The change was mandated by a state law passed this year but Board member Joe Diaz said he would not approve amending the code and that he was opposed to such housing locating in Gainesville.
"Frankly I'm just not going to vote for it, I just won't," Diaz said. "I'm going to vote no and the state legislators can do what they can do."
The rest of the board followed Diaz' lead and voted unanimously against the code change, recommended by the city attorney so the code would conform to state law.
APARTMENTS ARE BETTER AT MUNDY MILL
Developer Wendell Starke got the go-ahead from the Board to build apartments instead of condos on his 65 acre portion of Mundy Mill, the massive residential project that went bust with the recession, but there was an objection.
The objection was from Dean Warnock, a homeowner in the nearby Maple Forge Subdivision, who feared the zoning amendment would hurt property values.
"This is a deviation from that standard," Warnock said. "If the city is not going to protect us, who is."
Starke said the current and future housing market calls for apartments, not condos; for the time being he wants to plan, not build.
"In this economy we're not likely to start anything right away," Starke said.
Starke's application, submitted under Butler Property LLC, requested the construction of 1,235 apartment units instead of 460 condominiums, believing the amendment will address demand in the housing market. The application stated the overall number of housing units within the Mundy Mill Development would not increase.
Board member Joe Diaz said he would not approve amending the code
Dean Warnock, a homeowner in the nearby Maple Forge Subdivision, feared the zoning amendment would hurt property values
Starke said the current and future housing market calls for apartments, not condos
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/12/234536