On Thursday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m., the Gainesville City Commission will vote to amend the city’s comprehensive plan to allow multifamily dwellings to be built in every residential neighborhood in the city.

The ordinance has been promoted as an “affordable housing” proposal. It is not. It is a radical, untested and unresearched proposal to bypass zoning regulations of density, lot coverage and more, across all the city’s residential zoning districts.

The proposed comprehensive plan amendment states, “In lieu of regulating density by units/acre, such [bonus density] incentive provisions may regulate density through building form (such as height and lot coverage) for multi-family or mixed-use buildings or through the allowance of additional lots within subdivisions.” “Subdivision” also means subdividing existing lots to build more units than zoning allows, even in long-established neighborhoods.

In other words, a developer can build as many dwelling units as can fit on a subdivided lot by designating one unit in 10 as “affordable.” The builder could intrude into existing setbacks, reduce onsite parking and otherwise exceed zoning regulations. “Affordable” is a fluid term, and the cost to rent or own even these few units would not come close to reaching Gainesville’s neediest residents.

For example, Gainesville’s RSF-1 (Residential Single Family) zone currently allows 3.5 dwelling units per acre. As I read the GNV RISE proposal, every existing RSF-1 lot might instead fit six or more attached dwellings, or up to 10 bungalows. Forest Ridge, Brywood and many other neighborhoods fall within this zoning classification. The neighborhoods most seriously impacted by the ordinance would be Gainesville’s oldest, including historically African-American ones.

The pressing question is: How many more housing units would be allowed on an existing single-family lot in Gainesville? The only honest answer, given the proposal’s ambiguous, contradictory language, is that no one could possibly know — other that there will be many more.

Meanwhile, developers are urging passage of this comprehensive plan amendment, waiting to spring into action. As a reminder, the city just passed a major zoning overhaul last year, with abundant public input, that provides ample capacity for infill with no need to invade neighborhoods.

GNV RISE, at best, would take decades to develop substantial new housing stock in existing neighborhoods, of which 10 percent might be “affordable” to people making 80 percent of the area median income, that is, about $46,000 a year for a family of four. It would do nothing for the lower-income people waiting for HUD housing. This plan would provide practically no affordable housing, and far too late.

As always, we have current needs for affordable housing for families, seniors, the working poor, the homeless and “generation priced-out,” hobbled by stagnant wages and student debt. The City Commission has developed no new strategies to assess, understand or address the varied needs of these diverse populations. These are people who cannot wait decades in hope that an “affordable” bungalow in Forest Ridge will become available. What is our city doing for them?

The GNV RISE proposal is, to my knowledge, more radical than any city redevelopment plan currently being implemented in the United States. This proposal is untested and there are no true comparable models to evaluate, much less emulate — virtually no other city in the country needs to house 77,000 students in a town of only 133,000 residents.

If it is to succeed, the plan relies on single-family residences being demolished over time to make way for “multiplexes.” Implementation would be driven by individual developers, acting independently of any larger plan, thus reducing the need for public investment or the responsibility of governmental accountability.

As snowbirds flee high taxes and bad weather in northern states, climate refugees retreat from Florida’s coasts and aging Gators return to the nest, this idea — to completely refashion Gainesville’s neighborhood and urban fabric to accommodate growth — deserves serious study and discussion, before even considering an ordinance.

Adopting a comprehensive plan amendment that cannot be undone without then “down-zoning,” resulting in lawsuits for lost development opportunities, which could cost the city millions more than has been spent in the biomass plant debacle. This a dangerous way to embark on a city-wide experiment that will impact all our lives, our city’s and our personal finances, and our city’s texture, for centuries to come.

On Nov. 29, demand that our City Commission abandon the GNV RISE ordinance. Let’s start this discussion again, together.

Kim Tanzer is former dean of architecture and professor emerita at the University of Virginia, and was a member of Gainesville’s inaugural Development Review Board.