Statement on the
Plantation Market Project
I am opposed to the Plantation Marketplace project as it is currently designed and I will veto it if the opportunity arises.
Three years ago, long before the application process began, the project’s developer visited City Hall to share this plan. I told them simply, “It’s too darn big.”
Unfortunately, the Plantation Marketplace applicants have not scaled back the project. And what is planned is not compatible with the character of the nearby communities.
Plantation Marketplace also is not in line with our strategic plan. Every year, the city council, staff and I take a whole day for Strategic Planning. We map out what we want for the future of the city.
Planning
I often have pre-application meetings similar to what we did with Marketplace, and my sense for reading the public and the city council has been very good.
Case in point is Racetrac, the gas station proposed for the corner of Pine Island Road and Sunrise Boulevard. I told the applicant that neither the public nor the City Council would likely support the endeavor. Yet, they moved ahead and were denied 5-0.
We also are protecting neighborhoods with such ordinances as the “no flex” in single-family home communities, for example. This means developers can’t “use” units from other zoning areas. We took a request by Plantation Acres residents fearing overdevelopment and expanded it to the entire city, and that measure was passed after I became mayor.
Impact Fee Update
Earlier this year, we also increased the impact fees we charge developers to the maximum amount under the state’s formulas. Utility water and wastewater capacity charges were updated in October of 2025.
Almost all of our growth has been confined to the Midtown area, in accordance with a 30-year strategy solidified by two prior mayors and city councils, first with a 2002 report and repeated with a 2016 study.
While Tallahassee has made it more difficult for local elected officials to provide a check on overdevelopment with the Live Local Act, we will try our best to advocate for our residents when we have the authority to do so.
We need smart development that creates a balance and preserves what we love about our community.