Here is another possible example of the City throwing out its own rules, this time to destroy environmentally sensitive lands and part of what makes Jax special. It may demonstrate, once again, how Jacksonville is often controlled by developers, not by its citizens, and how too many of our elected officials care not for our community, but only for themselves. It will be interesting to see if the Council stands up to this affront or breaks its own rules and caves to special interests.
Some comments on lines I have highlighted in the article:
Any regular attendee at zoning issues before the Council knows Paul Harden uses the line "We need more housing" or whatever he is advocating for, without any limitations on where such projects should go. Building 97 houses in a conservation area isn't where we need more housing, it's in higher density, urban areas.
Harden, in another oft repeated blanket response, says that neighborhood concerns are "overblown" and all will be well. It is applied whether it's with regard to trees, drainage, traffic, noise, light pollution, etc. This amounts to a condescending dismissal of the viewpoints of the citizens of Jacksonville who dare to challenge his client's plans.
These patronizing platitudes are boiler plate for these presentations and should have little bearing on the outcome. Harden offers them up to give cover to those who will vote for it, likely figuring he has the votes based on his behind-the-scenes lobbying.
Finally, the ending snide comment from Rory Diamond amounts to kicking sand in the face of the neighborhood and shows he has already made up his mind in advance of the vote which is not supposed to happen. My translation is he doesn't give a damn about anyone except those who line his campaign pockets, such as those who bring zoning issues before him. It is a total insult to all the citizens of Jacksonville including his own constituents. Hard to believe he went public with this thought but not surprised given his public temperament. Hope his election opposition plays this quote up.
Rezoning for subdivision by North Jacksonville nature preserves set for City Council vote
Jacksonville’s City Council could vote Tuesday to approve developing a 97-house subdivision in the heart of a patchwork of nature preserves created to protect Northeast Florida’s ecology.
Almost the same idea was unanimously rejected in 2020, when council members said the proposal for a section of Cedar Point Road inside the 7 Creeks Recreation Area conflicted with the city’s long-term growth plans.
But an influential attorney the owners hired to shepherd the plan through City Hall has already convinced the council’s zoning committee to support the project bordered on three sides by Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park.
“As time goes on, there’s a greater need for housing stock in the city of Jacksonville,” attorney Paul Harden told the Jacksonville Waterways Commission, which recommended denying the plan but doesn’t get to decide its fate.
That decision involves council action on two separate bills, the first changing the city’s land-use plans to allow the 48-acre agricultural property to be used for residential uses. The second is a rezoning that maps locations for houses built on 60-foot-wide lots where 60 percent of the land will be covered by buildings, driveways, sidewalks and other hard surfaces.
It’s a big departure from the 12-home limit the current land use allows, and both neighbors and activists concerned about protecting the parks around northeast Jacksonville’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
The subdivision, called Terrapin Creek, “is the exact opposite of where we believe the city of Jacksonville needs to be going,” said St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman, who has faulted the project in hearings and sent letters detailing concerns.
“Losing wetland capacity, forested tree canopy, and pervious surfaces for water retention on nearly 48 acres will impact the entire area and the current rural residents who may need to evacuate during major storm events,” Rinaman argued in a letter to Councilman Al Ferraro, who represents the neighborhood.
Ferraro shares concerns about the project, telling zoning committee members the development is “not going to be helpful to the rest of the city” as Jacksonville keeps growing.
“This is a jewel that we have that is not just for these neighborhoods. It is for the whole city and for generations to come,” Ferraro said, adding that he felt “everything is being stacked against the people who live out here.”
Harden has argued that concerns about flooding are overblown, saying drainage in Terrapin Creek will be engineered to contain stormwater in drainage ponds. Other homes in the area were built individually, without a master plan for controlling drainage.
But 20-year resident Sharlene Byrum says that misses the point, saying a subdivision will require the closely packed homes to be built on large amounts of dirt trucked in to make the subdivision stand tall – and will unavoidably cause storm runoff to flow into roads and neighboring property that isn’t protected.
“If this [legislation] ends up going through, y’all have ruined the preserve,” she said before the zoning committee endorsed the project.
People involved with the parks are also concerned about how owners of suburban-style homes will adjust to the routine of controlled burns that parks employees perform regularly around Pumpkin Hill Creek.
“Some trees that are 40 feet tall burned all the way up to the top” during fires set last summer, said Mark Middlebrook, executive director of the Timucuan Parks Foundation.
Foundation officials voiced concerns that the development’s plans may not leave enough open space for fire crews to operate between the new homes and burns that sometimes jump into areas that weren’t intended to burn.
Middlebrook said his group isn’t formally opposing the development because too little is known to say for sure that there’s an excessive risk. But he said he didn’t think council members had looked meaningfully at the potential danger.
The St. Johns River Water Management District, which owns the land in the Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park, recommended that the city “advise future owners and residents about this property and actions taken to manage it,” an agency spokeswoman said by email Friday. The district encouraged the city to consider incorporating principals of “Firewise,” a set of practices designed to help protect homes from wildfire dangers.
The zoning committee agreed to require that a development plat for the subdivision and any homeowner association covenants to encourage reviewing Firewise standards and to carry a notice that “prescribed burning will create smoke, which may temporarily impact the neighborhood and surrounding areas.”
To avoid damaging the area’s natural charm with overdevelopment, in 2021 the council created a zoning overlay on thousands of acres around Cedar Point and Sawpit Road limiting new development in many areas to one home per acre of developable land. But that overlay cut out the property where the Terrapin Creek subdivision will be developed, after the owners raised objections late in the process.
Council members took comfort in that when the committee voted for the new development.
“I get that the neighbors are upset,” council member Rory Diamond said before last week’s vote. “You’re about to have dozens and dozens of new neighbors up there. …The good news for anyone who’s mad about the development is you’re about to get a bunch more people to help you oppose any other development up there. They will jump onboard.”
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/environment/2023/01/23/97-homes-planned-in-middle-of-jacksonville-nature-preserve-area/69830786007/
