High-Density Florida Golf Course Development Bothers Some
Six years ago, Myers Park homeowner Robert Olmstead battled dorm-style student apartments at the edge of his residential neighborhood.
Today, it's condos at the Capital City Country Club Florida golf course that Olmstead wants to see pared down. The cause for his concerns: The last empty lots in Tallahassee are being developed as land values increase and developers construct on the remaining wooded and sloped areas.
In the coming weeks, when the city updates its online listing of proposed large residential and commercial developments (those of more than 40 units or 25,000 square feet), the list is expected to reach almost 140.
"Density and traffic are going to be our main concerns,” Olmstead said of the condo proposal, which is in the discussion stage. "That's probably one of the worst things about a Florida golf course neighborhood is when you can't walk the streets comfortably."
Those are concerns voiced by Florida golf course neighborhood associations throughout the city. Central Tallahassee's vacant lots are filling in, drawing mixed reactions from residents opposed to sprawl but worried about higher densities in their neighborhoods.
"What we're trying to do is encourage high-density growth within the urban community," Mayor John Marks said.
At the same time, city leaders apparently are listening to some constituents' concerns, as evidenced by recent decisions to prevent higher densities in the West Pensacola Street area. But residents say problems remain, and the conflict between homeowners who want to protect their neighborhoods and the demand for rental units, especially in the areas surrounding the city's two universities, continues.
City and county leaders are proposing changes to the state-required plan that guides growth throughout Leon County with the goal of making it easier to understand and more transparent.
"Because the neighborhood was founded so long ago (in the 1930s), there are no rules, deeds, covenants, restrictions, nothing," said Olmstead, the president of the Myers Park Neighborhood Association. "There's no legal protection that you find in a modern neighborhood."
Today, it's condos at the Capital City Country Club Florida golf course that Olmstead wants to see pared down. The cause for his concerns: The last empty lots in Tallahassee are being developed as land values increase and developers construct on the remaining wooded and sloped areas.
In the coming weeks, when the city updates its online listing of proposed large residential and commercial developments (those of more than 40 units or 25,000 square feet), the list is expected to reach almost 140.
"Density and traffic are going to be our main concerns,” Olmstead said of the condo proposal, which is in the discussion stage. "That's probably one of the worst things about a Florida golf course neighborhood is when you can't walk the streets comfortably."
Those are concerns voiced by Florida golf course neighborhood associations throughout the city. Central Tallahassee's vacant lots are filling in, drawing mixed reactions from residents opposed to sprawl but worried about higher densities in their neighborhoods.
"What we're trying to do is encourage high-density growth within the urban community," Mayor John Marks said.
At the same time, city leaders apparently are listening to some constituents' concerns, as evidenced by recent decisions to prevent higher densities in the West Pensacola Street area. But residents say problems remain, and the conflict between homeowners who want to protect their neighborhoods and the demand for rental units, especially in the areas surrounding the city's two universities, continues.
City and county leaders are proposing changes to the state-required plan that guides growth throughout Leon County with the goal of making it easier to understand and more transparent.
"Because the neighborhood was founded so long ago (in the 1930s), there are no rules, deeds, covenants, restrictions, nothing," said Olmstead, the president of the Myers Park Neighborhood Association. "There's no legal protection that you find in a modern neighborhood."
posted by John at
7:40 AM
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