CURG Comprehensive Plan Comments - TEXT AMENDMENTS 2002-1

2002-1-T-021
Allow community services not exceeding 10,000 s.f. to develop on septic tanks.
CURG - STRONG DENIAL RECOMMENDED, agree with Planning Dept. staff
Destroys concept of USA. Premature development in areas lacking infra structure incurring future costs to county/ Contradictory to current policy. No demonstrated need for these facilities outside the USA.

2002-1-T-022
Modifies existing Bradfordville goals, policies and objectives. Deletes, modifies, and adds new policy language to the Plan.
CURG - DENIAL RECOMMENDED
Negotiations are ongoing and this would destroy the sector plan that the county has spent millions of dollars developing.

2002-1-T-023
Designates Sunny Hill Road as a canopy road.
CURG - APPROVAL RECOMMENDED
Canopy roads supply wildlife habitat and buffering

2002-1-T-024
Modifies Conservation policy 2.1.9 to allow disturbance of undisturbed wetlands and native forest in the Lake Jackson basin for the purpose of locating stormwater retrofit ponds.
CURG - DENIAL RECOMMENDED
Virtually does away with protection. This policy was just changed a few cycles ago. Where is the need to add this intrusive language? This amendment is not necessary in order to build the stormwater ponds near Lake Jackson and will set a dangerous precedent for locating such ponds in the future. Putting in a stormwater pond to help water quality when it displaces a wetland that is already holding and filtering water is somewhat redundant and not cost effective. Allows the placement of ANY LINEAR STRUCTURE IN A WETLAND.

2002-1-T-025
Modifies Land Use Element Summary and Conservation Policy 3.4.4 to require sidewalks and easements in the Canopy Road Zone. Also requires cost participation.
CURG - DENIAL RECOMMENDED
Opens up these zones to intrusion and whittles away at our canopy roads. This change to protected areas introduces the ability to intrude within this space. Once these areas are opened up, the amount of intrusion allowed will only increase. In addition, the zones could quickly become convenient places for infrastructure of all kinds - electric lines, gas lines, fiberoptic cable, etc. -disturbing roots and wildlife habitat. These zones should be left alone.

2002-1-T-028
Revises the Agriculture/Silviculture/Conservation land use category by adding to the allowable uses and adding development criteria. Allow on-site sewage system to serve multiple parcels.
CURG - DENIAL RECOMMENDED
Grossly abuses the agricultural land use category by allowing development up to 250,000 sq. ft. Package plants authorized by this amendment are known to degrade leading to county spending to prematurely extend infrastructure to unplanned areas. In two words, URBAN SPRAWL, with all the associated costs and problems. This amendment should be a map amendment, as a text amendment it applies to other areas of the county with unintended consequences.

2002-1-T-029
Modifies the existing definition of wetlands in order to make it the same as the State of Florida definition.
CURG - APPROVE with Amendment (Water Buffalo Amendment)
Change of definition is not a problem, BUT this will eliminate status for wetlands that could recover on their own. Thus if one degrades a wetland it would not be protected even if it could recover. Retain the original language “does or would support at least periodically” in the first sentence.

2002-1-T-030
Modifies the existing definition of altered wetlands by deleting language that relates to restoration of wetlands and beneficial function of wetlands when determining if wetlands are altered.
CURG - DENIAL RECOMMENDED
Encourages degrading activity. If this change is adopted, the new definition of "altered" will include protected wetlands that currently are labeled unaltered, for example the Lake Jackson Ravines, the Lake Munson cypress swamps and the Ochlockonee River floodplain an countless other smaller areas throughout the County. The result will be a loss of flood storage capacity.

2002-1-T-031
Modifies the definition of altered floodplains by adding language that requires the entire floodplain to be considered and not just the portion under single ownership when determining development potential.
CURG - DENIAL RECOMMENDED
Will eliminate most if not all floodplain in Leon County from protection. Future costs to protect development in the flood plain from flooding will be large.

2002-1-T-032
Modifies the definition of what should be defined as development by adding qualifying language.
CURG - DENIAL
Adds fuzzy, vague and imprecise language that would lead to future uncertainty for both homeowners and developers and lead to more law suits. Makes definition more subjective, muddy, confusing.

2002-1-T-033
Modifies the definition of Native Forest by adding language to the definition related to Native and High Quality Successional Forest that limits the areas that can be defined as such by adding requirements for size, length, width, and ownership.
CURG - DENIAL
Too restrictive a definition, Looks for a big square development. Under this amendment, only a piece of high quality successional forest habitat 40 acres in size measuring 1320’ x 1320 ‘ (1Ú4 mi x 1Ú4 mi) under one ownership would qualify for protection. Applicant claims that the habitat must be large to accommodate wildlife. This is not true. Natural habitats don’t usually arrange themselves in perfect squares, and wildlife has adapted. There are only a handful of such sites within the County and applying these stringent limitations will result in destruction of most of them.

2002-1-T-034
Modifies the definition of High Quality Successional Forest by adding language to the definition related to Native and High Quality Successional Forest that limits the areas that can be defined as such by adding requirements for size, length, width, and ownership. 
CURG - DENIAL
Too restrictive a definition, Looks for a big square development. Same as previous amend.

2002-1-T-037
Transportation Policy 1.21.1(T). All dates changed from 2001 to 2003.
CURG - Approve with amendments
Change date to 2002. We need to implement LDRs soon, restricting access to Capital Circle to keep it an effective roadway. Let us not loose the capacity of the roadways we have and then find we can’t afford to build more.