The Alachua City Commission approved the preliminary plat of a 198-acre development called Tara Forest West in northwest Alachua at a regular meeting on Monday. The commission also approved a proposed millage rate 7.9% higher than the rollback rate. 

Multiple citizens attended the meeting to ask the commission to vote the development down, citing environmental and aesthetic concerns. 

At a city of Alachua Planning and Zoning Board meeting on June 11, the board voted 3-1 to recommend approval of the application. After hearing neighbors’ concerns, the board added a condition that a six-foot-tall fence would be placed along the border the project shares with the Dogwood Acres subdivision to the north. 

But the fence did not stop the dislike for the project. 

An online petition posted on July 19 had gained 280 signatures an hour before the meeting, urging the city to stop the development for the environment, to keep national builders out of town and to “Keep Alachua’s rural feel.” An hour after the meeting ended, the petition was up to 666 signatures. 

The petition was posted by Joe Hancock, vice chair of the city of Alachua Planning and Zoning Board. Hancock also spoke as a citizen at the meeting on Monday, asking the City Commission to consider the aesthetics of a grid system of rooftops being placed on a rolling hillside. 

Hancock and several others brought up the idea of allowing Alachua County to purchase the land and turn it into a conservation area. Some said the county had previously looked at the land for Wild Spaces Public Places but had chosen not to buy it. 

Chris Chenevey, a Dogwood Acres resident, said he has spoken with Emily Taylor, executive director of the Florida Springs Institute, and she told him the property that developer Sayed Moukhtara wants to build on has a significant karst feature, a series of underground caves that allow runoff water on the property to sink into the aquifer within two weeks. 

“She said that it was in the top two or three most valuable pieces of land ecologically in the county… I have great concerns about this,” Chenevey told the commission. “I’m no environmentalist but listening to Dr. Taylor I could tell how important it is.” 

Other citizens brought up the impact on traffic and other areas, and some said a new change in the land development regulation code has made it easier for Moukhtara to build more lots closer together. 

Jay Brown, president and principal engineer at JBPro civil engineering, said the land development code change actually meant the development had to have fewer lots, only changing some setbacks. 

Moukhtara said he is only building what the property is already zoned for, and that he will filter all of the stormwater on his own property, as well as what runs down from the Dogwood Acres subdivision. He said he would go “above and beyond” in his filtration of the water before it sinks back into the aquifer. 

“It breaks my heart that there is no real interest,” Moukhtara said. “There is just an intention to badmouth us, when we are really not trying to do anything that is harmful.” 

After about an hour of back-and-forth, city attorney Marian Rush reminded the commission that, as the vote was a quasi-judicial proceeding, it must vote strictly on whether the proposed preliminary plat is in keeping with land development regulations. 

The commission voted 3-1 in favor of the preliminary plat, with Commissioner Shirley Green-Brown in dissent and Commissioner Ed Potts absent. 

The development, on about 198 acres, is planned to include 523 lots over the course of six phases. The lots are to range in size from 7,294 square feet to 19,841 square feet, with the majority being about 7,500 square feet. 

There are to be 13 common areas throughout the development, with the largest being on the west side in the stormwater retention area. That area is planned to contain several amenities, including a pool, splash pad, tennis and basketball courts, a dog park and sports fields. 

Phase 1 will include one access connection to US 441, and another will be required with or before Phase 4. 

The development is also connected to several other surrounding Tara Forest developments. 

Millage Rate 

The commission also unanimously approved a 5.95 millage rate for fiscal year 2024-25, which is 7.9% higher than the rollback rate of 5.5119. The rollback rate would generate the same amount of money as last year’s rate. 

The first public hearing of the proposed millage rate is set for Sept. 9 and Sept. 23. 

The maximum rate is 8.2856, or an even higher maximum rate that would require a 2/3 vote.