood Workshop to gather any comments/concerns about project • Applicant submits complete application and fee • Staff Review and analysis • Planning Commission hears application and makes recommendation of approval/denial to BOCC • BOCC determines approval/denial of project

14. Typical Timeframe ZOM-01-12 Rezoning from BH to HM CHRONOLOGY • Neighborhood workshop 1/19/12 • Application Received 1/30/12 • Planning Commission 3/21/12 • Board of County Commissioners 4/10/12 approval and resolution issued

15. Comprehensive Plan Amendments • Changes in the Future Land Use Map can be in the form of text or map amendments • Small scale (BOCC adopts) and large scale (BOCC transmits, BOCC adopts)

16. CPA-01-10 CHRONOLOGY • Neighborhood Workshop2/20/10 • Application Received 2/22/10 • Planning Commission 4/21/10 • Board of County Commissioners 5/11/10 approval

17. Building Permits • Building Dept. utilizes an efficient internet-based, publicly accessible inspection monitoring/reporting system. Currently developing capacity to accept/process permits online • Many building permits issued same day over-the-counter. • Average of 8 working days to review/process building permit applications that require plans review • 95 % of Building Inspections completed within 24 hours of request

18. New Online Building Permit Process • Phase 1 (Apr. 2013) Many permits may be submitted online and building permits issued online • Phase 2 (2014) Wide range of permits submitted/issued online • Developed in-house by staff

19. Development Phasing and Expiration Dates • Essential to plan for provisions of public services (e.g. roads, schools) • Updates in policies and regulations • Changes in economic conditions, technology, environment • Some approved developments are not built • Allow for predictable growth patterns • Equity issues for developers/property owners

20. Expiration dates • Planned Developments expire consistent with the phasing schedule • Internal phasing dates • External overall Planned Development expiration date used to be tied to concurrency -10 years • County Commission must approve extensions • Preliminary development plans for PD, TND, and affordable housing may be approved with expirations consistent with phasing schedule

21. Expiration Dates • Preliminary development plans expire in 12 months if a complete application for final has not been submitted • Reviewing body approves extension (DRC or County Commission) • Final development plans expire in 12 months if no permit for construction received • Administrative extensions up to one year • Reviewing body approves all other extensions

22. Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Concerns • Establishment of High Aquifer Recharge Areas • Street Pavement Thickness • Reclaimed Water Supply • TOD/TND requirements (primary concern)

23. AHAC Concerns • Establishment of High Aquifer Recharge zones • Water quality issue: current map adopted into the Comprehensive Plan in 2009, policies amended at that time • This will not affect the number of buildable lots • Can be mitigated with Low Impact Development standards

24. AHAC Concerns • Pavement Thickness Standards (s. 407.141) • Based on structural analysis and anticipated 20 year life span • Considerable discussion/input from the engineering community • Section 407.141(e)5 • The County Engineer has the authority to approve alternate designs meeting the objectives of technical guidelines and regulations upon demonstration by the applicant that result in sufficient design to meet the minimum requirements for that particular scenario. • Longer duration, less maintenance

25. AHAC Concerns • Reclaimed Water Supply • AHAC letter states that GRU does not cover the costs of installing reclaimed water lines within a development • GRU attended a Board meeting and stated they reimburse and followed up with an e-mail dated 8/31/12 “for developments that GRU determines to be feasible to service and who install RCW distribution systems, GRU shall reimburse the developer for costs associated with construction… [of the] piping with in the development.” • The ULDC requires installation only if it is feasible to serve the development as determined by GRU.

