Urban Design - UF-Facilities Planning & Construction - University of ...

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FUTURE LAND USE AND URBAN DESIGN
CAMPUS MASTER PLAN, 2005-2015 DATA & ANALYSIS
district location. In the area of the historic residence halls, a significant exterior enhancement
was accomplished through the Yardley Courtyard project. This project was the first phase of a
larger site design that includes landscaping, sidewalks, plazas, street furniture, lighting and an
interactive fountain.
Policies related to the development of a greenway system, including Goal 3, policies 1.3 and 2.3
were not accomplished due to a lack of funding for these projects. Another policy that was not
accomplished was under Goal 1, policy 2.4 that seeks to expand the auto-free zone. Although the
physical area was not expanded, some parking was removed (i.e. at the Women’s Gym, Criser
parking lot and Library West) while some streetscape and landscaping improvements were
accomplished.
B. Policies Related to Project Design and Review Processes
Several policies in the Urban Design Element and Future Land Use Element describe the capital
project review process and design considerations such as underground powerlines, screened
service drives, utility coordination, soil/geotechnical analysis, building orientations, and building
heights. The University maintained a project review process that includes the Transportation and
Parking Committee, the Preservation of Historic Buildings and Sites Committee, the Lakes,
Vegetation and Landscaping Committee and the Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee.
These committees engage in a three-step process to review capital projects at the programming,
schematic design and design development phase including detailed reviews of landscaping plans.
In addition to the committee reviews, the University provides for input through a design charrette
process for major construction and departmental reviews including the University Police
Department, Environmental Health and Safety Office and the Physical Plant Division. Through
these processes, the University achieves thorough site plan review and consideration of the
policies contained in this element.
Another step toward implementing these design-related policies was accomplished with a rewrite
of the University of Florida Design and Construction Standards in 2003-2004 to incorporate the
revised Florida Building Code and Campus Master Plan policies. These standards include
requirements for indoor air quality, erosion control and tree protection, among other standards.
Compliance with relevant state, federal and university requirements for facility construction and
management is provided by the building permit and hazardous materials monitoring programs
administered by the University’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
C. Policies Related to Future Land Use Consistency and Master Plan Amendments
Several policies in the Urban Design Element (Goal 4) and Future Land Use Element (Goal 1,
Objective 4 and Goal 2, Objective 2) describe the desire to avoid major deviations from the
campus master plan’s future land use designations, and to provide for an open amendment
process to modify the land use coverages or add property to the campus master plan jurisdiction.
As documented elsewhere in this report, the campus master plan’s Future Land Use acreages
have not been drastically modified during the plan’s implementation from 2000 to 2004. During
that period, there were three amendments that changes land use designations on the main campus.
These changes were minor, and cumulatively resulted in the addition of one acre to Support, one
acre to Conservation, four acres to Parking and the loss of one acre in Academic, one acre in
Utility, two acres in Active Recreation, and two acres in Passive Recreation. These main campus
changes included the addition of a contiguous parcel consisting of 0.2 acres of land that had been
used by the University for many years. At the same time this property was brought into the
campus master plan jurisdiction, two additional satellite properties (Eastside Campus and UF
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MARCH 2006