CITY OF JACKSONVILLE

 

                           LAND USE AND ZONING

 

                                COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

                Proceedings held on Tuesday, December 7, 2010,

 

           commencing at 5:00 p.m., City Hall, Council

 

           Chambers, 1st Floor, Jacksonville, Florida, before

 

           Tina Hutcheson, a Notary Public in and for the State

 

           of Florida at Large.

 

 

 

           PRESENT:

 

                JOHN CRESCIMBENI, Chair.

                RAY HOLT, Vice Chair.

                DON REDMAN, Committee Member.

                REGGIE BROWN, Committee Member.

                STEPHEN JOOST, Committee Member.

                BILL BISHOP, Committee Member.

 

           ALSO PRESENT:

 

                JOHN CROFTS, Deputy Director, Planning Dept.

                SEAN KELLY, Chief, Current Planning.

                FOLKS HUXFORD, Zoning Administrator.

                KEN AVERY, Planning and Development Dept.

                DYLAN REINGOLD, Office of General Counsel.

                MERRIANE LAHMEUR, Legislative Assistant.

                SHARONDA DAVIS, Legislative Assistant.

 

 

                                  - - -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              2

 

       1                  P R O C E E D I N G S

 

       2   December 7, 2010                           5:10 p.m.

 

       3                          - - -

 

       4

 

       5             THE CHAIRMAN:  Good afternoon, everyone.

 

       6        We're going to call the Land Use and Zoning

 

       7        Committee meeting for December 7th, 2010, to

 

       8        order.

 

       9             Council members in attendance include

 

      10        myself -- I'm sorry.  We're going to go around

 

      11        the dais starting with Mr. Crofts on the end.

 

      12        I forgot.

 

      13             MR. CROFTS:  Good evening.  My name is

 

      14        John Crofts representing the Planning and

 

      15        Development Department.

 

      16             MR. KELLY:  Sean Kelly, Planning and

 

      17        Development.

 

      18             MR. HUXFORD:  Folks Huxford, Planning and

 

      19        Development.

 

      20             MR. AVERY:  Ken Avery, Planning and

 

      21        Development.

 

      22             MR. REINGOLD:  Good evening.  Dylan

 

      23        Reingold with the Office of General Counsel.

 

      24             MR. JONES:  Warren Jones, City Council.

 

      25             MR. JOOST:  Stephen Joost, City Council.

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              3

 

       1             MR. R. BROWN:  Reggie Brown, City Council.

 

       2             MR. CRESCIMBENI:  I'm John Crescimbeni,

 

       3        City Council.

 

       4             MR. HOLT:  Ray Holt, District 11.

 

       5             MR. BISHOP:  Bill Bishop, District 2.

 

       6             MR. REDMAN:  Don Redman, District 4.

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you,

 

       8        everyone.

 

       9             Mr. Jones is a visiting council member.  I

 

      10        do have an excused absence from one of our

 

      11        committee members, Dick Brown, the other

 

      12        Councilman Brown will not be here tonight.

 

      13             We have a very short agenda tonight.  And,

 

      14        Mr. Reingold -- one of the items that we're

 

      15        going to take up second, Item 7, 2010-817, do

 

      16        we have anybody here to speak in favor or

 

      17        opposition of that?  Mr. Mann, I know you're

 

      18        here.  Anybody in addition to Mr. Mann?

 

      19             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

      20             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Reingold, do we need to

 

      21        read the Reingold recipe?

 

      22             MR. REINGOLD:  I think due to our very

 

      23        short agenda, I think we could probably bypass

 

      24        it tonight.

 

      25             THE CHAIRMAN:  Okay.  Let's do that, then.

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              4

 

       1             We're going to skip over the -- sorry,

 

       2        miss court reporter, I know that's bad news for

 

       3        you, but that takes like an hour and a half.

 

       4             But I've made a commitment to the folks

 

       5        that were so patient during the rules committee

 

       6        yesterday, they've all returned here today to

 

       7        do the presentation -- the Planning

 

       8        Department's going to do the presentation on

 

       9        Item 11, 2010-847.

 

      10             If you would be mindful that we do have a

 

      11        short agenda, though, so if you can keep your

 

      12        presentation under two hours.  Can you do that?

 

      13        As quickly as possible, because I know there

 

      14        are -- Mr. Joost has got to leave early.  But

 

      15        if you want to come up and begin your

 

      16        presentation, we will listen to that and we

 

      17        will take that measure up.

 

      18             MS. RANSOM:  Thank you very much.  Good

 

      19        evening.  My name is Lisa Ransom.  I'm with the

 

      20        Planning and Development Department, project

 

      21        management for the visioning process.

 

      22             There have been two that were enacted in

 

      23        August, and this being the third of, I like to

 

      24        call a trilogy, the Greater Arlington/Beaches

 

      25        Vision Plan will be presented to you this

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              5

 

       1        evening.

