OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL

CHERYL L. BROWN 117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425

DIRECTOR 4^TH FLOOR, CITY HALL

OFFICE (904) 630-1452 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202

FAX (904) 630-2906

E-MAIL: CLBROWN@coj.net

LUZ COMMITTEE WORKSHOP MINUTES

October 1, 2013

4:30 p.m.

City Council Chamber

1^st floor, City Hall

117 West Duval Street

Attendance: Council Members Lori Boyer (Chair), Bill Bishop, Matt Schellenberg, Jim Love, Robin Lumb

Excused: Ray Holt, Don Redman

Also: Jason Gabriel – Office of General Counsel; Folks Huxford and Gary Kresel – Planning and Development Department; Jeff Clements – Council Research Division; Phillip Zamarron – Legislative Services Division

Chairwoman Boyer called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m.

Zoning/land use change notification process

Gary Kresel of the Planning and Development Department distributed and discussed the rezoning/land use change notification letters the department sends out to property owners within 350 of the subject property. St. Johns County and Nassau County send out a 1-page letter describing the proposed action, while Jacksonville sends a 15-page packet which includes a map of the site and descriptions of all the possible uses by right and by exception within the proposed land use or zoning category. The department could save considerably on printing and postage costs by reducing the size of the packet, but still wishes to convey the information the public needs to be informed about the issue. In response to a question, Mr. Kresel indicated that the department does not send subsequent notification letters if a bill is deferred to a later date. Committee members suggested sending a single, 2-sided page similar to the adjoining counties, with a map included, that briefly describes the proposed change and important dates and contact information, and also including an Internet URL that would take interested parties directly to the Planning Department’s file for more detailed information. Committee members were invited to suggest further improvements to the sample letter. Council Member Boyer suggested including both the Planning Department and City Council Legislative Services Division contact information so the public can be kept up-to-date as hearing dates change.

Comprehensive Plan periodic evaluation and appraisal reviews

Ms. Boyer explained that the state has revised its regulations on comprehensive plan reviews and removed the description of items that were previously required to be included in the 7-year Evaluation and Appraisal Reports produced by local governments to evaluate the success of their comp plans. Jacksonville needs to decide what should be included in our EAR and what purpose we want the evaluation process to serve. Council Member Bishop requested the Planning Department to suggest what form the EAR should take and what information it should contain that would be useful for long range planning purposes. Council Member Schellenberg suggested a summary overview report of all the factors covered by the comp plan and a deeper analysis of identified problem areas or issues of concern. Ms. Boyer suggested a chart showing all land use map conversions to help identify trends in overall land use patterns in the city. Mr. Bishop suggested maps showing what development has taken place in conformity with the Future Land Use Map and what development required amendments to the map before it could take place. He urged the department to be true planners and to write a readable report that says something concrete about our current planning situation and offers creative solutions and plans for the future.

There being no further business, the agenda meeting was adjourned at 5:01 p.m.

Jeff Clements, Council Research Division (904) 630-1404

Posted 10.4.13 11:00 a.m.