Once done, this is forever! Commission meeting is one week from today.
Hello,
The developer plan is smoke and mirrors and if not outright lies, it's silence/failure to address THE ONE ISSUE that this is about, shows their duplicity and bad intentions; it's like a good magic trick to get us to look right when what they are hiding is on the left. And they have used the tried and true tactic of divide and conquer to peel off a neighbor here and there and make them an offer they cannot resist while leaving the rest of us in the dark.
None of this changes the essential equation - one property owner in the area is trying to obtain a zoning change that will adversely effect hundreds of nearby property owners and in an absolutely negative way. It is incontrovertible that dozens (or more - I have not taken off an entire day to sit in my front yard for 15 hours to count) of cars per day race south on 46th Street, then east on 18th or 19th Place every morning and dozens more race back the opposite way every afternoon. I see it daily on 18th as you do on 46th. Imagine what it will become?
Not one person on the planet is opposed to the current property owner selling and the new property owner constructing a commercial property. Great - have at it. But this owner is literally wanting to have it both ways - change this from its current use to a commercial one AND do so at the expense of hundreds of other nearby property owners. That they offer to make their property look pretty makes no difference to me whatsoever. MY ONE CONCERN IS that my/our neighborhood not be permanently and forever negatively changed so this new owner can have a drive thru. I'd probably feel the same way if we had sidewalks, but we don't so that alone should doom the development. Every other possible concern anyone anywhere has had has apparently been raised and addressed and remediated, including a contingency plan for traffic backing up on 23rd Ave. Why can't our concern be addressed and remediated?
If he wants his drive thru - WHAT DO WE GET?
The reason we won a unanimous decision 2-3 years ago was because the equities of the matter were with the hundreds of property owners who would be adversely affected by the actions of one. What has changed? Nothing has changed other than the traffic on 43rd Street has gotten worse, and backups at the intersection of 43rd/23rd have gotten longer, causing more commuters to want/need to cut through Suburban Heights. This is not acceptable even if they all went 20 mph. But since they never go 20 mph and frequently go 40-50 mph, why does this not shift the burden to this disruptive business developer looking to profit while hundreds of families who've collectively spent tens of millions of dollars to buy and maintain our homes suffer the permanent and forever consequences? Once done, this is forever!
Roger Austin - Suburban Heights resident
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Gainesville City Commission meeting on April 28th at 6 p.m.
Attend in person: (this makes the biggest impression but seating is limited) City Hall Auditorium 200 East University Ave
Verbal public comment during the meeting: Dial (800) 876-7516 and a moderator will call on you when it’s your turn to speak. You will have three minutes to comment.
View the live meeting: http://cityofgainesville.org/CommunicationsOffice/Community12TV/LiveWebStreaming.aspx
Broadcast on Cox Cable Channel 12
Phone listen-only (301) 715-8592; meeting ID# 822 7865 1808
Verbal public comment during the meeting: Dial (800) 876-7516 and a moderator will call on you when it’s your turn to speak. You will have three minutes to comment.
Written public comment via mail: City of Gainesville Dept. of Sustainable Development, PO Box 490 Station 11, Gainesville, FL 32602-0490
e-comment: note-you can only submit e-comments from April 22 - April 28. Use this link to submit comments. https://gainesville.legistar.com/calendar.aspx
Questions: (352)334-5015
Guide to city commission meetings: http://www.cityofgainesville.org/Portals/0/clerk/Welcome%20Kit.pdf