Land Use & Zoning Committee - Nov 04, 2026

all right good evening everybody oh there we go good evening good evening it's five o'clock november 4th and we are going to go ahead and convene the lane use and zoning committee with introductions to the left thank you mr chair ken tomorrow city council district one just visiting good afternoon city council district eight reggie gaffney jr good evening rory diamond and george district 13 the beaches joe carlucci district five randy white district 12 terrence harvey uh office of general counsel susan kelly planning department erin abney planning department casey cox planning department all right and we do have councilman johnson that is going to be running just a few minutes late there is an event across the street uh for uh something that he was part of so he said he will be back in very short order so excuse me with that we have a few items that we're going to go through that are deferred and that are open continued and then uh committee members if you weren't here we are going to take up item 18 on page 10 first so with that we'll kind of get some of these uh items out of the way on the front side that are deferred and then we'll go there so item number one 2026 124 is deferred public hearing next cycle on 11 17 26 item number two 2026 125 is deferred with the public hearing next cycle on 11 17 26 item number three 2026 126 open the public hearing fresh off the press we have two speaker cards jamie travis leonard is on opposition does not wish to speak and samantha series is in opposition does not wish to speak and with that we have uh we will continue this public hearing until 11 17 26 item number four 2026 127 open the public hearing two speaker cards jamie travis leonard is in opposition does not wish to speak and samantha series is in opposition does not wish to speak and we'll continue this public hearing until 11 17 26 item number five 2026 436 is deferred the public hearing next cycle on 11 17 26 item number six 2026 523 is deferred with public hearing next cycle on 11 17 26 item number seven 2026 524 is deferred the public hearing next cycle on 11 17 26 and the next two bills are also deferred item number eight 2026 556 and 558 are deferred public hearings are on those next cycle 11 17 26 and then with that we're going to skip over to page 10 item number 18 2026 744 council members please declare your ex parte communication at this time anything anybody seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a thank you this is pud rezoning ordinance 2026-0744 seeking to rezone approximately 21.10 acres of property that's located on the south side of normandy boulevard they are seeking to rezone from a pud that was approved in 2022 to a new pud the purpose of this rezoning is to return the property to a commercial development entitlement which would include a grocery store after several prior rezonings had shifted the property towards more of a residential slash medical campus concept the site has a long entitlement history starting in 2005 with a pud that envisioned a large commercial center and residential uses then it changed in 2019 to include commercial uses and then adding more residential and then again changed in 2022 to reorient the site towards a more of a medical campus and multifamily community market conditions have changed so the applicant is now seeking to remove the residential uses entirely and restore it back to the commercial center which is consistent with the existing cgc land use and the commercial node along normandy and chafee the pud is consistent with the comp plan the site is located in the suburban development area within the cgc land use category which does support nodal commercial development along major roadway intersections the pud provides substantial buffering and separations from any adjacent residential communities the site plan anticipates seven parcels which will include the center grocery store site and six supporting commercial out parcels in a stormwater facility the pud removes all the residential components and relies entirely on retail services and commercial uses all allowed within the cgc land use so for these reasons and those in the staff report we are forwarding a recommendation of approval with two conditions in your agenda application was heard by planning commission on october 22nd where there were no speakers in opposition and little discussion and the commission voted unanimously for approval all right thank you so much next our first speaker card uh mike hersberg is in support questions only jamie travis leonard is in support questions only and samantha series is in support questions only so with that we will close the public hearing and bring back to committee for the amendment all right we have a motion do we have a second on the amendment we have a motion a second on the amendment all in favor of the amendment signify by saying aye any opposed the amendment carries all right we have a motion i'll give it a second on the bill all right um with the conditions anyone yep no one in the queue open the vote record your vote four yay zero nays by your action you've approved 2026 744 as amended now we will go to the next item we're pulling up and then we will go to the front of the agenda where we left off item number 20 20 26 746 council members declare your exports a communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you this is pud rezoning ordinance 2026-0746 seeking to rezone approximately two and a half acres of property that's located on the north side of atlantic boulevard and west of kernan boulevard they are seeking to rezone from a pud approved in 2018 to a new pud the purpose of the rezoning is to allow the parcel to be used as an overflow inventory storage lot for new vehicles associated with an existing automobile dealership in the villages of kernan west pud because the site is non-contiguous to the dealership this storage use is currently not permitted which does require a new pud to add that one additional use the request does not modify or remove the underlying use is already