Alachua deserves solutions, not stormwater over buried problems.

Dear Mayor and City Commissioners, I am writing to respectfully urge you to deny the Farmlands rezoning request. This proposal raises serious concerns that have not been adequately disclosed, reviewed, or resolved. The application describes the property as “Undeveloped / Tree Farm,” yet testimony during the quasi-judicial hearing raised concerns about a decommissioned landfill, a sinkhole on the tree farm, and the proposed siting of stormwater retention areas over or near buried waste. Those are not minor technical details. They go directly to public health, groundwater protection, stormwater safety, contamination risk, and the long-term costs that could be shifted onto residents. The staff report acknowledges that the property is located in a high aquifer recharge potential area and that additional stormwater and geotechnical review would occur at final design. It also states that no potential sinkholes or other geologic features are known to exist on the property, despite testimony raising concerns about a sinkhole. This contradiction should not be brushed aside or deferred until after rezoning. The City should not approve a major land-use change first and ask the most important public health and environmental questions later. If the landfill, sinkhole, stormwater siting, groundwater risks, and long-term maintenance obligations were not fully disclosed and resolved in the application, then the record is incomplete. Alachua also does not have to accept a large-scale retail proposal simply because it is presented as “economic development.” Other Florida communities have stood up to large-scale retail when projects did not reflect local values, community character, or responsible planning. Boca Raton has used retail size limits to prevent oversized commercial footprints. Newberry paused large-scale retail applications so it could consider better rules to protect its small-town feel. Boca Raton voters also rejected a major redevelopment plan when residents believed public priorities were being handed over to private development. Alachua can do the same. The City Commission is not required to make the community fit the box. You have the authority and responsibility to determine whether this rezoning is compatible with Alachua’s character, protective of existing residents, and supported by a complete and reliable record. This proposal raises too many unanswered questions: a decommissioned landfill not adequately disclosed, a sinkhole concern not resolved, stormwater proposed over or near buried waste, high aquifer recharge conditions, major traffic impacts, and a big-box commercial footprint that could reshape the city for decades. Current residents are relying on you to protect their health, homes, drinking water, and quality of life. Alachua deserves responsible planning - not stormwater over buried problems and not a development model that could leave the public carrying the risk. I respectfully ask you to: Please deny the Farmlands rezoning request. Require full disclosure of the decommissioned landfill and sinkhole. Require independent geotechnical and environmental review before any further approval. Require clear scientific evidence that stormwater retention can be safely located and maintained on this site. Require any future proposal to reflect Alachua’s character, needs, and long-term public interest. Alachua is not a blank site plan. It is a community. No disclosure. No confidence. No rezoning. Sincerely,