Residents of Myers Park and Woodland Drives sure can get loud for a group so opposed to noise.

And they aren't quieting down.

The neighbors of the hushed area edging Cascades Park — the same ones who pushed for a stricter city noise ordinance and sound mitigation measures for the park — now oppose a possible 9-acre housing development on the park's southeast.

It's the same land where the 30-foot, nearly $500,000 sound wall was supposed to be installed to insulate the neighborhood from the roar of musical acts at the Capital City Amphitheater.

But the development is merely an idea drummed up by city of Tallahassee and Leon County planners after commercial and residential developers began to show interest in the city-owned property. The city has not decided to sell the land, which extends from the park south to Van Buren Street and east to Myers Park Drive. The land is now home to the offices of the city's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs Department.

The concept, planners think, could both mitigate sound while allowing for development near the city's most-boasted amenity.

In December, the joint city-county Department of Planning, Land Management and Community Enhancement drew up a mock plan of what a development might look like. The plan features lofts, condos, brownstones, single family homes, a parking garage and two storm water ponds.

The city and county commissions are at least considering such an idea. In June, acting as the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, commissioners unanimously voted to halt action on the sound wall until the city presented more noise-mitigating development options.

The neighborhood, however, isn't having it — and residents aren't shy in their opposition. It's "appalling," they've said, a "travesty," an example of "abusive power" by government that will cause a resident exodus.

"We want the sound barrier and we want it quickly and that development will take time," said Piers Rawling, president of the Myers Park Neighborhood Association. "They're going to drive us out of that neighborhood."

Rawling has threatened to move to Killearn if the development moves forward. He and other residents say the city and county should be more sensitive to the character of the area. Myers Park, said resident Jeanie Conner, has been the city's only historic district since 2001. Neighbors, Conner said, have worked hard to restore the area, which with its historic designation requires special approvals for home modifications. She too thinks residents will flee.

"I will fight any decision that seeks to undermine the character of this district however I have to do it," she said. "If a historic district isn't safe, what is safe?"

While some residents have already panned the idea, it's still in the early stages. Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder said the city is "in the process of developing the process" to bring options to the City Commission.

To make a development a reality, the City Commission would have to approve the sale through a bid process, amend the comprehensive plan and rezone the area.

"Any process would have to have involvement from the neighborhood," said Tedder, who said he's twice met with residents.

But Mary Frederick, president of the Woodland Drives Neighborhood Association, claims residents know little. Others have said they are unhappy with the process and how the city rolled out its possible plan.

Frederick is prodding the city for more information, she said, and anxiously awaits answers.

"We hope whatever the city wants to do with that piece of land," she said, "that it matches the character of the neighborhood."

All Rawling and others want is the sound wall, which was seen as a big win for the neighborhood when the Blueprint IA approved it in September. But their patience is growing thin.

"I'm contacting lawyers, not the city commissioners," he said. "They've promised us a wall and they haven't done it."

Commissioners, at their Blueprint IA meeting in June, recognized any delay would likely upset neighbors.

"We owe it to get the very best possible long-term solution, and if the wall isn't it, we do need to, I think, spend a little more time finding out what our best options are," said county Commissioner Mary Ann Lindley. "I know it's a little bit disappointing to the neighbors... but they want a good solution, too."

Tedder said he doesn't know when he'll bring any options to the city. Commissioners asked for an update at their next Blueprint IA meeting on Sept. 12.

Resident pushback to big projects isn't new. The city and county, Tedder suggests, may be the victims of their own success. Developers want to build near the Blueprint-funded Cascades Park, but that draws the ire of longtime residents.

"It's an indicator, in one degree, that we're being very successful in how we spend our public infrastructure," Tedder said. "There are a lot of people who want to be a part of this urban environment that is being created with Cascades Park. Are there folks that don't want to be a part of it? I would say, yes."

Contact Sean Rossman at or follow @SeanRossman on Twitter.

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