 

       2             But before I start, I just wanted to

 

       3        introduce the team that worked with me on the

 

       4        vision process.  Amy Hays Holliman was our

 

       5        facilitator with the steering committee for the

 

       6        greater Arlington Beaches committee.  Adrianne

 

       7        Lathrop was our urban core facilitator.  We

 

       8        also have our consultant on the project, the

 

       9        Zyscovich Team, who will also be just

 

      10        discussing our implementation and on more of a

 

      11        theoretical viewpoint for what happens after

 

      12        the fact with the vision plan.  And also our

 

      13        subconsultant, Chris Flagg is also here who

 

      14        illustrated many of the drawings that we found

 

      15        or used in our charette process, and also in

 

      16        the document.

 

      17             That being said, I just wanted to start

 

      18        off with --

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  You forgot one person.

 

      20             MS. RANSOM:  Oh, I'm sorry.  Chairman of

 

      21        the steering committee Mike Anania.  He's our

 

      22        focal point.  He's here so many times,

 

      23        sometimes I mistake him for an employee.  But

 

      24        yes, Mike was wonderful and helped steer the

 

      25        committee, keep the committee on course, keep

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              6

 

       1        the committee focused, and he's been here from

 

       2        the beginning, and so I really do appreciate

 

       3        all the support that he's given to staff to and

 

       4        throughout the process.

 

       5             I don't think we have anybody else from

 

       6        the committee that was here.  Also, I

 

       7        appreciate all of our staff.  We had much -- a

 

       8        lot of support.  We had GIS support, we had

 

       9        Historic Preservation support.  It's definitely

 

      10        a team effort that helped put this document

 

      11        together.

 

      12             That being said, on October 25th, the

 

      13        greater Arlington Beaches Steering Committee

 

      14        did vote to approve the vision plan document,

 

      15        so we do have community support for the

 

      16        document that you have before you.  And the

 

      17        process involved -- I'm sure there was several

 

      18        of the council members that did attend our

 

      19        charette process, but in Arlington, there were

 

      20        five.

 

      21             We had them located in strategic

 

      22        locations.  We had one in historic old

 

      23        Arlington, the Southside Estates area.  We had

 

      24        one near FCCG.  We had one in Mayport.  The

 

      25        final charette that we had was a culmination,

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              7

 

       1        and we looked at all of the information and we

 

       2        presented that also at the final one using

 

       3        suggestion ideas that were gathered in all

 

       4        four.

 

       5             And here are some photographs from the

 

       6        actual charettes that occurred in Arlington.

 

       7        We had the documents, illustrations, as I

 

       8        mentioned earlier, showing areas that would be

 

       9        focused on for development for transportation

 

      10        corridors, for commercial redevelopment

 

      11        throughout to the area.  So we had these

 

      12        illustrations that brought all of the ideas

 

      13        together culminating throughout.  We have

 

      14        specific ideas for each of the areas, specific

 

      15        developments.

 

      16             We have the five guiding principles that

 

      17        came out of the charettes.  They built upon the

 

      18        community ideas.  They had ideas that came from

 

      19        the charettes.  We had the steering committees

 

      20        that helped to filter out a lot of those ideas.

 

      21        And then we had them build upon and help to

 

      22        create the guiding principles.  That matrix is

 

      23        in the back of every plan so that you can see

 

      24        where all of the guiding principles emanated

 

      25        from so that you know that they didn't just

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              8

 

       1        come out of the air.  They weren't necessarily

 

       2        ideas that just came from a consultant, but

 

       3        they actually were developed throughout the

 

       4        process.

 

       5             The first guiding principle is to protect

 

       6        neighborhood assets and character.  The

 

       7        steering committee placed a very strong

 

       8        emphasis on preserving and protecting the

 

       9        neighborhoods.  They actually place a

 

      10        definition for neighborhoods in the document.

 

      11        It was something that showed importance to

 

      12        neighborhoods that would be a distinct element

 

      13        throughout the plan.  The preservation to help

 

      14        identify, preserve and protect and to promote

 

      15        and enhance the neighborhood assets.

 

      16             Of course, several of you are familiar

 

      17        with Arlington.  You know we have JU, we have a

 

      18        lot of the colleges, we have strong commercial

 

      19        corridors throughout, we have neighborhood

 

      20        characters that need to be preserved and to be

 

      21        promoted throughout.  We have gateway

 

      22        opportunities.  There's the Arlington

 

      23        Expressway.  There's other large shopping

 

      24        centers throughout.  So we're looking in the

 

      25        sub-principles to create gateways into the

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              9

 

       1        area, but to also, as I mentioned, protect and

 

       2        preserve the actual neighborhood character.

