City approves contract for impact fee study.
Impact fee studies
Commissioners have approved a nearly $100,000 contract with Alfred Benesch and Company to conduct an impact fee study.
During the commission meeting on Sept. 12 City Manager Bill McDaniel was told to proceed with the agreement — which also entails $6,200 in optional services for city staff and commission presentations. Typically, impact fees are reviewed to determine if the structure of the rates are competitive and are legally defensible. The current rate structures are enforced for the following services:
• Law enforcement – adopted on April 9, 2007
• Fire protection – adopted on January 22, 2007
• Library – adopted on August 22, 2005
• Recreation – adopted on February 23, 2004
• Transportation Mobility – adopted on February 22, 2010
On April 29 the city published an RFP for the service. Bids were due May 26. Four responses were received, three of which were considered valid.
South Frontage Road Commercial Center
The proposed Plant City South Frontage Road Commercial Center subdivision is nearing final approval as the commission set a public hearing for the project on Sept. 26.
The applicant, Ron Roberts, proposes the commercial center create a two-lot industrial subdivision within the Northeast Commercial Center Planned Development District. The subdivision would be located on the south side of South Frontage Road, between North Park Road and East of North Wilder Road.
On Aug. 24, the planning board found the subdivision plat to be consistent with the Plant City Zoning Ordinance, Subdivisions Regulations, Florida Statutes Chapter 177 and the Imagine 2040 Comprehensive Plan and sent it to the city commission with a recommendation to approve.
Gateway District
A public hearing will be held on Sept. 26 on the Gateway District, which commissioners could use to bring mixed-use development to James L. Redman Pkwy.
In 2005, the Mixed-Use Gateway District – Future Land Use Plan Category was developed as part of the Imagine 2040: Plant City Comprehensive Plan.
The land use category was applied to those lands along both sides of James L. Redman Parkway from Charlie Griffin Road to Kilgore Road.
The overarching development criteria for the district will remain the same as the maximum density will stay at 16 units per gross acre and the floor area ratio will continue to 0.35.
Its uses for commercial, office, civic, and residential purposes will also remain unchanged and a strip of commercial development pattern is prohibited.
One major concept that is proposed to change is how the municipality promotes a mixed-use environment in the Gateway District.
Currently all parcels must have a mix of uses, which has proven difficult to put in place due to a variety of factors, including the varied parcel sizes and ownership patterns along James L. Redman Parkway.
The proposed method would provide incentives for a mix of uses within the corridor and requiring vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian cross connections between developments. This in turn would create a cohesive sense of identity within the district and improving safety and reducing transportation impacts on James L. Redman Parkway.
