A look at Oakleaf Town Center

[thelakelander]

No building in areas that can't support it would be a good place to start.  Impact fees would be another thing that could help expand infrastructure.  We're one of the few places in Florida that does not have impact fees.

[gatorback]

Oh, like that license plate thingamabobby few years back.  I completely support taxing new residences.  After all they should pay for our lack of planning right?

[thelakelander]

They (and existing residents who choose to move to remote spots) should pay if they want to live in areas that can't support additional development.

[dowtown-entrepreneur]

As far as OakLeaf splitting into its own 'jurisdiction', there has been plenty of talk in that direction. The residents of OakLeaf have contemplated breaking away from the city of Orange Park and creating their own government. They are not happy with the city of Orange Park's handling of traffic, schools, etc. And OakLeaf will have a complete school system, i.e. K-12, very shortly. If I'm not mistaken they already have a K-8 school. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in 2-3 years.

[gatorback]

Can residents do that? 

[thelakelander]

I don't think Oakleaf was ever a part of the City of Orange Park.  The City of Orange Park's boundaries are east of Blanding.

[second_pancake]

They (and existing residents who choose to move to remote spots) should pay if they want to live in areas that can't support additional development.

Or...they should be self-sufficient!  Amen! But, that of course, would mean the federal government getting involved as it is against the law for a person to set up a permanent dwelling where there is no underground sewer or wastewater system.

[thelakelander]

Or...they should be self-sufficient!  Amen! But, that of course, would mean the federal government getting involved as it is against the law for a person to set up a permanent dwelling where there is no underground sewer or wastewater system.

The developers who are building the new developments should be funding infrastructure upgrades to reach their property, as well as putting money into a pot to support future school and road expansions that will be needed from continued growth in their immediate area.  Ideally, if this is done, the new residents will pay their fair share because the developers will just pass the costs down to them in the sale of their new homes.

[second_pancake]

Yeah, lake, but that would mean the developers would now have long-term responsibility, and who wants that when you can just destroy, build, and bolt?

[thelakelander]

If the City and community really wants to better manage the growth, then somethings that aren't popular with the development community will have to be put in place.

[Lunican]

Do things that aren't popular with the development community? Isn't the city council president Daniel Davis also the Director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association?

In most places this would be considered a conflict of interest, but in Jacksonville it is an honorable addition to your resume for city council.

Daniel is the Director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA), representing the building and construction industry in Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties on state-wide issues.

http://www.coj.net/City+Council/District+12/default.htm

[tufsu1]

Or...they should be self-sufficient!  Amen! But, that of course, would mean the federal government getting involved as it is against the law for a person to set up a permanent dwelling where there is no underground sewer or wastewater system.

The developers who are building the new developments should be funding infrastructure upgrades to reach their property, as well as putting money into a pot to support future school and road expansions that will be needed from continued growth in their immediate area.  Ideally, if this is done, the new residents will pay their fair share because the developers will just pass the costs down to them in the sale of their new homes.

its called concurrency....and believe it or not, its the law in Florida

[thelakelander]

Yes, I'm familiar with concurrency, we deal with it on a daily basis on many of the projects in the office.  However, since many of the new developments still end up costing the community more than what they bring in, the current system is a failure.  I don't know the what the final solution should be, but whether its upping fees, restricting development in certain areas, improving mass transit or increasing the density in places with adaquate infrastructure, something new needs to be done.

[tufsu1]

one of the biggest misconceptions about concurrency is that development doesn't pay its fair share....in fact, large developments in many parts of the state pay more than their fair share....its many of the small projects that get by without having to pay at all.

also important to note is that cities have set up concurrency exception areas to encourage infill development....Jacksonville has done this downtown. 

[thelakelander]

in fact, large developments in many parts of the state pay more than their fair share....its many of the small projects that get by without having to pay at all.

True.  Unfortunately, when its all added up, there are several more smaller developments going up statewide, in areas with limited to no capacity to support them, then the large developments.  As you already know, this has resulted in some municipalities and counties having impact fees, in addition to concurrency.

also important to note is that cities have set up concurrency exception areas to encourage infill development....Jacksonville has done this downtown.

In some cities (I can't think of any in Florida), they have set up tax abatement programs to encourage infill development in older areas with infrastructure already in place as well, with great success.

It would be nice to have this downtown concurrency exception extended to the inner core neighborhoods also, especially in the Northside.  At one point, most of these areas had three times as much density, so a vast amount of infill could happen fairly easily because the infrastructure is already in place.