Details of Procedural Flaws

This document contains detailed descriptions and documentation of ten flaws in the procedures used by the UF Administration relative to its decision to offer to donate land for a four-lane eastward extension of SW 24th Avenue across the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory and Preservation Area 1. You can jump directly to a particular procedural flaw by clicking here on its number: (l), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10).

(1) On and before 20 Feb 2003, UF Vice-President Poppell offered to provide right-of-way for a four-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue through the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory and Preservation Area 1 even though the road was not warranted by traffic studies and not recommended by transportation planners.

Date of offer

At the 20 Feb 2003 meeting of the Metropolitan Traffic Planning Organization [MTPO], “Mr. Ed Poppell, University of Florida Vice President for Administrative Affairs, stated that the University of Florida is committed to recommending to the State of Florida Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund that right-of-way be provided for the extension of SW 24th Avenue east to Archer Road.” [From p. 4 of the official minutes of the meeting.]

The minutes of this meeting also state that the 20-year plan was amended to include “Project #2- SW 24th Avenue extension to construct this facility as a four-lane divided roadway from SW 34th Street east to Archer Road.” The motion to amend the plan included a “request that the Alachua County Commission direct its staff to ... work with the University of Florida and the City of Gainesville to amend the Campus Development Agreement to assure the feasibility of an east-west transportation corridor.”

At the same meeting, Alachua County Commissioner Lee Pinkoson stated, "A couple of months ago we changed the equation [relative to SW 24th Avenue] by the University coming forth and saying they would like to participate and help come up with an east-west corridor." [Transcription from North Central Florida Regional Planning Council's video tape of the meeting. One may audit the tape at the NCFRPC offices or borrow a purchased copy by emailing natl@ufl.edu.]

Road not warranted

The MTPO updates its 20-year transportation plan every five years. Each update involves extensive studies of the functioning of the current road system and modeling of the effects of various proposed improvements to that system. The 2000 update did not include a four-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue eastward to Archer Road, and SW 24th Avenue west of SW 34th Street was to be a two-lane divided road. The first public mention of a four-lane plan for SW 24th Avenue was at the 12 Dec 2002 meeting of the MTPO (email from Marlie Sanderson, MTPO Transportation Director). At that meeting the MTPO voted to authorize a traffic analysis of two-lane and four-lane alternatives and to hold a public hearing on amending the 20-year plan "to include the four-laning of SW 24th Avenue and/or SW 62nd Boulevard."

The material for the 20 Feb 2003 public hearing included a report entitled "Analysis for Potential Amendment to the 2020 Transportation Plan," which contained the results of the traffic analysis that the MTPO had authorized. The report's summary, on page 12, states that "The results of this analysis clearly indicate the adequacy of a two-lane cross-section for SW 62nd Boulevard and SW 24th Avenue and that a four lane cross-section for either road in not warranted." [Butler Enterprises and the MTPO jointly funded this report, prepared by Renaissance Planning Group, at a cost of $14 thousand.]

The 20 Feb 2003 meeting material also included a 14 Feb 2003 memo to the MTPO from Marlie Sanderson, Director of Transportation Planning. In this memo, Sanderson reported that MTPO's Citizens Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory Committee had not found the four lane cross-section warranted and that the MTPO staff's recommendation was to "keep the existing two-lane divided configuration for the SW 62nd Boulevard and SW 24th Avenue corridors as described in the adopted SW 20th Avenue Area Charrette Plan and not amend the long range transportation plan."

Thus UF's offered right-of-way through NATL and Preservation Area 1 for a road that was not warranted by traffic studies or by the recommendations of transportation planners.

Additional accounts (with more details)

Because the proposed donation of right-of-way seemed so unjustified in light of the road's questionable pedigree, during Spring Semester NAAC prepared a series of detailed accounts of the pedigree for committees that it hoped would ask the UF Administration to defend the donation. The most carefully crafted of these was a 7 Apr 2003 document prepared for the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee. An earlier one (28 Mar 2003) was prepared for the Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee and a later one (2 May 2003) was prepared for the Focus Group appointed by President Young. Finally, one prepared 8 Aug 2003 was sent to NATL stake holders along with the NATL 2002-03 Annual Report.

Note
The 2000 MTPO 20-year transportation plan included a two-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue eastward to Archer Road. However, the extension was not aligned with UF land but with the border between UF and private land (map: SW 20th Avenue Charrette). Furthermore, UF Administration did not commit to providing any right-of-way for the extension (15 May 2003 email from John Maruniak, UF Planner at the time), and the genesis of the extension is unclear (second email from Maruniak). On 16 Oct 2000, the Natural Area Advisory Committee sent a two-page letter to notify the MTPO and the UF Administration that the committee was opposed to the proposed two-lane extension "because its adverse effects on NATL’s value to the University of Florida are unacceptable."

(2)The decision to offer the right-of-way for this [unwarranted] road was made without evaluating its impacts on the Conservation Element of the UF Master Plan.

