April 3, 2022
In his final stretch in office, one of the main goals of outgoing Gainesville city mayor Lauren Poe is a fairly simple one: to increase the inclusionary zoning and decrease the exclusionary zoning in the city of Gainesville.
Back in late February, Gainesville's Department of Sustainable Development laid out a proposal to compress all single family residential zoning districts into one large residential zone, alter the current list of allowed uses to accommodate relatively small amounts of multi family home growth, decrease the amount of lot size restrictions, get rid of occupancy limits, increase the number of bedrooms allowed in residential buildings within the University of Florida context area, and more.
Another proposed change would be the adjustment of the current Mobile Home district to accommodate for more development of multi family housing options.
The stated goal of the proposal is to create a wider array of housing options in the Gainesville area, which in turn could create a more equitable housing scene in the Marion County seat. Mayor Poe cites the need for social justice as the driving force behind this proposal, which he says will hopefully provide a strong weapon against racial segregation, housing cost burden, and the quality of and access to housing options.