26. AHAC Concerns • AHAC stated TND/TOD not financially viable • Critical mass of dwellings needed to support new business • Commercial lenders reluctant to lend • Homebuyer market for TND + TOD extremely limited due to lifestyle choices and price • Market slow to change and homebuyers are not forced to make changes because of abundance of housing supply in Gainesville with large lots, privacy, no retail or commercial • Home prices are too depressed

27. Why are TND/TOD requirements beneficial to Alachua County?

28. What is TND? • Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND) have built forms which include small blocks, buildings oriented toward streets, parking located in the rear and/or on-street, and are scaled for pedestrians. • TND include a mix of uses and housing types, helping to create a greater sense of community and vibrancy

29. What is TOD? • Transit-oriented development (TOD) provides compact, mixed-use communities with densities designed to support transit service Sec.407.62(b) of ULDC

30. More choices, more opportunities • TOD/TND present the opportunity for integration and mix of housing types (e.g. rentals, wider range of incomes) • Improved access to employment, retail, services; reduced commute times

31. Single-family lot inventory for Unincorporated Alachua County Inside Urban Cluster 4,486 (1,185 Platted) Outside Urban Cluster 1,046 Total 5,532 SF Permits/year average 230 (2010-2012)

32. Positive Fiscal Impacts • TOD/TND create positive fiscal impacts due to reduced maintenance costs of roads/utilities and concentration of County services

34. DEVELOPMENT COMPARISON

35. Benefits of TOD/TND • Better aligned to changing demographics, emerging market • Efficient Transit Service • Reduction in VMT/congestion • Reduction in energy/ infrastructure costs • Improved safety • Improved health/fitness • Increased local property values

36. Quality of Life • Employee quality-of-life is a crucial factor in the location of high-tech and innovative companies (e.g. MindTree) • MindTree officials considered its site location in other southeastern US cities…but ultimately selected Gainesville due to the area’s high caliber of innovative workforce talent, community spirit and unparalleled quality of life.  Source: mindtree.com

37. Innovation District • The Innovation District is an economic development strategy • Unlike the enterprise zone programs or the university research or technology park models of the past decades, this new model is based on the premise that contemporary economic activity is particularly well suited to a dense, mixed-use urban environment. Planning, “Ideas per Square Foot” pg. 24 (Feb. 2013)

38. Changing Demographics/Emerging Market • Baby Boomers and Millennials are drastically changing housing and transportation trends • 60 million+ Baby Boomers retiring • Each year 600,000 people quit driving once reaching the age of 70 • Fewer Millenials and Baby Boomers buying single-family homes and cars, not because of down economy, but by choice Source: http://www.realtor.org/publications/ on-common-ground/summer-2012-communities-for-all-generations

39. Changing Demographics/Emerging Market • Significant rise in “non-traditional” homes projected for Florida’s future • Between 2000 and 2025 largest changes are for homes without children and single-person households

40. Reduction in VMT/Congestion • VMT, or Vehicle Miles Traveled per capita, per day, reduced from 21.8 in auto-centric areas to 9.8 in TODs • Congestion alleviated by 30-50% with TODs • Higher rate of internal capture for trips Source: planetizen.com, “Comprehensive Evaluation of Transit Oriented Development Benefits” by Todd Litman

41. Improved Safety • Traffic fatalities 4 times more likely in a conventional suburban development than in TOD • Increased density and pedestrian activity help keep “eyes on the street” Source: planetizen.com, “Comprehensive Evaluation of Transit Oriented Development Benefits” by Todd Litman

42. Improved Health/Fitness • Walkable communities provide shorter commute times for employees • Transit users 4 times more likely to walk 20 minutes per day • Reduction in sedentary lifestyle helps lower obesity rates and other illnesses • Improved air quality due to fewer GHG emissions Source: planetizen.com, “Comprehensive Evaluation of Transit Oriented Development Benefits” by Todd Litman

43. TOD/TND Thresholds • New non-residential development on 25 or more acres or including 150 or more residential units • TOD/TND developments incorporate higher densities, mixed uses, pedestrian-friendly design guidelines and dimensional standards

44. Key Requirements of TOD/TND • Design/dimensional standards • Mixed Uses • Higher density • Focus on transit/pedestrian

45. Summary • Zoning regulations are flexible compared to typical jurisdictions • Development review is efficient with options to expedite the process • TOD/TND matches emerging trends in the housing market and offers multiple benefits to Alachua County • County’s vision is implemented through the Comprehensive Plan and ULDC