The second paragraph in the Conservation Element states that  "To ensure the viability and health of the conservation areas on campus, particular attention should be paid to preserve the functional and natural linkages between these systems. Future building growth should protect the current system of natural areas on campus, and take a role in helping shape these areas. Continuity throughout these preserved areas is essential for protecting the natural functions of the rivers, soils, plains and floodlands which are on the University of Florida campus."

Yet the proposed extension fragments the natural linkage between UF's two largest upland conservation areas: Preservation Areas 1 and 2. [See (8) below.]

In its description of Preservation Area 1, the Conservation Element states: "Much of this area is part of The University of Florida Natural Area Teaching Laboratory (NATL), a 46-acre tract of land dedicated to teaching students and the public about ecology and biotic diversity. The tract has significant samples of three ecosystems characteristic of uplands in north peninsular Florida: hammock, upland pine, and old-field succession."

Nonetheless, in an article in the 1 Feb 2003 Gainesville Sun, entitled "County, developer may join on project," Vice President Poppell is quoted, relative to extending a four-lane SW 24th Avenue from SW 34th Street to Archer Road, as saying, "We need to go out and see what's there."

(3)The decision to offer right-of-way for this [unwarranted] road was made without evaluating its impacts on the Natural Area Teaching Lab.

The Natural Area Advisory Committee, composed largely of faculty from departments that make the greatest use of NATL, is charged with recommending how NATL should be managed and reports to the Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee. Since 1994 it has worked to implement NATL's mission of teaching students and the public about ecology and biotic diversity. In this effort UF Administration has funded every improvement project that the Committee has proposed, for a total investment of more than $100,000. Nonetheless, the Committee was not consulted about how the proposed donation would affect NATL.

(4) The decision to offer right-of-way for this [unwarranted] road was made without input from any of the four land-use committees that normally advise on changes in campus land use.

These four committees normally advise on proposals to change the use of campus land:

The Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee [LUFP], in conjunction with the Lakes, Vegetation, and Landscaping Committee, the Preservation of Historic Buildings and Sites Committee, and the Transportation and Parking Committee, is "responsible for providing recommendations on the overall appearance and development of the campus to the Vice President of Administrative Affairs. The LUFP shall also provide recommendations regarding the enforcement of the UF Master Plan policies and guidelines."

The Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping advises on the "management and well being of natural areas containing non-domesticated plants and animals" and "policies regarding the removal of trees and other vegetation."

The Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee "is responsible for reviewing and recommending all programs, policies and regulations governing transportation, parking, bicycles and pedestrians on campus. This responsibility includes: the review of programs to enhance campus access, the review of proposed site locations for new pedestrian, bicycle and parking facilities, and the review of financial matters pertaining to the operation of Transportation and Parking Services."

The Preservation of Historic Building and Sites Committee may have no role that is relevant to the proposed extension.

None of these committees were asked for input on the benefits and costs of a four-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue through Preservation Area 1 and NATL.

(5) Although informed that the road would have significant costs to academic programs, UF President Young, on 25 March 2003, committed to the Alachua County Commission that the University would recommend an amendment to the UF Master Plan to provide right-of-way for the eastward extension of SW 24th Avenue to Archer road. [Acting on this commitment, the County Commission voted 3 to 2, on the same date, to authorize Alachua County Public Works to design a segment of SW 24th Avenue west of SW 34th Street in a manner that requires the donation.]

On 5 Feb 2003, the Natural Area Advisory Committee [NAAC] sent a two-page letter to President Young, with copies to David Colburn, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Ed Poppell, Vice President of Finance and Administration. In its letter, NAAC pointed out that the road would reduce the academic area of NATL, impair the academic uses of NATL, and reduce the quality of NATL’s ecosystems. The letter concluded, "In summary, the proposed road will unacceptably degrade an irreplaceable asset to many of UF’s academic programs. For environmental science programs NATL is the equivalent of essential indoor laboratories for other disciplines. The Natural Area Advisory Committee fervently recommends that the University prevent this loss by refusing to donate the needed right-of-way."

Enclosed were a NATL pamphlet, a map of NATL showing the proposed extension, a 2000 report detailing the academic uses of NATL, and a seven-page article on NATL from the September 1999 issue of UF Today.

(6) On 26 March 2003, President Young appointed a Focus Group to evaluate the academic impact of the road and how to mitigate that impact. To date, the Focus Group has no chair and no work plan, and Vice President Poppell has announced that it is not scheduled to report until January 2004.

In his appointment letter, President Young also mentioned the possible transfer of the academic programs that use NATL "to other locations." A 5 Sep 2003 paper lists the members and describes the activities of the Focus Group (aka Task Force). In a 3 Sep 2003 letter to the MTPO Vice President Poppell provides a tentative time line for UF to fulfill its commitment to recommend an amendment to the Master Plan. No recommendation is to be made until after the Focus Group reports in January 2004. Poppell warns in his letter that "while we are hopeful these timelines will be adhered to, we cannot assure you of such."

(7) More than six months after making its commitment, UF Administration has yet to state exactly what land it is proposing to donate.

