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A Look at Oakland’s Proposed UGB
The planner’s report and the map for the proposed UGB were available for review at Oakland’s city offices but were not allowed to be copied because “they had not yet been adopted by the Planning Commission.” Once documents are presented in a public venue, they are public information. Tennessee’s Open Records Law states that public records may be copied as well as reviewed. Oakland’s policy regarding this information does not comply with state law. The information in this section is taken from verbal commentary and the written report which Oakland’s planner presented to their Planning Commission at the December 5th meeting. The report is a working draft of the support document to accompany the map showing the amended Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) that Oakland will be asking for in the county’s growth plan. The city limits in 1999 encompassed 1,715 acres. Today there are 5,060 acres within the corporate limits, including 273 acres of flood plain. Oakland’s population in the 2000 census was 1,279 people. The city conducted another census about a year ago which was certified in July 2006 at 3,169 people which is 247% of the 2000 population (an increase of 147% in 6 years). Assuming a population increase at the same rate as occurred between 2000 and 2006, the projected population in 2026 is 30,739 people, an increase of 969% over the 2006 population. Oakland’s current UGB includes 24,295 acres of which 2,009 acres are in flood hazard areas. The proposed UGB contains 48,793 acres of which 2,734 acres are in flood hazard areas. The current UGB is contained within the proposed UGB. The table below consolidates several of the tables found in the report. In some cases, the columns did not add up to the totals shown in the report (working draft). The actual totals of the columns are what are shown in this table. The acreages in the “Projected Need” column were calculated by multiplying the current acreage for each land use category by 969% which is the projected population increase by 2026. The acreages for each land use category in the UGB columns were arrived at using the property assessor’s records. Single family residences and mobile homes which are located on large tracts of land such as farms were included in the residential uses and the estimated remainder of the tracts were included in the vacant/ag land category. Acres by Land Use – Current and Projected/Proposed
The report also includes a Plan of Services which gives the current status of various city services and projections of what will be required to deliver the same services to the projected population. Additional information included in the report is: Annexations into the current UGB have been based on requests, such as developers applying for annexation. There are approximately 41,171 acres of developable land in the proposed UGB. According to projections, no more that 7,444 acres of vacant land is needed for a population of 21,900 based on existing land uses. [Ed Note: The source for the 21,900 population figure is unknown.] Assumptions: 1) Population based on projections will be a primary factor in determining the kind and amount of land used for development. 2) Existing land use percentages are an indicator of future needs. Such figures rule out a UGB of more than 8,000 acres. The density in more recently annexed areas is down from 5.4 units/acre in R-2 to 4.3 units/acre in R-1A and 2.9 units/acre in R-1. The people per acre ratio inside the current city limits is 1.59 (5,060 acres ¸ 3,169 people). The following figures are based on information contained in the planner’s report.
Click here for a transcript of the planner’s presentation to the Oakland Planning Commission. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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