News & Articles

July 12, 2021 Dear Mayor and Commissioners: On behalf of the Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods (ATN), thank you for your recent actions supporting our neighborhoods.  The Compatibility Ordinance made significant changes to site design standards to better protect single family residential areas from incompatible development.  The Neighborhood Bill of Rights policy reaffirms the City’s intent to keep neighborhoods informed of City actions that may affect them.  Lastly, the Growth Management Department is implementing changes to Read more…

Letter to Blueprint Board from ATN;; Re:  Blueprint Board Review of Welaunee Boulevard Extension Preliminary and Engineering Study on May 27 After the adoption of the Welanuee Master Plan, the Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods recommended strategies for how the City and County Commissions could avoid the intense frustration experienced by members of the public. Today, just five months after ATN presented those recommendations in a column in the Tallahassee Democrat, we see the Blueprint Interagency Read more…

Ordinance Background: The development standards in the ordinance apply to most ATN neighborhoods (see map).  These standards are intended to promote more walking, cycling and transit use through techniques such as building design, parking standards, and investment in sidewalks and street trees. In February 2016 the City Commission authorized staff to select a consultant to review implementation problems with the MMTD.  The consultant’s final report was submitted to City staff in March 2019.  During the Read more…

April 12, 2021 The PlanActive/Toole Design March 2019 assessment of the Multimodal Transportation District Ordinance (MMTDO) identified the following “big ideas” necessary to ensure the success of the MMTD district: Placement, location and species of landscape to protect pedestrian movement as the priority. Grading should never compromise the pedestrian accessibility and connection from the sidewalk to development. Sight distance review and evaluations should be consistent with the context of an area and not a general Read more…

March 24, 2021 Re: CRA agenda item 7.03 Members of the CRA: The Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods is writing in support of funding the Providence neighborhood Heart-of-the-Hill Project.  Providence, a member of the Alliance, has consistently worked to implement its neighborhood plan since its adoption in 2003.  This project is a major milestone in the plan implementation.  Looking forward, we support the funding of other elements of the neighborhood plan as well. Cordially, Carrie Litherland, Read more…

A Historical Neighborhood and Location, Location, Location!! As one of Tallahassee’s surviving downtown and historic neighborhoods, Old Town owes much of its charm and character to the remaining original homes from the 1930’s and 1940’s.  Without these endearing original homes, Old Town would not be so unique.  Many of Old Town’s original homes retain the character and architectural distinctiveness of the period in which they were built.  Bordered by Mahan, Magnolia, Miccosukee, and Meridian, and Read more…

Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods (ATN) April 6, 2021 Dear Tallahassee – Leon County Planning Commissioners RE:  Agenda Item 2:  First and Only Public Hearing on Ordinance 21-Z-12: Proposed Addition of Property to the Local Register of Historic Places and Amendment of the Official Zoning Map to Change the Zoning Classification from the Central Core (CC) Zoning District to the Central Core (CC) Zoning District with Historic Preservation Overlay (HPO) ATN strongly supports the addition of Read more…

This letter represents the personal opinions of two ATN members. It has not been formally approved as an ATN position statement. It will be on the agenda for approval at the April ATN meeting. Commissioners: Re: March 23 City Commission/Board of County Commissioners Workshop on a Request for Proposals for Consultant Services to Rewrite of Comprehensive Plan Land Use and Mobility Thank you for your discussion on this item, which clarified a number of questions Read more…

The Tallahassee-Leon County Comprehensive Plan is due for a number of updates and evaluations (i.e., the Evaluation and Review (EAR) Report). ATN is monitoring the update process, particularly for the following comp plan elements: Land Use and Mobility Southern Action Area (formerly Southern Strategy)

Sent to the Florida Senate Community Affairs Committee on March 15, 2021 Hello All, this proposed SB 284 / HB 55 is very unsettling to me. Design standards are a fundamental tool needed for a sustainable future. Compact urban forms are well-known and accepted as essential to lowering our carbon footprint. They are also essential to contain our infrastructure and municipal services expenditures (i.e., taxes). Higher densities and urban infill in existing cities help create Read more…