 

       3             This rendering shows a potential for

 

       4        creating that gateway identification.  That was

 

       5        one of the goals and objectives that we were

 

       6        giving to the consultant to bring about

 

       7        opportunities for identification and markings

 

       8        throughout the neighborhoods.

 

       9             We're also looking at identifying and

 

      10        advancing the Mayport Village concept, keeping

 

      11        the historic and scenic assets throughout the

 

      12        entire district.  And the Mayport area was

 

      13        looked at for ecotourism.  And advancing the

 

      14        Mayport Village concept was one of the aspects

 

      15        that was brought about in the plan.  We

 

      16        utilized the charette drawing and placed it in

 

      17        the plan because we felt it was very important.

 

      18        The document does support the community vision

 

      19        for Mayport.  This, of course, is a rendering

 

      20        of future development for the Town and Country

 

      21        area.  It's also -- this is the Regency area.

 

      22             We have the protecting community through

 

      23        land use, growth and development for the second

 

      24        guiding principle.  We already know that we

 

      25        have vacant and failing commercial areas in the

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              10

 

       1        greater Arlington area.  We're looking for

 

       2        promoting greater densities and diversities of

 

       3        land uses.  There were lots of ideas for

 

       4        redevelopment of the Regency area.  So this is

 

       5        something that was very important and came out

 

       6        in our charettes and it carried throughout into

 

       7        the guiding principle.

 

       8             Again, we're looking at Regency, whether

 

       9        it be a business park or a medical facility to

 

      10        reuse that area.  That's something that was

 

      11        talked about and developed and agreed upon

 

      12        throughout the steering committee process.

 

      13        These conceptual renderings show just potential

 

      14        redevelopment.  They're looking at reuse of

 

      15        existing buildings, not necessarily just total

 

      16        redevelopment of the site, just flattening

 

      17        sites, but reusing buildings and reusing

 

      18        existing structures was something that was

 

      19        considered very important.

 

      20             And this is the Town and Country potential

 

      21        redevelopment.  It shows reuse as well as this

 

      22        next shows the interior of how Town and Country

 

      23        could actually look.  This was something that

 

      24        was very important, and this is also --

 

      25        emphasizes the revitalization, but also

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              11

 

       1        emphasizes maintaining the character of the

 

       2        area.

 

       3             Improving mobility is our third guiding

 

       4        principle.  As you can see, this is a rendering

 

       5        that shows pedestrian access cross the

 

       6        Arlington Expressway.  We need to continue to

 

       7        connect neighborhood parks and commercial

 

       8        centers where appropriate.

 

       9             This is a sub-principle within the plan.

 

      10        Utilizing natural buffers.  As you can see,

 

      11        there's greenery, there's green medians,

 

      12        there's spaces for people to walk, there are

 

      13        places for people to bike.  These are areas

 

      14        that the community feels need to be revitalized

 

      15        and make accessible to the public.  We want to

 

      16        enhance connectivity.  We want to improve

 

      17        mobility.  Showing the bus covers means that we

 

      18        just need to continue to bring about commercial

 

      19        corridors and connectivity throughout the

 

      20        neighborhoods.  We already have a shuttle that

 

      21        goes throughout Arlington.  So we can improve

 

      22        mobility again, while advancing neighborhood

 

      23        character and enhance the connectivity

 

      24        throughout.

 

      25             Providing economic growth which advances

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              12

 

       1        neighborhood character is a fourth principle.

 

       2        Sub-principle is a neighborhood advancement

 

       3        should guide non-residential use and design as

 

       4        well as expand economic opportunities.  We have

 

       5        existing universities, as I mentioned, a Naval

 

       6        center, the fishing village, Norman Studios.

 

       7             One of the things that was brought about

 

       8        in this plan was to develop ecotourism and to

 

       9        again expand the medical industry.  So we have

 

      10        opportunities that are already existing.  We

 

      11        need to continue to utilize those and to

 

      12        promote those throughout the district.

 

      13             And finally, we have opportunities to

 

      14        enhance recreational opportunities.  There are

 

      15        existing locations along the river.  The

 

      16        district does not have a lot of public

 

      17        riverfront accessibility.  There's obviously a

 

      18        lot of riverfront, but most of it, like the

 

      19        southeast district is already private.

 

      20             So if there are public and private

 

      21        opportunities, this just being an idea, we

 

      22        don't have anything like this existing now, but

 

      23        if you look at the drawing to the top right and

 

      24        then the one in the middle is the Boys Harbor,

 

      25        it could be.  It could be accessible to the

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              13

 

       1        public.  It could be something that would

 

       2        benefit both parties.  It's an idea that came

 

       3        about to provide more public access to the

 

       4        water throughout the district.  So limited

 

       5        public access is something that the community

 

       6        would like to change, would like to enhance.

