County Commission Considers Miccosukee Greenway Concerns

During the July 9, 2024, Leon County Commission meeting, elected officials discussed a status report related to the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway and designated canopy road. The report went into detail on the history of the Miccosukee Greenway, the surrounding canopy roads, and concerns identified by citizens related to the impact of road construction.

Commissioners approved several safety related changes to the planned Dempsey Mayo Road extension, but citizens were still concerned about the potential impact of the new road.

Canopy Road Protections

In 1972, Leon County first began designating certain roads in the community as protected canopy roads. The initial five roads included were: Centerville Road, Meridian Road, Miccosukee Road, Old Bainbridge Road, and Old St. Augustine Road. 

Over the decades, Leon County would impose rules regarding how the roads were to be protected. For example, in 1992, Leon County passed Ordinance 92-10 which imposed a tree removal application requirement for residents and commercial businesses who sought to remove a tree on canopy road protected land. The lands protected were all lands within 100 feet of the center line of the road. 

Over time, other roads like Old Centerville Road and Pisgah Church Road were included in the protections. 

The Miccosukee Greenway land was acquired by Leon County through a Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) land acquisition program. The land is currently owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (TIITF) and managed by Leon County. 

Notably, the greenway possesses four access easements – locations to enter the greenway – on Dempsey Mayo Road, Edenfield Road, Arendell Way, and a Shamrock South extension. 

A new project would extend “Dempsey Mayo Road from Miccosukee Road to Centerville Road, intersecting with Welaunee Boulevard along this connection.” The City of Tallahassee approved the road extension on April 2, 2020. Construction is expected to start around Summer 2025 and Leon County Public Works will maintain it upon completion. 

Citizen Concerns

Friends of the Miccosukee Greenway sent a letter to the Leon County Commission requesting the creation of a Miccosukee Greenway Canopy Road Protection Corridor Overlay designed to “preserve and protect both the Miccosukee Greenway and the canopy road in perpetuity.” However, the status report indicated that “protections for the Miccosukee Greenway and the designated canopy road are already in place.” 

The report came out against a citizen-proposed overlay district due to it being able to only apply to unincorporated areas along Miccosukee Road potentially leading to “inconsistencies in how areas along the Miccosukee corridor are regulated and protected.” 

The status report notes that after receiving feedback related to the Dempsey Mayo Road expansion project across the Miccosukee Greenway, the developer constructing the road extension agreed to several enhancements above and beyond the minimum design standards for that segment, including improving safety and pedestrian crossings.” 

Addressing concerns about the Greenway crossings, Artie White, the director of Planning, Land Management, and Community Enhancement at the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, told officials at the meeting that existing access easements provide legal entitlements for those roadway crossings and predated the creation of the Greenway.

Rob Lombardo, one of the leaders of the Friends of the Miccosukee Greenway, had hoped commissioners would appoint a work group before pushing Dempsey Mayo through to Welaunee.

“They have completely ignored the fact that there is massive development about to happen in the next ten years,” said Lombardo. “And the development has already started. You have seen the flooding. This was all planned by the same people that just gave you that presentation. We have hydrology problems that have never been fixed, and this is what we’re talking about. The citizens keep complaining, we keep being told that it’s being taken care of, and it’s not.”

Commissioner Brian Welch offered changes related to the safety of the road which included minimizing lane widths to 10 feet, lowering the speed limit to 25 miles per hour, and allow for an equestrian push-button signal at whatever intersections that are designated for crossing.

Commissioners voted 6-1 in favor, with Commissioner Bill Proctor the only dissenting vote.