Commission discusses planner quotes for Certified Recovery Residences and LDC rewrite; public outreach planned at Pioneer Days

City staff updated the commission on efforts to obtain professional planning quotes to define and regulate Certified Recovery Residences (CRRs) in High Springs’ land development code.

City attorney summarized outreach to four firms and said two — EDA and North Florida Professional Services — expect to provide quotes next week, while one firm is out of the country until May and another had not responded. Staff noted the City of Alachua’s ordinance is available and could be used as an interim template if the commission wants a faster, lower-cost approach.

“Basically, they treat it as though they are group homes, community residential homes,” staff said, describing how a neighboring jurisdiction handled CRRs. Staff cautioned that adopting another municipality’s language may not perfectly map to High Springs’ zoning and that a permanent rewrite by KCT (the consultant handling the LDC) remains the preferred long-term approach.

Commissioners discussed risk tolerance for moving forward without KCT’s full analysis. Staff said KCT is conducting a multi-step rewrite that includes public outreach; commissioners agreed to host a public-phase survey and outreach at Pioneer Days this weekend to gather resident input.

Staff estimated the full LDC rewrite could be completed by the end of the year and recommended waiting for KCT for the permanent code changes while using interim measures if needed.