City Commission gives final approval to Weyerhauser development

Published on April 06, 2023

Development of the 1,778-acre Weyerhauser Company property in northwest Gainesville will move ahead in a manner that saves wetlands, preserves greenspace, includes affordable housing, and avoids urban sprawl. The revisions align with the city’s comprehensive plan and lay the groundwork needed to bring hundreds of new homes to the area.

This evening, the Gainesville City Commission voted in favor of the zoning changes required to allow the eventual future development of the property, marking another step in a timeline that spans four decades. Gainesville first annexed the southern portion of what’s now the Weyerhauser property in 1992, then acquired the remaining acreage in 2007. The original developer, Plum Creek, sold to Weyerhauser in 2015. Two years later, the company submitted a zoning proposal to the city. Commissioners rejected it in 2019, sending Weyerhauser back to the drawing board citing concerns about the proposal promoting low-density urban sprawl.

Today’s revised proposal was first presented to the city commission last October, when it received a split vote of approval based on a number of important changes. 

• The Murphree Wellfield and the headwaters for Rocky Creek, Hatchett Creek and Turkey Creek will remain protected.
• 1,160 acres of the property (approximately 65 percent) will be placed into permanent conservation and will remain undeveloped, including 773 acres of wetlands.
• The revised proposal allows mixed-use development and a diversity of housing to be built on the property.
• Low Impact Development (LID) design is required for stormwater management to mimic natural water flow, reduce flooding, and protect water quality.
• At least 5 percent of residential units will be set aside permanently as affordable housing, defined as households earning between 80-120 percent of the median income for Alachua County for a family of four (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development).
• Weyerhauser will submit a traffic study and mitigate any new traffic on SR 121 resulting from development of the property; will construct a network of paved multi-use trails; and will work with RTS to build transit stations when bus service is extended to the area.

The vote to allow Weyerhauser to develop the property reflects the city’s effort to manage and balance growth while preserving the community’s unique character and greenspace. Gainesville recorded a 54 percent increase in population between 1990 and 2018, and estimates predict almost 30,000 additional people will arrive by 2050.