A synopsis of how Alachua County and University of Florida decided that a four-lane SW 24th Avenue was needed and that UF should donate right-of-way
Prepared for the Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee, 28 March 2003
The Natural Area Advisory Committee [NAAC] is concerned about the procedures used by the University of Florida and Alachua County to decide that SW 24th Avenue should be developed as a four-lane road. It is also concerned about the procedures used by the University of Florida to decide to offer campus land for a portion of the right-of-way.
We have therefore attempted to summarize what these procedures have been, and how they relate to what most would consider "best practice."
SCORE CARDS
To summarize the more detailed materials below, we offer score cards as to how well best-practice procedures were followed in deciding to make SW 24th Avenue a four-lane road and in deciding that UF should donate campus land for right-of-way between SW 34th Street and Archer Road.
Four-lane Road
Recent studies of the area's traffic problems:
2
Studies recommending a four-lane SW 24th Avenue:
0
Donation of Campus Land
Committees that should have been asked for input:
5
Committees that were asked for input:
0
THE ROAD
A two-lane SW 24th Avenue was planned as part of the 20th Avenue Charrette and adopted as part of the Long Range Transportation Plan of the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization for the Gainesville Urban Area [MTPO]. The two-lane SW 24th Avenue was also included in the MTPO's Cost Feasible Plan. UF officially supported a two-lane road in its Campus Development Agreement [CDA] with Gainesville and Alachua County (30 Dec 1998).
A four-lane SW 24th Avenue, necessitating a four-lane extension across SW 34th Street to Archer Road, was apparently first proposed in December 2002 by Renaissance Planning Group, which had been hired by Clark Butler to help plan the development of an addition to Butler Plaza to be known as Butler Plaza North. The first public mention of it may have been at the 12 Dec 2002 MTPO meeting.
The University of Florida seems to have first come out publicly in favor of a four-lane SW 24th Avenue on 31 Jan 2003, at a special meeting of the Alachua County Commission. At the start of the meeting, the five commissioners were addressed by UF V-P Poppell and Clark Butler. The official minutes of the meeting include, as attachments, a map (showing an east-west traffic corridor proposed by Butler) and a copy of Poppell's notes. [NAAC's enlargement of a portion of the appended map shows details in the SW 24th Avenue area.]
At its 20 Feb 2003 meeting, the MTPO amended its Long Range Transportation Plan to specify a four-lane rather than a two-lane SW 24th Avenue. The amendment passed because at that meeting UF V-P Poppell assured the MTPO that UF would donate right-of-way for the section that runs from SW 34th Street to Archer Road.
At its 25 Mar 2003 meeting, the Alachua County Commission voted that County staff should cease planning a two-lane SW 24th Avenue (the documents for which had been 90% completed at a cost of $500,000) and begin planning a four-lane SW 24th Avenue. This was based on President Young's letter to the Commission assuring them of UF's support for the four-lane plan.
Two recent studies have addressed how roads in the area of SW 24th Avenue should be developed. One is the
MTPO's Long Range Transportation Plan (December 2000), and the other is an Analysis for Potential Amendment to the 2020 Transportation Plan (22 Jan 2003). The latter study was done by Renaissance Planning Group and paid for jointly by Clark Butler and the MTPO. Neither study concluded that a four-lane SW 24th Avenue was needed.
NAAC knows of no other relevant studies; however, the following recent events are noteworthy:
At the MPTO meeting of 20 Feb 2003, a 14 Feb 2003 memo from Marlie Sanderson to the MPTO was made public. It stated,
"MTPO staff recommend that the MTPO 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."
In the Transportation Element of the Final Report of the Plan East Gainesville Charrette (March 2003) no mention is made of SW 24th Avenue nor of an east-west traffic corridor (though it does recommend establishing "premium transit service" linking east Gainesville with "key employment and commercial centers.")
So much for the procedures that have been followed. What would normal procedures be for changing a road plan to accommodate a large-scale, new commercial development? Because the proposed Butler Plaza North will add significant commercial square footage to an already congested area, it will trigger the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review process, created by the Florida Legislature in 1973. One of the most demanding aspects of the process is a thorough study of the transportation needs of the area. Through traffic monitoring and traffic modeling, additional roads or lanes are specified and these must be constructed as development proceeds.
Summary: Changes in the Long Range Transportation Plan should be based on careful study rather than to accommodate a DRI that has yet to undergo the review process.
DONATION OF CAMPUS LAND
According to the website of UF's Facilities Planning and Construction, the Administration should have consulted these three committees in regards to the right-of-way donation (the words in quotations are from the website):
The Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee advises on the "management and well being of natural areas containing non-domesticated plants and animals." (The land to be donated is part of UF Preservation Area 1.)
The Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee advises on "the overall appearance and development of the campus" and "the enforcement of the UF Master Plan policies and guidelines."
The Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee, in conjunction with the Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee, advises on "development and updating of the University Master Plan." The two are charged with "reviewing and recommending approval/denial of all requests for land use changes."
Furthermore, if the Administration had sought to determine all consequences of donating the right-of-way, it would have consulted the Ecology, Conservation and Stewardship Committee (ECOS), which advises on "broad goals for managing environmentally sensitive lands on campus," and the Natural Area Advisory Committee, whose charge is to recommend how UF's Natural Area Teaching Laboratory [NATL] should be managed. (The right-of-way to be donated is part of the academic area of NATL.)
None of these five committees was asked for its advice prior to President Young's 25 March 2003 letter, in which he stated that the University of Florida "will recommend through its Master Plan amendment process that sufficient right-of-way be given to the City of Gainesville/County of Alachua to provide the necessary land to connect SW 24th Avenue to Archer Road."
Finally, the professional staff of UF's Planning Office (part of Finance and Administration's Facilities Planning and Construction Division) were not asked to comment on the advisability of a four-lane road through the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory prior to January 2003.
THE FUTURE
The proposed extension of SW 24th Avenue is now on the agenda for the next meeting of UF's Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee. In anticipation that UF Administration will continue to seek the advice of its advisory committees in regards to donating campus land for road rights-of-way, this synopsis is hereby discontinued.--Tom Walker, Chair of the Natural Area Advisory Committee, 28 March 2003.
If you find anything in the above that you judge to be inaccurate or misleading, please send the details to natl@ufl.edu so that corrections can be made.
