OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425
4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202
904-630-1377
LUZ Special Committee Meeting Minutes
June 6, 2017
4:45 p.m.
Topic:
2017-358 (Appeal of Final Decision on COA-17-236)
Location:
City Council Chamber, 1st floor, City Hall – St. James Building, 117
West Duval Street
In attendance:
Council Members Danny Becton (Chair), Jim Love, Doyle Carter, Al Ferraro,
Reggie Gaffney, Matt Schellenberg
Also:
Folks Huxford – Planning & Development Department; Susan Grandin – Office
of General Counsel; Jessica Matthews, Crystal Shemwell, and Adri Maguire Segui–
Legislative Services Division; Dan MacDonald – ECA Dist. 11; Yvonne P. Mitchell
– Research Division
Meeting Convened:
4:55 p.m.
Chairman Becton called the meeting to order and reviewed the
outline of the hearing procedures. Ms. Sondra Fetner reviewed information
regarding the appellate process for a Certificate of Appropriateness Final
Order from the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission (JHPC).
Mr. John Wells, the appellant,
was provided 15 minutes to present his case. He applied for a demolition permit
for the structure at 1423 Rensselaer Avenue. He wants to buy the property from
Ms. Berlin, demolish the existing structure, and rebuild a new home. Mr. Wells
stated it is not economically feasible to repair the structure due to the
foundation and other issues. He presented two options to prevent demolition:
move the structure to neighbor’s backyard
or relocate to another property in Springfield area.
Ex Parte: Love and Ferraro
Public hearing opened for comments:
- Adrienne Burke, a
representative of Riverside Avondale Preservation, urged the committee to
uphold the Planning Commission’s final decision or at least defer action
until further substantial and competent evidence was provided. She stated that additional information (property
sale listings/feasible alternatives) was necessary to meet criteria number
7 and 8 of the Historic District Design Regulations.
- Robert Stomfay-Stitz requested the
committee to deny the appeal. He supports maintaining the historic
character of the structure since several houses on the street have been
repaired and upgraded to beautiful homes.
Public hearing closed.
Ms. Sondra Fetner was provided 15 minutes to present her
case. It was
established that the property was listed as a contributing factor in
1998 when the neighborhood was designated historic. Ms. Fetner provided current
(March 2017) external and internal pictures of the existing house. Additional information was provided by Mr. Joel
McEachin. Ms. Fetner rebutted the appellant’s comments regarding the
economic return of the property. JHPC
maintains that structures should be restored
whenever possible.
Mr. Wells was provided
five minutes for rebuttal. He reiterated that the foundation of the structure
is in need of repair.
Motion/2nd move deny appeal and uphold JHPC
decision – Schellenberg/Gaffney (6-0)
Motion/2nd move as amended – Schellenberg/Gaffney
(7-0)
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Meeting Adjourned: 6:05 p.m.
Minutes: Yvonne P. Mitchell, Council Research
06.07.17
Posted 4:30 p.m.
Tapes: LUZ special
meeting– LSD
06.06.17
Materials: Zoning Code handout
06.06.17
*
The written minutes
for this meeting are an overview of what was
discussed. Please review the audio to hear the actual dialogue from this
meeting.