The excuse given is that the Focus Group (aka Task Force) must report first. This seems devious because the genesis of the proposed land donation [see (1) above] makes it clear that the extension will be a four-lane divided roadway. Such a roadway requires a right-of-way at least 90 feet wide if it is to have bike lanes.

Last February, in order to estimate the cost of the extension, Alachua County Public Works Department established a route and length for the extension. The road was to turn south to Archer Road through the Classic Carwash property (to be acquired at an estimated cost of $1,575,000). To go farther east than this on UF land would take the road over an active sinkhole. If the road was to turn south sooner than this, it would go through Archer Woods Apartments.

Thus the only uncertainties about what the University is expected to donate would seem to be whether the ROW will be more than 90 ft wide and whether land other than the ROW will be donated (e.g., for stormwater retention). NAAC has always assumed that UF would donate a minimal amount of land and has used 1500 ft of 90 ft ROW as the basis for calculating the area to be donated. (The County estimated 1700 ft for the entire extension, which includes the segment that goes through the Classic Carwash.)

The above considerations indicate that the Administration has committed to propose an amendment that might read:

"The University of Florida proposes to donate land to facilitate the construction of a four-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue from SW 34th Street to Archer Road. The land that will be made available for the extension will be a strip no wider than 90 feet and contiguous with the south edge of Preservation Area 1. At the Classic Carwash property, the ROW will curve off UF property to meet Archer Road at a right angle. No other University land will be used for structures or easements related to the extension."

If this is not what the Administration intends to propose, it should either explain to the County why it intends to donate less than what the County expects or explain to those who object to the donation why it intends to donate more.

(8) More than six months after making its commitment, UF Administration has yet to evaluate the effects of the proposed donation on the Conservation Element of the UF Master Plan.

Although the Administration has done nothing, the Natural Area Advisory Committee has reached these conclusions about the effects of the extension on the Conservation Element:

Because the extension passes through the most pristine portion of Preservation Area 1, it will destroy 49 trees with diameters of 18 inches or more. A detailed tree survey and pictures of some of the trees to be destroyed have been posted on the web.

The extension, which will take only a little more than 3 acres of what is currently 48 acres of connected wild habitat, will nonetheless have a devastating effect on wildlife because it fragements the remaining 45 acres into parcels of approximately 28, 14, and 3 acres. The smaller two parcels have permanent or semi-permanent bodies of water in the form of a sinkhole pond and the collapsed sink near Regency Oaks Apartments. The largest parcel of wildlife habitat (the bulk of Preservation Area 1) has none. In times of drought, wildlife will face trips back and forth across four lanes of traffic for access to water.

The extension will cross a karst basin that has at its bottom a collapsed sink that frequently overflows onto the proposed right-of-way.

(9) More than six months after making its commitment, UF Administration has yet to make public any new document supporting its proposed donation of right of way.

Since 25 March 2003, the date it committed to the County Commission that it would recommend an amendment to the Master Plan, the UF Administration has released no new document to explain its decision to recommend donation of right-of-way or to answer the many questions elicited by the circumstances of the decision and its impact on academic programs and conservation values of the University of Florida.

The two documents prepared at the time of the commitment are a letter dated March 24, 2003, from Vice President Poppell to Thomas J. Walker, and a letter dated March 25, 2003, from President Young to Rodney Long, Chair of the Alachua County Commission.

The benefits proposed in these two letters were critiqued on 7 Apr 2003 in "Comments on suggested benefits of UF right-of-way donation".

When representatives of the Administration have commented orally on the proposed donation (for example, in committee meetings when the subject has been broached), they have sometimes made statements that do not fully accord with the circumstances as documented above or as posted elsewhere on the NAAC web site. These comments are collected and critiqued as "SW 24th Avenue myths."

[Note: TJW received the letter from Poppell twice: the first copy came as an email attachment on 24 Mar 2003 and was immediately posted on the web; the second copy arrived in campus mail several days later and was dated March 21. Except for the dates, the texts of the two copies were identical.]

(10) UF Administration's failure to proceed in a timely manner to start the amendment process has allowed Alachua County Commissioners to continue to assume that the donation will occur. [The Public Works Department has begun paying to design a road that requires the donation. By June 2004, the earliest the Administration expects to reach a final decision on the proposed donation, the design will be complete at a cost to the County of $388,286.]

In email of 7 Aug 2003, Michael Fay, Acting Directory of Alachua County Public Works, stated that Alachua County had agreed to pay the firm of Berryman & Henigar, Inc. $388,286 for the engineering design of SW 24th Avenue as a 4-lane divided roadway from Southwest 43rd Street to Southwest 34th Street. [The design assumes that SW 24th Avenue will be continued eastward to Archer Road on UF property.]

In email of 17 Sep 2003, Mr. Fay stated that the design is scheduled to be completed in June 2004 and that payments are to begin in September 2003. In a 3 Sep 2003 letter to the MTPO, Vice President Poppell wrote that the University of Florida expected to have a "Final Recommendation" in regards to the donation of right-of-way for the SW 24th Avenue extension by June 2004, but that the timeline could slip because of the "dynamics of committee work and committee input."