permitted within the pud which does allow for uses similar to the ccg1 zoning district rather it just adds the new one use the site lies within the cgc land use category it's in the urban development area along a major commercial corridor the parcel is already part of a larger commercial pud that is heavily auto oriented we find that it meets the internal and external compatibility factors so for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval application was heard by planning commission on october 22nd where there were no speakers in opposition and little discussion and they voted unanimously for approval thank you all right thank you we have one speaker card mike herzberg in support questions only no other speakers close public hearing let's bring back to committee motion to second on the bill no discussion open the ballot record your vote four yay zero nays fire action you have approved 2026 746 all right going back where do we leave off item number 10 there we go okay all right the star of the show item number 10 2026 657 council members please declare your export communication at this time council member diamond you're recognized uh thank you mr chair in addition to uh emails from the public and the neighbors i've also had multiple conversations with josh cockerel and i will follow those with legislative services thanks council member white you're recognized i'll declare my export same emails they have been filed and i have had conversations with mr cockerel thank you council member gaffney you recognized thank you to the chair i also rise to declare ex parte i also received emails in regards to this legislation mr cocker also reached out to me as well i make sure everything gets filed with legislative services council member amara you're recognized thank you mr chair i to declare ex parte and receive a number of emails in opposition to this request from constituents in my district and had a two conversation with mr cockerel the representing the apple applicant on 10 6 and today as a matter of fact it's being filed with legislative services all right and i have the same ex parte uh we have about 40 emails right here 10 or 10 16 through 11 4 and we will get this paperwork filed with legislative services with that we'll open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you this is pud rezoning ordinance 2026-0657 seeking to rezone approximately 1.05 acres of a property that's located at 3695 hartsfield road from a pud approved in 2017 to a new pud with the sole substantive change being the addition of beer and wine sales for on-premises consumption all existing regular recreational uses approved under the current pud community which does include batting cages mini golf soccer training and related recreation open space uses will remain unchanged the proposed alcoholic beverage use is strictly accessory and must operate only in conjunction with the recreational facility and food services beer and wine service will be physically separated occurring exclusively within a designated enclosed area that is not visible along the line of measurement to the nearby school which is the harvest community school located across fort caroline road the pud does seek to include a waiver from part eight requirements in order to reduce the distance between the liquor license location and a church or school staff did review and the request and found it met the criteria that would normally be granted for a waiver of liquor distance based on two key findings that the alcohol beverage component is is integral to the pud and accessor to recreational uses and the school is physically and visually separated due to intervening roadways and site buffering the pud design includes landscaping and site orientation that further shields students from the designated alcohol service area and the recreational layout and existing buffers ensure that the school is not exposed to or affected by the on-site consumption area the request is limited to a two cop license so this is again beer and wine only and it's explicitly secondary to the recreational uses and alcohol may not leave the designated controlled area all conditions of the existing pud 2017 pud remain including the strict lighting standards that ensure low illumination at property lines adjacent to residential areas which is an important protection for the surrounding neighborhood including the school planning staff finds that the revised pud is consistent with the ros land use category where food service and on-premises consumption of alcohol are incidental to permitted uses so for these reasons and those outline the staff report the planning department recommends approval with one condition that's listed in your agenda the application was heard by a planning commission on october 8th where there were several speakers in opposition expressing concerns about the addition of the alcohol sales given the proximity to an existing school school as well as the potential traffic and noise that could be generated by the expansion in the area that is primarily primarily residential in nature nature the planning commission agreed with these concerns raised by the community and voted unanimously to deny the pud rezoning the applicant also is going to submit a revised site plan today that is exhibit four dated november 4th 2026 and you do have a copy of that site plan in front of you thank you all right we have quite a few speaker cards first up we will go to the applicant uh josh cockrell mr chairman fellow council members josh cockrell 200 north lora street um thank you staff for the report um i just came onto this matter recently i have mr michael garcio with me he's the owner of the property uh mr minor state mr garcia came upon this property and purchased it uh last year uh early summer he opened the property uh through the summer for the kids and at the end of the summer august roughly he closed the property he closed it so that he could renovate and remodel the existing facilities including but not limited to placing new roof on the cafe slash restroom slash um office space that's