 

       7             So we're looking at the conservation areas

 

       8        as well, but also utilizing existing space

 

       9        along the river that could possibly be

 

      10        accessible to the public.  So the Cross State

 

      11        Towing and the Boys Harbor are two areas that

 

      12        they would like to look at in the future.

 

      13             Enhancing those recreational opportunities

 

      14        is part of the final guiding principle.

 

      15        Enhancing conservation parks and recreational

 

      16        opportunities.  We have a lot of natural

 

      17        recreational area in Arlington, and the

 

      18        community, the steering committee as well,

 

      19        would like to utilize and would like to access

 

      20        that and to create more space for parks and

 

      21        more space for trails and connectivity,

 

      22        particularly to areas that already have

 

      23        recreational opportunities, such as Tree Hill.

 

      24             One of the things that I wanted to show

 

      25        was this slide here, the access, this

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              14

 

       1        pedestrian bridge over the Arlington

 

       2        Expressway.  When I was -- we were assigned to

 

       3        do the charettes, one of the charettes that we

 

       4        had was at the University Park Library.  And

 

       5        since I'm a resident of Arlington for the past

 

       6        15 years, I wanted to participate as a

 

       7        resident.  So I took off my City of

 

       8        Jacksonville hat and I just became a real

 

       9        person for that session.

 

      10             And so I sat there at the table and we

 

      11        threw our ideas up, and one of the ideas that

 

      12        really was very, very close to my heart was

 

      13        having access across the Arlington Expressway,

 

      14        because driving back and forth, I see people

 

      15        every single day running across with children,

 

      16        with babies, children on bikes, teenagers.  I

 

      17        have friends that live on one side and their

 

      18        kids went to Terry Parker.  And I know for a

 

      19        fact they used to run across Arlington

 

      20        Expressway.  So this was something that was

 

      21        very close to my heart, so that was something

 

      22        that I asked to be put on the board.

 

      23             And the process was if you put it on the

 

      24        board, it would go to the steering committee

 

      25        and potentially you could see it in the

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              15

 

       1        document.  So this came out in the document,

 

       2        and so it's something that I know for a fact

 

       3        was talked about at the charette because this

 

       4        is something that was close to my heart.  But

 

       5        what's even more exciting to me is that within

 

       6        the mobility plan that the city is working on

 

       7        now, there is a list of prioritized projects,

 

       8        and the pedestrian bridge across the Arlington

 

       9        Expressway is Number 2 on the mobility plan

 

      10        project list.  So as the mobility fees become

 

      11        enacted and become a reality, this project is

 

      12        going to be the second on the priority list to

 

      13        be funded once those mobility fees become

 

      14        collected.  So these vision plans are real

 

      15        documents.  They're real living, breathing

 

      16        documents.  And I think that the city is going

 

      17        to benefit from all the hard work that's going

 

      18        on throughout the community, and I think this

 

      19        is something that we will continue to see these

 

      20        projects move forward.

 

      21             In addition to that, talking to our

 

      22        project manager in the transportation section,

 

      23        the city is also working with another

 

      24        consultant with money given from the TPO.

 

      25        Right now they have a concept to create credits

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              16

 

       1        for the mobility fee.  If the developer comes

 

       2        in with projects in certain identified areas in

 

       3        the vision plan, they're going to get a credit.

 

       4        So that's something that you'll probably see

 

       5        down the road, but I was just told this

 

       6        literally like 30 minutes ago that the mobility

 

       7        plan plus the vision plan will equal credits.

 

       8        This is a concept, it's not a reality yet.  But

 

       9        I just think that is just so exciting that here

 

      10        we are three years later having worked on these

 

      11        vision plans and they're becoming real for real

 

      12        projects already.

 

      13             So that being said, I just want to turn it

 

      14        over to Zyscovich so they can kind of conclude

 

      15        how these vision plans can be used.  But this

 

      16        is something I think is very exciting.  And

 

      17        again, I just wanted to thank the department

 

      18        for allowing me to work on this project.  And

 

      19        it's been the professional highlight of my

 

      20        career, so I just wanted to thank them.  I

 

      21        appreciate all the hard work that council has

 

      22        done on this in helping support and making this

 

      23        a reality.

 

      24             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Ms. Ransom.

 

      25             Any questions for Ms. Ransom?

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              17

 

       1             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response.)

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  That's not Councilman

 

       3        Redman on the bike there, is it, in the

 

       4        picture?

 

       5             MS. RANSOM:  No.  He was our inspiration,

 

       6        though.

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  I don't think that's

 

       8        District 4.  Better check in with the district

 

       9        council member.

 

      10             Someone was going to wrap up?  If you can

 

      11        just wrap up in just a couple of minutes, and

 

      12        then we'll go ahead and take action on the

 

      13        bill.

