Tom’s Views
- Strengthen existing neighborhoods by bringing new residents, investment, and businesses to areas with infrastructure already in place.
- Grow inward before we grow outward by prioritizing infill, redevelopment, and underutilized properties.
- Protect what makes Tallahassee different by preserving our tree canopy, lakes, parks, rolling landscape, established neighborhoods, and sense of place.
- Make housing more abundant and attainable by allowing a range of housing types, including townhomes, duplexes, accessory dwelling units, apartments, and other missing-middle options.
- Make better use of taxpayer-funded infrastructure by directing growth toward areas where roads, utilities, stormwater, and public services already exist.
- Expand the tax base without unnecessarily expanding costs by turning vacant and underutilized properties into productive residential and mixed-use development.
- Encourage incremental investment so homeowners, small builders, and local developers can contribute to housing supply without relying solely on large suburban projects.
- Allow appropriate outward growth when it makes sense, while ensuring its long-term infrastructure and environmental costs are understood.
The goal is not to build less. It is to build smarter - adding the housing Tallahassee needs, improving affordability, strengthening existing neighborhoods, expanding the tax base, and making the most of the infrastructure we already have.