Articles and op-eds

Gainesville Sun guest columnist June Girard discusses the role of governmental control of land as part of the City’s recent zoning debates.

Walkable cities have certain shared characteristics. They are built to make walking feasible, comfortable, safe, and interesting.

Cindy Swirko reports on the recent decision, in which Gainesville residents challenged the City of Gainesville and developer Tramell Webb, who want to build hundreds of student apartments in Gainesville’s historic Fifth Avenue neighborhood.

Aaron Hoover’s op ed explains that the City Commission plans to spend $180,000 on a no-bid contract to advance its agenda to eliminate what is describes as “exclusionary zoning.”

Cindy Swirko writes about the many new student housing complexes coming online, and the tension between preferred locations for UF student housing and the residents of historic Black neighborhoods.

Gainesville Sun guest columnist Robert Mounts describes the City Commission’s decision to allow two accessory dwelling units, one attached and one detached, with no owner occupancy or on-site parking requirements, in any residential neighborhood in the city.

Op-ed by Kim Tanzer focuses on systems that support housing at the scale of neighborhoods.

Gainesville Sun editorial page editor Nathan Crabbe writes about the role of accessory dwelling units in providing housing for individuals or small families.

Roberta Parks, president of the Fifth Avenue Neighborhood Association, writes an op-ed about the challenges faced in her neighborhood due to increased student rentals.

City Commissioner Harvey Ward’s op-ed discusses a variety of ways to increase housing in existing neighborhoods, including some that might be affordable for Gainesville’s working poor.

Robert Mounts review the proposed G.N.V. Rise plan which incentivizes developers to build affordable housing and asserts that, in areas near the UF campus, the plan will not work.