Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council Contract Extended

The Williston Sun News, September, 2001

The city of Williston contracted the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council to pre-pare a redevelopment plan and to assist the Williston Community Redevelopment Agency through July 2001. The contract has been extended. The Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council is an association of local governments that employ a professional planning staff to assist local governments in Levy and several other counties.

The Williston Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) hosted a Design Charette earlier this year to give property owners and citizens an opportunity to help plan for redevelopment of the downtown area. The Charette was designed to solicit public input into the redevelopment planning process.

Marc Mondell of the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council said after the Charette, "The Charette process was an important step to help us gain a more solid idea of where things might be headed based on professional and community input. I learned a great deal and I believe the rest of the agency members did as well. I learned that redevelopment planning does work when it is community based, has the support of local government and the community at large. I have a firm belief that the better we look as a community, the greater the likelihood we will attract the kind of businesses we all desire to fill the empty buildings and make new investments in the community."

City Attorney Norm Fugate has meet with the CRA to discuss by laws for the CRA which included meeting and duties of officers.
Marc Mondell and the CRA have been reviewing the changes on the CRA boundary expansion. In a recent meeting, he pointed out the difference in the amount of acres and the tax values between the new expanded district and the old district. The old district has 122 acres with a $7.7 million dollar assessed value and the new district would include 481 acres valued at $15.7 million dollars. In the new district there is land that is publicly owned and not taxable. Mondell reported that the benefits of expansion would include greater local control over use of ad valorem revenues and a significant increase in total funds to actualize redevelopment efforts.

Mondell reported part of the development is to remove the eyesores from Williston and provide for the health and safety of the citizens. He has asked the CRA members to mark their footprint map with the areas they would consider recommending demolition. There has already been a Hazardous Building and Land Ordinance approved by the Williston City Council, Ordinance 408. City Attorney Fugate stated the Ordinance 408 revamped the code enforcement process to make a clear definition of Hazardous Buildings and Land. Mondell explained that part of the CRA Plan is to recommend property for condemnation/demolition as stated in Florida Statutes 163.360.b "Be sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition and removal of structures, redevelopment, improve-ments, and rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in the community redevelopment area; zoning and planning changes, if any; land uses; maximum densities; and building requirement."

Mondell and CRA members included in their list of property to be demolished, the old theater, behind the old train depot, and some condemned apartment buildings. It was suggested to have property owners clean up what they can do themselves first.
Mondell said the process was needed to be accomplished for the CRA Plan to be approved. After the CRA members have reviewed all the elements for the CRA Plan, the plan will be sent to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the county and the housing authority for their review and comments. Comments will be returned to the CRA members for their review and after their approval the CRA Plan will be forwarded to the Williston City Council for final approval.

The Williston Community Redevelopment Agency meets on the second and fourth Monday at 5:15 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

See September, 2001 issue of The Williston Sun News for original article.