Planning Frequently Asked Questions
Q. HOW IS AN URBAN PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (UPUD) DIFFERENT THAN A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD)?
A. A UPUD may only be approved in areas designated Central Urban (CU), Central Urban-12, Central Urban-18, Central Urban-26, Central Urban-45, University Transition (UT), Downtown Institutional (DI), Retail/Office (RO), Capital Center Office Institutional (O-I), Capital Center Office Governmental (O-G) within the Capital Center Planning District (CCPD). However, a UPUD shall not be allowed in the Gaines Street revitalization area or the Special Character District. There is no minimum size requirement for a UPUD. The process for a approval is the same as the PUD process however, the UPUD Concept and Final Plan are submitted at the same time and include color site plans and elevations or renderings, accurately depicting the site design, scale, building design, massing, and project enhancements and proposals located in the downtown area are subject to review by the Urban Design Commission.
Q. ARE THERE ANY IMPROVEMENTS (road widening etc.:) GOING TO TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS ON ROAD X?
A. Annually, the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) produces a document called the Transportation Improvement Program or TIP. This document contains all the roadway improvements that are expected to occur in the next five-year period and can be viewed at http://www.crtpa.org/. The improvements include those on City, County, and State roadways, and may include roadway widenings, intersection improvements, roadway resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, transit (StarMetro) improvements, and airport improvements.
Additionally, the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) can be used to locate future improvements for a given area. The Cost Feasible Plan will provide the information regarding roadway improvements as well as a map (s) for locating the improvements.
Q. WHAT ROADS ARE IN THE LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN? IS THIS ROAD IN THE LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN?
A. The Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which is updated every five years to reflect changes in population, employment, and economic opportunities that impact the transportation system in the Leon County Urbanized Area, consists of documents and maps that provide the community, elected officials, transportation professionals, and ultimately the State of Florida and the Federal government with a blueprint of transportation improvements/actions for the next 20 years. These improvements center around the roadway, bicycle, pedestrian, or transit systems.
The adopted improvements in the LRTP can be found in the Cost Feasible Plan section. This section contains projects that have been considered to be cost feasible based upon the availability of funding (includes City, County, and State funds) in the next 20 year time period. This document can be viewed at http://www.crtpa.org/.
Q. WHEN IS THIS ROAD GOING TO BE WIDENED?
A. Annually, the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) produces a document called the Transportation Improvement Program or TIP. This document contains all the roadway improvements that are expected to occur in the next five-year period and can be viewed at http://www.crtpa.org/. The improvements include those on City, County, and State roadways, and may include roadway widenings, intersection improvements, roadway resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, transit (TalTran) improvements, and airport improvements.
Further, if you know the ownership of the roadway (state, city, or county) you can directly contact the Florida Department of Transportation (414-4100), the City (891-8197) or County Public Works Department (606-1500).
Q. WHAT IS THE VOLUME ON THIS ROAD?
A. For this information, please contact the City's Traffic Engineering Division (891-8261).
Q. WHERE CAN I GET THE LATEST TRAFFIC COUNTS FOR X AREA?
A. For this information, please contact the City's Traffic Engineering Division (891-8261).
Q. WHAT ARE THE FUTURE TRANSPORATION PLANS FOR X AREA?
A. Annually, the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) produces a document called the Transportation Improvement Program or TIP. This document contains all the roadway improvements that are expected to occur in the next five-year period. The improvements include those on City, County, and State roadways, and may include roadway widenings, intersection improvements, roadway resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, transit (TalTran) improvements, and airport improvements.
Additionally, the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) can be used to locate future improvements for a given area. The Cost Feasible Plan will provide the information regarding roadway improvements as well as a map (s) for locating the improvements.
Q. HOW CAN I GET A DRIVEWAY CUT? (Refer to Growth Management)
A. For this information, please contact the City's (891-7100) or County's (606-1300) Growth Management Department.
Q. HOW DO I ACCESS TD SERVICES?
A. A person can access the Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinated system by calling StarMetro at 891-5143. A person must first be declared "eligible" according to the program guidelines. Copies of the eligibility application are available at StarMetro and at the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency.
