Decades before City Commission candidate Dot Inman-Johnson raised concerns about continued development in northeast Tallahassee, she voted for one of the key government actions that opened the door for development of Welaunee Plantation.
This finding comes as candidate Inman-Johnson criticizes the current city commission and her opponent Dianne Williams-Cox for development decisions.
Early Morning Vote
At approximately 1 a.m. on September 6, 1990, Inman-Johnson, then serving as Commissioner Dorothy Inman-Crews, joined Mayor Steve Meisburg and Commissioners Jack McClean and Debbie Lightsey in a 4-1 vote to annex more than 6,000 acres of Welaunee Plantation into the City of Tallahassee.
The city also sought to include the property in the Urban Services Area, establishing the framework for extending urban infrastructure and accommodating future development on the massive northeast Tallahassee property.
Commissioner Bob Hightower cast the lone dissenting vote. “I don’t think it’s good planning to go this far out,” Hightower told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I think it’s fiction to look at this and say we’re going to plan what happens out there for the next 20 years.”
Citizens Debate Welaunee Proposal
The commission’s action followed significant public debate at an August 29 public hearing preceding the final vote. The commission ultimately approved the annexation during a late-night meeting that extended into the early morning hours.
The Welaunee proposal also carried a significant financial component. According to an August 29, 1990 Tallahassee Democrat report, the city and Welaunee Plantation’s owners negotiated an agreement under which the city could provide between $3 million and $9 million in rebates associated with construction of water and sewer lines serving the property.
The combination of annexation, expansion of the Urban Services Area and extension of water and sewer infrastructure provided the governmental framework necessary for eventual urban development of Welaunee.
A Campaign Issue
During her campaign for city commission, Inman-Johnson has ignored her previous support for development projects like Welaunee. Instead, she has been critical of the Canopy development, which was made possible with her support of the Welaunee annexation and the urban services expansion.
Also, during a 2024 candidate forum, Inman-Johnson said she would have voted against Blueprint’s Northeast Gateway project, arguing that its benefits were too far in the future and that more infrastructure dollars should instead be directed to Tallahassee’s southside.
Ironically, these positions are consistent with the central theme of the progressive slate of city commission candidates during this election cycle. The progressives are critical of what they call urban sprawl and developer subsidies. Two issues which were supported by the votes of Inman-Johnson.
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