 

      14             MR. ZYSCOVICH:  Thank you very much.  My

 

      15        name is Bernard Zyscovich.  We're the firm that

 

      16        was responsible for taking care of this work

 

      17        for you.  I'd like to introduce Trent Baughn,

 

      18        project manager from our firm.  I think Lisa's

 

      19        already begun to talk about implementation.

 

      20        We're very excited about that.

 

      21             I wanted to draw your attention to several

 

      22        things because this is -- many of you probably

 

      23        don't know us or our firm.  I think that it

 

      24        should be noted that we've taken a lot of --

 

      25        we've put a lot of energy within the vision

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              18

 

       1        plans in really articulating specific projects

 

       2        that have potential.  So we believe that it's

 

       3        really not a plan that's intended to sit on the

 

       4        shelf.  We're architects.  We know development,

 

       5        we do many projects, we have many projects

 

       6        where we are both planners and/or architects

 

       7        doing the work.  So we've set it up

 

       8        specifically for that purpose.

 

       9             So one of the few things that I'd like to

 

      10        draw your attention to in terms of next steps

 

      11        would be that as we started out when we began

 

      12        talking with communities, each one of these

 

      13        planning districts is the size of an entire

 

      14        city.  As you know better than we do,

 

      15        Jacksonville is just an enormous place.  So we

 

      16        think that it really would be very significant

 

      17        to take the work that's begun in the vision

 

      18        plans and start drawing down more specificity

 

      19        as you get into the subdistricts of the

 

      20        planning districts, because as we all know,

 

      21        even within Arlington there are many different

 

      22        parts of Arlington that really have very

 

      23        different character.  And the zoning needs to

 

      24        be developed for that.  The vision needs to be

 

      25        continued for that.  And we think that would be

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              19

 

       1        a very important aspect of the opportunity that

 

       2        is presented here.

 

       3             A second one which I believe personally is

 

       4        very, very opportune considering our economy

 

       5        and the state of the economy is that one of the

 

       6        kind of resources that you're sitting with,

 

       7        although they might not be thought that way,

 

       8        are the significant number of large shopping

 

       9        malls that have not really been able to sustain

 

      10        themselves.

 

      11             They're significant for two very important

 

      12        reasons.  One is within the plan they typically

 

      13        occur on these corridors, and as you will see

 

      14        in the land use component, there's been changes

 

      15        in the land use that was really the result of

 

      16        this work that we did which has established a

 

      17        new land use component for you as a city.  So

 

      18        there are opportunities in terms of

 

      19        redevelopment, density, et cetera that are

 

      20        totally in sync with the vision plan and will

 

      21        present those opportunities.

 

      22             The reason that the shopping malls are

 

      23        important are because, first of all, typically

 

      24        they're owned by one entity so there's no need

 

      25        for aggregation.  Aggregation tends to be the

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              20

 

       1        stumbling block for redevelopment.  The second

 

       2        reason is public-private partnerships are

 

       3        really a very significant tool that can be used

 

       4        in the redevelopment of certain parts of

 

       5        cities.  And with the current state of the

 

       6        economy and the underlying ownership, there's

 

       7        very strong reasons to begin to think about

 

       8        some telephone calls to these owners, some

 

       9        initiation of opportunities to begin to develop

 

      10        a public-private relationship, because there's

 

      11        many, many acres of undeveloped land that are

 

      12        perfectly suited for redevelopment, for

 

      13        connectivity with transit, for new housing, new

 

      14        schools, new densification that would really be

 

      15        tremendously important.

 

      16             I think the third thing and my final

 

      17        thing, because we could talk for a long time --

 

      18        it's all in your document, by the way, in

 

      19        Chapter 11 -- is the open space and

 

      20        connectivity elements.  There are barriers

 

      21        within each of the districts that we've worked

 

      22        on that are in the nature of major highways,

 

      23        unutilized public space, jurisdictional

 

      24        ownership that could be combined.  So there are

 

      25        many opportunities for a very strong and

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              21

 

       1        enhanced open space and green space network

 

       2        that would incorporate roadway improvements for

 

       3        bike lanes, pedestrian pathways, et cetera.

 

       4        Those are the perfect type of relatively

 

       5        low-cost public improvements that could really

 

       6        make significant changes in neighborhoods.

 

       7             So with that, I'll stop, and if you have

 

       8        questions, we'd be happy to assist.

 

       9             Thank you for the chance to do this.

 

      10             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you very much, and

 

      11        thank you too for all your hard work, the

 

      12        staff's hard work, the citizens that

 

      13        participated in the process.  Looks like

 

      14        everybody -- I don't see any battle scars.  I

 

      15        suspected you'd have a few still on crutches

 

      16        or -- oh, okay.  I see that one.  I know I

 

      17        received countless emails from countable few

 

      18        folks on this projects, and it all turned out

 

      19        in the end.  So thank you for your

 

      20        perseverance.