there the existing building i have a new site plan by the way too let me go ahead and give that to you have an updated site plan i'm going to enter as an exhibit as well to update all of you on what the facilities look like this reflects the current state of the facilities today and um for you for the record um also in uh updated it's been 150 000 updating also the the nets updated the uh the batting equipment machinery uh the putting greens uh on the putt-putt course updated the the turf on the soccer field spent quite a bit of money on bringing this facility back up to more of its grandiose that it was once was possibly since 96. like i said it's a 30 year old facility um i'm here in honor to ask for your support on the beer and wine we have bad we have recreational facilities throughout this city we have facilities throughout different areas of this town i know some of you mr chairman represent areas of san marco that have restaurants that serve liquor even that abut against residential we have springfield riverside avondale the beaches even mr diamond uh throughout this community that has residential abutting both recreational whether it's our beach bowl whether it is our other facilities that are entertaining i was at a chuck e cheese last weekend for a birthday party for my kids and so they were serving draft beer behind the counter i would have never expected that so to ask for something such as beer and wine is not unusual for a recreational facility such as this it's not atypical for us to have a facility that's near a church much less a school is not odd look at riverside we have rpds up against hawkers in the five points area serving alcohol throughout five points and an entertainment area this is not unusual by any means so whether this beer and wine passes today or not this facility will continue to operate and continue to providing an amenity to this community that is greatly needed uh we ask for your support on this this evening and hope that you will greatly consider i know there's community here that is against the the changing landscape i know we have folks from colony cove here tonight i understand because i've seen them at the previous meetings that are a mile away and i want to note that because colony cove is a mile away we have a previous owner that came and spoke i'm a big believer that if you previously owned the facility and you sold it uh you don't you lost your say when you sold the facility and i'm not sure if they're here tonight but they may be speaking about that as well so i'll be back to answer more questions later all right thank you sir next we have lisa ransom and then with the following speakers can come down and sit in the reserve seating just so we can work through as many as we can as quickly as we can next we have steve matchett kathy walker kathleen bowles jim walker and joanne mcintosh come on down sit in the front seats and we can get you up here to the podium all right miss ransom floor is yours thank you good afternoon my name is lisa ransom i'm a board member with ashley green my address is on file we represent 119 homes i live half a mile from the subject property my community and i are opposed to this pud for the following reasons first of all this 1.4 acre site previously designated rmda for a single family home was recommended denial originally by the planning and development department the ros that's currently located on the site typically allows dude ranches private camps country clubs large large types of development this does not and it could not because it is such a small site it also has requested we have not seen the revised site plan so if i'm speaking on something that doesn't exist it's because i've not been informed of the changes but the permanent food truck further intensifies the commercial atmosphere on this site and yes it is surrounded by single family homes however this will also allow outdoor nightly entertainment creating noise and disturbances for the surrounding neighbors this is going to be an urban bar basically as he mentioned simple similar to what happens in riverside but this isn't um riverside this is um arlington and we're opposed to the type of activity nightly activity outside alcohol services in our community uh speaking of the liquor license um i i'm i'm a former city planner with the city of jacksonville i was a pud um and future land use amendment a person who reviewed all these types of things and i've never seen in a pud report that allowed for staff to defer a waiver of liquor license um and so part of the description for how you can do that is you have to do if you have a liquor license you have to um go from the straight line for the nearest point of the building according to 656806 to the nearest part of the ground so i've handed out a handout so you can see according to the property appraiser there is a very large private school i went to the website it is a school of christian denomination and faith um they're there the property appraiser has identified that the property is worth 2.5 million dollars so it is a a very vibrant a very important part of our community and i would appreciate if we could consider that and because when you have a school of this magnitude that is allowed by right this application is the interloper this application is the one that should be requesting on a denial application because it's inconsistent with the surrounding area we do not feel that it is um belongs in the neighborhood based on the beer and wine batting cage is fine it's been there for 30 years however it is not consistent with the single family community that arlington has had at least in the 30 years that i've lived in this part of town we would appreciate a denial thank you all right next we have steve match it steve match at address on file i've spoken at six hearings on this bill already i've been joined by many area neighbors adjacent property owners and that's still where the owner lives by the way is adjacent to this facility the original owner you've had many many emails from many others we have filled transcripts