Agenda Item Name:
Title
SW 62nd Boulevard Connector Project, Countywide Wetland Protection Code Application
End
Presenter:
Mark Brown, ACEPD, 352-264-6814
Brian Singleton, COG-PWD, 352-393-8801
Description:
In 2007, the FDOT and City of Gainesville commenced the planning evaluation of roadway alternatives to provide traffic congestion relief options to major transportation facilities including I-75, SW 34th Street, Archer Road, SW 20th Avenue and Newberry Road. Evaluations of 11 potential alternatives of various existing and potential new routes located between Newberry and Archer Roads resulted in selecting an alternative that will result in the construction of a new 1.1 mile-long, 2-lane roadway facility commencing at the western terminus of Clark Butler Boulevard and connecting near the intersection of SW 62nd Street and SW 20th Avenue. Referred to as the SW 62nd Boulevard Connector, this proposed alignment includes two wetland crossings that would result in a total of 3.6 acres of primary impacts (fill material) and 7.6 acres of secondary impacts (total 11.2 acres). To compensate for these impacts, the City of Gainesville Public Works Department (PWD) has proposed to fulfill regulatory wetland mitigation requirements by purchasing wetland mitigation credits from the Mill Creek Mitigation Bank. The PWD is also proposing to mitigate 1.1 acres of wetland buffer encroachment by cost-sharing with the City's Parks Department to conduct marsh habitat restoration and enhancement associated with the five-acre "Boardwalk Wetland" located at Gainesville's Bivens Arm Nature Park. Proposed construction of the Connector is scheduled to commence in the fall of 2022 and be completed in 2024.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
The BOCC finds the proposed Connector project consistent with Section 77.20 requirements of the Countywide Wetland Protection Code and approves the proposed wetland and buffer impacts contingent upon the City satisfying the mitigation requ...
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