GAINESVILLE – The Gainesville City Council will be holding three public hearings Tuesday evening regarding annexation and rezoning requests that have recently come before the city for consideration.
At Thursday morning’s city council work session councilwoman Barbara Brooks urged her constituents to be there and to begin regularly attending city council meetings. “Our community needs to come to council meetings and sit in on work sessions,” the Ward 3 representative said, “because a lot of times they call us, and they want things done, explained, they could already know.”
Brooks said it was not uncommon for members of the city council to take time to explain (sometimes repeatedly) matters under consideration by the city when the information was already available. “There’s nothing wrong with giving personal service to any citizen - I do that all the time and I’m sure y’all (council members) do that, too – but I think when we have to take special time to go to meetings and cover material that has already been delivered publicly at council meetings, where people can give input, I think it’s asking a little bit much.”
Brooks urged Gainesville citizens, “…to do your homework first, and then if you have questions, then call us. I think it’s important for our people to take advantage of the opportunities they have to learn what the city is doing without ‘calling a special session’.”
The trio of public hearings taking place at the city council’s voting session on Tuesday, August 3, beginning at 5:30 in the Gainesville Public Safety Complex on Queen City Parkway, concern:
- The rezoning of 1.7-acres along Jesse Jewell Parkway at West Academy Street, including a special use application. In brief, this is the current site of the Gainesville Midland train, which will soon be relocated, and the planned future site of a Bourbon Brothers restaurant and entertainment venue.
- The rezoning of 4.9-acres along Queen City Parkway at Banks Street to allow for the development of 214 multi-family apartments by McNeal Development, LLC. The apartment complex as planned will include three 4 and 5-story buildings, consisting of either 1 or 2-bedroom units.
- Annexation into the city of 1.7-acres on Meadowlark Lane. Meadowlark Lane is a 1250-feet road that intersects Cleveland Highway just south of Riverbend Church. If approved for annexation property owner Carl Volle plans to construct six 3-bedroom, 2-bath single level homes on the property.
Gainesville City Manager Bryan Lackey supported Brooks’ comments on encouraging city residents to begin attending city council meetings, saying that redistricting within the city, the county and the state would soon begin and that community input during that legislative process would be needed.
