Plant City Observer
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FREE • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020
VOLUME 6, NO. 125
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WHAT’S NEXT FOR VARREA
Commissioners approved the map amendment and the conceptual modifications to the general site development plan of the Varrea Planned Development District.
BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
City commissioners buckled in for a long night Monday as they prepared to approve a variety of agenda items and sat through several public hearings, including a massive conversation about Varrea. Commissioners were at the dais for nearly four hours. It took two of those four hours for commissioners to agree to move Varrea into the next step. It was broken up into a few different items: first
to adopt a map amendment, then to approve conceptual modifications to the general site development plan. Varrea, which is located at the southwest corner of Charlie Taylor and Knights Griffin roads north of I-4 and east of Frazier Lane, is currently approved for 2,640 residential units, 345,000 square feet of commercial, retail and civic use and 50,000 square feet of office use.
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LACED UP, L T UP
BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
A brisk breeze blew through Plant City Tuesday evening as runners posed for photos under the soft red and green glow of the downtown Christmas lights. Members of the Plant City Running Club — along with several of their friends and community members — turned on their Christmas light necklaces, rolled
up the sleeves of their Christmas sweaters and fondly praised the absurdity of their fellow joggers’ festive hats as they waited for the run to begin. Dozens gathered in McCall Park. Many were experienced runners. Some planned on walking the route while others brought along their four-legged family members — also decked out in Christmas apparel — for the fun evening. Every year, the Running Club hosts the Christmas
Light Run as a means of offering a unique way to see the plethora of holiday lights erected throughout downtown Plant City. Jillian Wilder, a member of the Plant City Running Club, reminded everyone to sign in as they started to trickle into the park and frequently referenced the map on the event’s Facebook page that outlined the 1.5-mile route. The run started and ended in McCall Park and lapped up through historic downtown, back
toward City Hall, down the brick streets of the core of downtown and looped back up at the park. From there, many families stuck around to take Christmas photos while others made plans to head out for a late dinner. “We do this every year and make it a public event on Facebook so that anyone who sees it will feel welcome to come,” Wilder said. “We really just want to help people
come out and enjoy the lights that the city puts out and also have an event where we can all kind of enjoy each other’s company. This is the third run we’ve done and I think this year it was more important than ever.”
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