Leon County is facing a housing shortage. By the year 2050, officials say the county will need an additional 23,000 housing units. To find space for that growth, the county and city are looking at changes to the Comprehensive Plan—essentially a blueprint for local development.
Some of those changes include expanding the Urban Services Area where city utilities are available, and adjusting Future Land Use Categories to allow more dense development in some areas.
Mike Alfano is the director of the city/county planning department. He says even with the space available today in the Urban Services Area, more is needed.
“There are 21,000 acres of land today in the Urban Services Area that are developable, so with all that land that is developable, we still have a shortage of housing supply, a shortage of rental units," Alfano says. "There is a clear indication that the market is not providing the amount of housing stock that we as a community need.”
During a meeting Tuesday, Leon Commissioners approved some changes to the comprehensive plan, but the county decided not to move forward with a proposed change for about 1,100 acres near Southwood and Old St. Augustine Road. That decision came after pushback from community members who raised concerns about possible harm the potential development could bring to a protected the protected canopy road, well as frustration about the process for amending the comprehensive plan. Commissioner Rick Minor says he agrees the process hasn't been transparent.
“The intention may have been good from a planner’s perspective," Minor says, "but from the public looking at us, it looks like we’ve been sneaking things in and then not telling our county commission about it until after we transmit.”
City Commissioners are expected to discuss comp plan changes during their meeting Wednesday.
