Controlling Commercial Sprawl Into Rural Landscapes

Summary Flyer: What the Keep It Rural Coalition is All About

It started with a proposal for a gas station and convenience store at the corner of beautiful Miccosukee and Crump Road.  This proposal unearthed long unused rules in the land use policies of Leon County.  We all soon discovered that these policies and the regulations that implement them allowed a lot more commercial development in the rural areas than anyone, including the County Commissioners, County staff, Planning Staff, residents, everyone! want.

So now the Keep It Rural Coalition is doing many things!  We’re trying to stop the proposed gas station AND bring rational land use policies to Leon County so that the rural areas remain rural.  We’re educating ourselves, Commissioners, staff and Leon County residents.

Miccosukee and Crump  – where it began!

Miccosukee Road is an old canopy road with huge trees forming a beautiful  canopy along its entire length.  At the Crump and Miccosukee intersection sits at the end of the eight mile long Miccosukee Greenway – a beautiful rural park that connects into the City of Tallahassee, many miles away.  Along Crump Road are crop fields, horse farms, sod farms, houses on lots of acres and miles of frontage of the Welaunee Plantation pine forest.

From a rural landscape to an urban one – NOT WANTED HERE!

A permit for a large gas station and convenience store near the intersection of Crump and Miccosukee Roads in Leon County was approved May 8!  This proposed development for a gas station is the first and only one that has been submitted for permitting in the rural area since the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan in 1992.  The design is for a large station with seven  pumps and a 3000 square foot convenience store.  In addition, there is an impervious area exceeding 26,000 sq. ft.  – more than half an acre of asphalt and pavement!