The Alachua City Commission on Monday unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance that introduces several new definitions and some clarifications to the city's Land Development Regulations (LDRs). Another new ordinance also allows trash containers to be located in a city entrance, clear of buildings.
The first ordinance amending Alachua's LDRs touches on several areas where staff saw a need for clarification and improvement, including minor clarifications regarding the manner in which applications, plans, and schedules are processed, as well as the following new types of uses:
- Mobile food distribution vehicle
The regulation also defines these new uses as well as “retail distributor of nicotine products,” “retail distributor of tobacco products,” “retail distributor of e-cigarette products,” and “smoking devices,” and amends the regulations for wall signs in business districts to meet the size requirements for different sites of a building.
The Commission also unanimously approved the second reading of another amendment to the LDRs, proposed by Silvio Cavaceppi and Sharleen Cavacepp of Sarcav, LLC, that modifies trash collection area requirements in the U.S. Highway 441/Interstate 75 Gateway Overlay District.
Previously, it was necessary for new buildings to create waste collection areas that were “integrated” or built into the main building.
The new ordinance still requires that dumpsters be fully enclosed by a solid, fenced wall “the architectural design of which is comparable to the main structure,” but no longer requires a physical connection to the building.
The Cavaceppis argued that the change would allow greater flexibility in site design, allow dumpsters to be placed outside ordering areas for drive-thru restaurants and attract more businesses to Alachua.
The change only applies to trash collection areas for developments within the city's US Hwy 441/Interstate 75 Gateway Overlay District, which consists of parcels located within a 2,000-foot radius of the midpoint of the intersection of US Highway 441 and I-75.