 

      21             Mr. Bishop.

 

      22             MR. BISHOP:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

      23             I just want to thank the department,

 

      24        Bernard and his team, Mike Anania, chair of the

 

      25        steering committee, and all the members of the

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              22

 

       1        committee.  This was an long, arduous and

 

       2        oftentimes painful process we went through.  I

 

       3        think if nothing else that came out of this, a

 

       4        whole lot of education about planning and the

 

       5        impact of planning has made a lot of people in

 

       6        the Arlington area a whole lot smarter than

 

       7        they were when we started.  There is now for

 

       8        the first time a -- well, I won't call it

 

       9        concise because it's a very large document.

 

      10        There's a lot of stuff in there, but a body of

 

      11        work that the communities of Arlington can

 

      12        point to and say, This is what we want our

 

      13        community to be.

 

      14             They can use that as a tool to promote

 

      15        things.  They can use that as a tool to try and

 

      16        stop things they don't think are part of their

 

      17        vision.  But it's a body of work that they can

 

      18        use as a resource for why they want something

 

      19        to happen or why they don't want something to

 

      20        happen, as opposed to just simply saying, We

 

      21        don't like something.  This is a reason why

 

      22        something works well.

 

      23             And that will be a very valuable tool

 

      24        going forward, and for that I thank everyone

 

      25        that participated in the process.  I think we

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              23

 

       1        did a great job.

 

       2             Thank you.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Bishop.

 

       4             MR. BISHOP:  And with that, Mr. Chairman,

 

       5        I'll move the bill.

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion for --

 

       7             MR. JOOST:  Second.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- approval by Mr. Bishop.

 

       9        Second by Mr. Joost.

 

      10             Any discussion on the motion?

 

      11             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

      12             If not, open the ballot, vote.

 

      13             MS. LAHMEUR:  Six yea, zero nay.

 

      14             THE CHAIRMAN:  By our action, you've

 

      15        approved Item 11, 2010-847.

 

      16             Everything else on Page 5, Items 12, 13,

 

      17        14 and 15 are all second and rerefer as are all

 

      18        the items on the following page, Page 6, Items

 

      19        16 through 21.

 

      20             We will go backwards to Page 4, Item 7,

 

      21        2010-817.

 

      22             Mr. Kelly, do you have a report for this?

 

      23             MR. KELLY:  Yes, sir.  Thank you.  To the

 

      24        chair and to committee members, Ordinance

 

      25        2010-817 seeks to rezone approximately 5.2

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              24

 

       1        acres of land from the industrial heavy zoning

 

       2        district to a planned unit development

 

       3        essentially to allow for the industrial light

 

       4        uses.  The site plan with this development is

 

       5        for a work release program for the federal and

 

       6        state prison release program.  The department

 

       7        finds that this is a compatible location in

 

       8        this industrial park.  Additionally, the ITAC

 

       9        committee, Industrial Technical Advisory

 

      10        Committee, supported this application for it.

 

      11        And I think the department again finds it

 

      12        consistent with the policies and goals of the

 

      13        comprehensive plan including future land use

 

      14        objective 1.1 as well as Policy 1.1.10.

 

      15             The department is supporting this

 

      16        application with the conditions as indicated in

 

      17        the memorandum dated November 10th to Council

 

      18        President Webb.  There are some minor

 

      19        adjustments to the conditions that I'll read

 

      20        into the record.

 

      21             Condition 1 is, "The development shall be

 

      22        subject to the original legal description dated

 

      23        October 1st, 2000 -- to the revised legal

 

      24        description dated November 16th."

 

      25             Thank you for that.

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              25

 

       1             Condition 2, "The development (sic) shall

 

       2        be subject to the original written description

 

       3        dated October 1st, 2010."

 

       4             Condition 3, "The development shall be

 

       5        subject to the original site plan dated October

 

       6        1st, 2010."

 

       7             And Condition 4, "The facility may be used

 

       8        only in connection with State and Federal Work

 

       9        Release Programs.  The operator of the facility

 

      10        shall not accept into the program any

 

      11        individual who has been convicted of either a

 

      12        sexually-related offense, pornography or a

 

      13        violent crime."

 

      14             Condition 5, "The development (sic) shall

 

      15        be subject to Part 12 Landscaping Requirements

 

      16        of the Zoning Code."

 

      17             Condition 6, "The use of the Floridan

 

      18        Aquifer for the proposed development's

 

      19        irrigation -- I'm sorry.  There's a

 

      20        modification to Condition 6.

 

      21             Condition 6 has been modified to read, "if

 

      22        reclaimed water is available, the use of the

 

      23        Floridan Aquifer shall be prohibited as a

 

      24        primary source for irrigation water."

