Alachua sets new standards around Interstate 75

Development moratorium lifted

City commissioners gave the final approval Monday for a measure which restricts the types of business and sets new development standards in area of the I-75 and U.S. Highway 441 intersection.

City officials say the measure is intended to protect one of the entries into the city and have dubbed the area a “Gateway Overlay District.”

City of Alachua Commissioners already gave the initial nod for the ordinance, which would prohibit certain business types in a 2,000 foot radius from the center point of the two major highways.  The area encompasses some 800 acres of land divided up into 44 parcels.  Most of the land has a zoning designation of Commercial Intensive, although a few parcels are Planned Unit Developments (PUDs).

Business which wouldn’t be allowed include tattoo parlors, sex shops, funeral homes, liquor stores, automobile body shops, commercial parking lots, crematories, laundromats, machine shops, outdoor kennels and recycling drop-off centers.  The ordinance also prohibits the outdoor display of any type of motorized vehicles, boats or equipment for sale or rent unless associated with hotels or motels.

In addition to restricting the types of businesses, the overlay district ordinance also sets design standards related to parking lot configuration, signage, outside storage, loading areas, fencing, street buffer and other aspects of development in the area.  The new standards would only apply to new construction in that area.

Commissioners also repealed a temporary moratorium, which prevented any business from opening in the overly district since Feb. 28.