- More than 30 people came to city hall to push for and against the proposed commercial development plot on Thomasville Road near Kerry Forest Parkway.
- Neighbors against the project worry about noise and traffic impacts to their neighborhood. Members of one church are excited to sell some land to grow their ministry.
- Watch the video to hear why city leaders voted yes:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors came out to City Hall in numbers Wednesday to push for and against a change to a space on Thomasville Road.
After hearing from them, city leaders moved forward with a zoning change near Kerry Forest Parkway.
While members of a church on the property are happy, neighbors living behind the area said the move will hurt their community.
About 30 people showed up to speak for and against the rezoning of the corner of Kerry Forest Parkway and Thomasville Road.
Developer Steve Ghazvini and members of Faith Lutheran Church have asked the city to change the land use here from low density residential to commercial.
The main concern of many St. Ives neighbors like David Schubert: the reduction of this buffer from 150 feet to 30 feet or less.
"Our PUD document clearly protects those trees by Thomasville Road," Schubert said.
City documents show it's referred to as a canopy protection zone.
"A 100-foot canopy protection area has been required and respected is not acknowledged in the application," said another neighbor.
City leaders said that description is not an official city designation, but something the owner named the area years ago.
"A PUD using that terminology or labeling something a preservation area doesn't in fact make it what the land development cope defines as that," said Tallahassee-Leon County planner Artie White.
Faith Lutheran Church is on the property.
Their members said they need to sell the land to grow their ministry.
"It's going to put us in a much better position financially to either stay there on the property that we have or if someone makes us an offer, we have to be good stewards and get the most out of what we have," said David De La Paz.
City leaders voted for the project 3 to 2.
Schubert said it wasn't what St. Ives residents wanted.
"We're disappointed, but not really surprised," Schubert said.
While the change was approved, this project still has to go through permitting.