 

      25             And Condition 7, "The required

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              26

 

       1        transportation improvements shall be made in

 

       2        accordance with the Development Services

 

       3        Division memorandum dated October 5th, 20101,

 

       4        or as otherwise approved by the Planning and

 

       5        Development Department."

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you,

 

       7        Mr. Kelly.

 

       8             Mr. Reingold.

 

       9             MR. REINGOLD:  To the chair, to the

 

      10        committee, staff and to the applicant, I just

 

      11        had a small tweak to Condition Number 5 which

 

      12        was "the property shall be developed in

 

      13        accordance with Part 12 of the Zoning Code."

 

      14             With that, I guess we would look to the

 

      15        applicant or the agent to see if they were in

 

      16        agreement.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  We are going to do that in

 

      18        just a second.  Anything else, Mr. Reingold or

 

      19        Mr. Kelly?

 

      20             All right.  This is a quasi-judicial

 

      21        matter.  Does anyone have any ex-parte

 

      22        communication to disclose?

 

      23             Mr. Holt.

 

      24             MR. HOLT:  Thank you, Mr. Chair.  I spoke

 

      25        yesterday by phone with Paul Harden about this

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              27

 

       1        application and whether there was any community

 

       2        opposition.  Thank you.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Holt.

 

       4             Mr. Joost.

 

       5             MR. JOOST:  Thank you.  I had a brief

 

       6        conversation yesterday as well with Mr. Harden

 

       7        regarding this matter, just basically an

 

       8        overall picture.

 

       9             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, sir.

 

      10             Mr. Jones, did you -- you don't have to

 

      11        disclose here, but you're welcome to.

 

      12             MR. JONES:  Well, if I do it here, I don't

 

      13        have to do it Tuesday night, so I'd rather go

 

      14        ahead.

 

      15             I had a scheduled meeting with the -- I

 

      16        met with the applicant, discussed locations

 

      17        several months ago.  We identified a location.

 

      18        We had a public meeting at Paxon High School

 

      19        about a month ago to make sure the community

 

      20        was aware of where it was going.  I met with

 

      21        the neighborhood, the Paxon/Biltmore Community

 

      22        Association and discussed the location and the

 

      23        conditions that Mr. Reingold had already

 

      24        read -- the conditions that the applicant would

 

      25        be held to, and talked to Mr. Harden yesterday

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              28

 

       1        about any concerns the neighbors might have

 

       2        had.  Thank you.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Jones.

 

       4             Any other ex-parte to disclose?

 

       5             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Seeing none, we have a

 

       7        public hearing scheduled this evening.  The

 

       8        public hearing is open.  I have one speaker's

 

       9        card.  Charles Mann.

 

      10             Mr. Mann.

 

      11             MR. MANN:  Charles Mann, 165 Arlington

 

      12        Road representing the land owner.  Mr. Harden

 

      13        had to be in Tallahassee this afternoon for a

 

      14        meeting that he couldn't avoid.  He's asked me

 

      15        to stand in with him.

 

      16             It's my understanding that he is in

 

      17        agreement with the conditions that has been

 

      18        read by your council.

 

      19             This is a relocation of an existing

 

      20        facility in the neighborhood to what we feel

 

      21        like would be a better and more modern

 

      22        location, and we ask that you support your

 

      23        committee and your planning staff and vote for

 

      24        it.

 

      25             Thank you very much.

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              29

 

       1             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Mann.

 

       2             MR. MANN:  I'll stand by for questions.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  So you agree to the

 

       4        conditions read by Mr. Kelly and the

 

       5        modification made by Mr. Reingold?

 

       6             MR. MANN:  It is my understanding that

 

       7        Mr. Harden did, yes, sir.

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Thank you, sir.

 

       9             And, Mr. Reingold, I see your hand up.

 

      10             MR. REINGOLD:  Mr. Kelly brings up a

 

      11        really good point, and actually he brings it up

 

      12        in defense of the applicant.

 

      13             Condition Number 4 says, "The facility may

 

      14        be used only in connection with State and

 

      15        Federal Work Release Programs."

 

      16             Mr. Kelly was concerned, and I think it's

 

      17        a legitimate concern, is that the intent of

 

      18        that condition was not to nullify the other

 

      19        uses listed within the written description.  I

 

      20        believe the intent was to say, "If you use this

 

      21        as a residential-treatment-facility-type

 

      22        facility, then these are the requirements that

 

      23        you need to meet."  But all of the other listed

 

      24        uses are always available to the applicant.

 

      25             I didn't know if it might be more

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              30

 

       1        appropriate to say, "If the facility is used as

 

       2        a residential treatment facility, the facility

 

       3        may be used only in connection with State and

 

       4        Work Release Programs," and the condition hold,

 

       5        just to make sure it's clear to everybody that

 

       6        certainly the property could be used as a

 

       7        medical clinic, a bank, a bulk storage yard and

 

       8        the like.  I just make that comment and didn't

 

       9        know if the committee or staff or the applicant

 

      10        wanted to make a change.