Q. I HAVE SOME NICE UNDEVELOPED LAND I'D LIKE TO SELL TO THE CITY/ COUNTY FOR CONSERVATION…
A. Yes, we do coordinate acquisition of properties that have high quality natural resources and that contribute to the implementation of our conceptual greenways system. Unfortunately, neither the City nor the County has available funds for this activity. Ordinarily we look to using state or federal matching funds to help our limited acquisition dollars and we request local funds for priority projects during the budget process (late spring-summer). Because of the time required to compete for and secure state grants, our greenways acquisitions take from one to two years to close.
Q. DOES THE CITY / COUNTY CLEAN UP CONTAMINATED SITES? I HAVE SOME LAND AND WANT TO SELL / DEVELOP IT.
A. Local government does not clean up sites. We have one program in the Gaines Street corridor to assist property owners in determining the cleanup needs of their properties, but the actual remediation is, for the time being, the owner's responsibility. Additional technical information about your site may be available from the local Aquifer Protection Program (891-1200) or the County's Storage Tank Monitoring and Compliance officer (Scott Ross) at 606-1300.
Q. DO I NEED A PERMIT TO REMOVE A TREE?
A. In general, any tree over 18� DBH (diameter breast height) will require a permit or approval from the City of Tallahassee. This does not apply to single-family homesites, where a 36� rule applies instead. Also, any tree determined to be a hazard or nuisance can be removed, again with a permit.
Q. DO I LIVE IN A CANOPY ROAD ZONE? WHAT IS A CANOPY ROAD AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
A. Canopy Roads are specially designated corridors along some of our major roads. The corridors provide protection and management to preserve the extensive tree cover over and adjacent to the roadways. The roads included are Miccosukee, from Capital Circle NE to Mocassin Gap; Centerville, from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital to 5R59; Old St. Augustine, from Lafayette Street to W.W. Kelly; Old Bainbridge, from Raa to Capital Circle NW; Meridian, from 7 th Avenue to the state line, Old Centerville, from its intersection with Centerville Road and the state line, Sunny Hill, from its intersection with Thomasville Road to Old Centerville Road and Pisgah Church, from Bradfordville Road to the end of the County maintained right-of-way east of Centerville Road. The regulated area, in which no clearing is allowed, is 100 feet to either side of the centerline of the road. New driveway cuts may be prohibited if alternative access exists. The County and the City have an interlocal agreement to fund active management of the canopy road network, including hazards pruning, underbrushing and replanting to preserve and enhance the character of the vegetation.
Q. WHAT IS THE POPULATION OF THE CITY AND COUNTY?
A. The 2006 population estimate for Leon County is 272,497; 176,336 of Leon County residents reside within the Tallahassee City Limits while 96,161 reside within the Unincorporated Areas of Leon County. Additional population information for Tallahassee and Leon County can be viewed at http://www.talgov.com/planning/support/support.cfm.
Q. WHERE CAN I OBTAIN THE LATEST DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR TALLAHASSEE AND LEON COUNTY?
A. The complete Statistical Digest is released by the Planning Department in July of each year however t he tables contained within are periodically updated throughout the year as new data becomes availablehttp://www.talgov.com/planning/support/stat_digest.cfm
Q. WHERE CAN I OBTAIN INFORMATION ON LARGER PROPOSED OR ON-GOING RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS?
A. In March and September of each year, the Planning Department produces the Major Ongoing & Proposed Developments Report In Tallahassee and Leon County Report http://www.talgov.com/planning/support/mopdr.cfm. The purpose of this report is to provide the public with information on major (defined as 40+ units of residential or 25,000 square feet of non-residential) developments in Tallahassee and Leon County that are either in the planning stages or in the process of construction.
Q. WHAT IS THE LAND AREA WITHIN THE CURRENT CITY LIMITS?
A. The current city limit encompasses 102.97 square miles as of January 1, 2007.
Q. WHERE CAN SOMEONE ACCESS GENERAL URBAN AREA AND COUNTY MAPS OF TALLAHASSEE AND LEON COUNTY?
A. The Streets of Tallahassee and Streets and Community Facilities maps can be viewed at http://www.talgov.com/planning/support/support.cfm. In addition, the Urban Area Future Land Use Map, County-Wide Future Land Use Map and the Existing Land Use Map are also available for viewing