OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425
4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202
904-630-1377
Neighborhoods,
Community Investments and Services Committee
Special Meeting
Minutes
February 21, 2017
Location:
City Council Chamber, 1st
floor, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street
In attendance:
Council Members Scott Wilson (Chair), Reggie Brown (Vice Chair), Doyle Carter,
Garrett Dennis, Bill Gulliford; Council Member Joyce Morgan was excused.
Also:
Kyle Billy – Council Auditor’s Office; Peggy Sidman – Office of General Counsel; Jeff Clements and
John J. Jackson – Council Research Division; Juliette Williams – Legislative
Services Division; Jessica Baker – Mayor’s Office
Meeting Convened:
9:07 a.m.
The topic for the special meeting was managing blight issues
with service garages and liquor stores.
The presenter was Bill Killingsworth, Director, the Planning
& Development Department.
Mr. Killingsworth explained various tools utilized in the process of managing blight in
neighborhoods when service garage lots and liquor stores were issues of
concern.
Mr. Killingsworth explained that an area-wide plan should be
developed that involved all of the essential stakeholders including property owners,
the faith-based community, commercial property owners and others. Community support was essential. It was important to have area plans that had
specific policies and remedies.
For car lots, Mr. Killingsworth suggested that an existing
tool is to control parking density.
A new tool in zoning changes involving PUDs (Planned Unit
Development) is what he described as the conditional use option that allows the
City to target specific problems that community stakeholders have raised. He suggested that reducing the number of PUDs
would be helpful.
Council Member Bill Gulliford felt that there are too many
PUDS. He said that the City needed to
see what other cities in Florida are doing.
Council Member Reggie Brown felt that neighborhoods,
particularly in his Council District, needed less internet cafes, pawn shops and
liquor stores. The preponderance of
those types of businesses result in a community’s decline. He cited the Moncrief Road and Soutel Drive
areas, in particular, that are saddled with too many liquor stores, internet
cafes and pawn shops.
Mr. Brown also reported that parking in the City’s
right-of-ways was another problem that he felt needed to be addressed. The rights-of-way in front of property
owners’ homes were a particular concern because the property owner was
responsible for the upkeep of the rights-of-way. The property owners were often unable to park
in front of their own homes, though they were responsible for mowing the rights-of-way
and keeping them clean. The Chair,
Council Member Scott Wilson, suggested that JSO and DIA ought to be involved in
these issues since they are capable of issue parking citations.
Council Member Doyle Carter felt that PUDs had some merit
because with PUDs the City can better regulate what property owners can and
cannot do.
Council Member Garrett Dennis cautioned that if you banned
business, one result would be empty storefronts. He saw the need for a balance.
Deputy General Counsel Peggy Sidman explained that the City
often enacts laws that cannot be enforced; she cited the lack of manpower at
nights and on the weekends.
There being no further business, the special meeting was
adjourned at 10:05 a.m.
John J. Jackson, Council Research Division (904) 630-1729
02.23.17
Posted: 2:00 p.m.