 

      11             MR. MANN:  And through the chair to

 

      12        Mr. Reingold, that is our understanding that

 

      13        the other uses would still be allowed in

 

      14        addition to the residential job training center

 

      15        that we're trying to establish at this

 

      16        location.

 

      17             MR. HOLT:  Move the bill as amended.

 

      18             MR. REDMAN:  Second.

 

      19             THE CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Holt makes that

 

      20        amendment to the conditions.  Second by

 

      21        Mr. Redman.

 

      22             Discussion on that?

 

      23             We'll make that amendment in just a

 

      24        second, Mr. Mann.  Stand by.

 

      25             Any questions for Mr. Mann?

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              31

 

       1             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

       2             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Seeing none,

 

       3        thank you, Mr. Mann.

 

       4             Anyone else care to address the committee?

 

       5             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

       6             THE CHAIRMAN:  Seeing no one, the public

 

       7        hearing is closed.

 

       8             Mr. Holt made the amendment.  Second by

 

       9        Mr. Redman.

 

      10             Any discussion on the amendment?

 

      11             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

      12             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, all those in favor

 

      13        say yes -- oh, Mr. Reingold.

 

      14             MR. REINGOLD:  I just want to read it into

 

      15        the record so that --

 

      16             THE CHAIRMAN:  Sure, go ahead.

 

      17             MR. REINGOLD:  -- we could all be on the

 

      18        same page.

 

      19             If the property is utilized as a

 

      20        residential treatment facility, the facility

 

      21        may be only -- may be used only in connection

 

      22        with State and Federal Work Release Programs.

 

      23        The operator of the facility shall not accept

 

      24        into the program any individual who has been

 

      25        convicted of either: (a), a sexually-related

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              32

 

       1        offense; (b) pornography; or, (c) a violent

 

       2        crime.

 

       3             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Reingold.

 

       4        That's exactly what Mr. Holt said I think.

 

       5             All right.  Discussion or any further

 

       6        discussion on the amendment?

 

       7             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

       8             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  All those in

 

       9        favor say yes.

 

      10             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Yes.

 

      11             THE CHAIRMAN:  Opposed say no.

 

      12             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

      13             THE CHAIRMAN:  By our action, you've

 

      14        approved the amendment.

 

      15             Mr. Mann, do you accept the revised --

 

      16             MR. MANN:  Yes, sir, we do.

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  -- amendment?

 

      18             Thank you very much.

 

      19             MR. JOOST:  Move the bill as amended.

 

      20             MR. R. BROWN:  Second.

 

      21             THE CHAIRMAN:  Motion on the bill as

 

      22        amended by Mr. Joost.  Second by Mr. Brown,

 

      23        Reggie Brown.

 

      24             Discussion?

 

      25             COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              33

 

       1             THE CHAIRMAN:  If not, open the ballot,

 

       2        vote.

 

       3             MS. LAHMEUR:  Six yea, zero nay.

 

       4             THE CHAIRMAN:  By our action, you have

 

       5        approve Item 7, 2010-817 as amended.

 

       6             MR. MANN:  Thank you very much.

 

       7             THE CHAIRMAN:  Thank you, Mr. Mann.

 

       8             The remaining items on that page are all

 

       9        deferred, Items 8, 9 and 10.  And moving

 

      10        backwards to Page 2 at the beginning, Items 1,

 

      11        2 and 3 are deferred as are all the items on

 

      12        Page 3, Items 4, 5 and 6.

 

      13             And I think that completes the agenda.

 

      14             Anything else to come before the

 

      15        committee?

 

      16             AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (No response)

 

      17             THE CHAIRMAN:  All right.  Well, I

 

      18        appreciate everybody coming tonight and I wish

 

      19        everybody a happy holiday season.  Staff,

 

      20        committee members, we will see you next year.

 

      21        I'm going to give everybody LUZ meetings off

 

      22        until next year.  How's that?  What a bonus.

 

      23             All right.  Thank you.

 

      24             (The above proceedings were adjourned at

 

      25   5:45 p.m.)

 

 


 

 

 

                                                              34

 

       1                  C E R T I F I C A T E

 

       2   STATE OF FLORIDA)

 

       3   COUNTY OF DUVAL )

 

       4        I, Tina Hutcheson, Court Reporter, certify that

 

       5   I was authorized to and did stenographically report

 

       6   the foregoing proceedings and that the transcript is

 

       7   a true and complete copy of my stenographic notes.

 

       8

 

       9        Dated this 12th day of December 2010.

 

      10

 

      11

 

      12                           _______________________________

                                   Tina Hutcheson

      13                           Court Reporter

 

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