full of testimony concerning not only this application but the applicant's illegal activities prior to us even filing we detailed several deficiencies in the site plan don't know what that looks like at this present stage but it really doesn't i don't think matter when it gets down to the crux of this issue addition it needs the liquor distance waiver requirement and that's also a contested part of the planning department report as lisa had just mentioned i do want to point out that the bar if you have some semblance of a site plan now 100 seats are down in the corner of this property adjacent to the pavement of the roundabout that's with 11 outdoor stools centered around the outdoor bar centered right in the corner of the property that is amazingly not visible by the planning department from from across the street but i want to focus on one point here and that's strictly land use strictly comprehensive plan this parcels land use category is recreation open space and you might pull up a land use map and wonder how in the heck did a little island of of ros get dropped in to this what is literally mdr and ldr residential in miles around what happened in 96 when the original baseball heaven pud was approved and it would not have been approved if it hadn't been changed to recreation open space we didn't have to do it at the time but the community was concerned about future commercial expansion and the recreation open space was a vehicle to ensure that that would not happen well how does that happen in recreation open space then well that's because recreation open space has a primary use that's what the baseball batting cages are the primary use it is why we didn't need alcohol we had an alcohol prohibition on ours however the way the playing department interprets this and the applicant obviously as well is that this cafe this cafeteria service this seating for 173 people is somehow secondary to the batting cage it's a ridiculous thought even to consider in land area in the parking that isn't there in revenue all this would require a commercial category and that's why it's ros open space or recreation open space thank you mr chairman yep thank you sir next we have kathy walker don't want to speak okay then opposition next we have kathleen bowels polls okay all right is in opposition does not wish to speak jim walker all right opposition does not wish to speak joanne mcintosh good evening joanne mcintosh 7706 leesburg drive i'm a member of the ashley green hoa board we're here i'm here to on behalf of my neighborhood to state that we do not feel that this is a good decision on our part when it was first created back in 96 it was meant to be a family-friendly meeting place i want to also point out that there's a rondelet park which is less than a half mile from this that's where they have a baseball field and the idea was that you could bring your family to this place meet your community brand new community set up some ties strengthen the residential areas and encourage the growth the residential growth of that area i don't see where there's 172 seats with with canopies where the size can be lifted is going to separate your beer and wine sale from your baseball services i just don't get it but i would just like to state our opposition and we want to keep this area residential small families thank you all right thank you next we have deborah gelwix deborah gelwix my um address is on file i oppose the beer and wine being sold in a batting cage area for community use for kids basically but i wanted to address the parking situation and go with that there are 16 parking spots right now one is handicapped spot so there are projected 172 seating spots in this area with that if there are and this is the teacher in me coming out if there are 172 spots with two people to a car that would be 86 spots needed 86 minus the 16 designated spots leave 70 additional cars that will be there if that is filled also 172 spots with four people per car would need 43 spots minus six minus the 16 would be 27 more cars or spots this is not not enough parking for this area and the cause and effect because there is not enough spots for this area these additional cars or spots would be parking in the side road of hartsville and fort caroline roads the effect this would impact sidewalks and the ability to walk along these roads we are an exercising walking community the other effect jso is going to be called because of the parking on the side roads which would then use their resources and now it becomes dangerous for our community our people and the ones out on the sidewalks walking thank you all right next we have gene hagan i just want to reiterate name and address before me said can you state your name and address before you start sir name and address before you start thank you gene hagan i live at 39 32 sarah brook court jacksonville florida 32277 the neighborhood across from ashley green it's called britney bluff so i'm about half a mile away you can't put that many cars in there which she pointed out so they're going to be parking on the right of way it was also pointed out that their entrance is 100 feet from a cult uh roundabout which is too small to start off with it backs up when school lets out it backs up when there's a rush hour so you're going to have parking problems you're going to have traffic problems and i also disagree with serving the alcohol because this thing was set up for kids little leaguers to go practice batting and soccer it's not set for adults so how are you going to keep this separated the kids from the adults who are there to eat and drink i'm opposed to it all right thank you next we have trisha um cap suka you can do it cap hoostica kapuska all right good evening thank you mr chair my name is trish kaputska i live at 5230 riverton road 32277 i'm here this evening as a long time arlington resident a board member of old arlington inc president of the university park civic association and the upca representative to the arlington beaches cpac i like the neighbors you've heard earlier and probably gotten emails from am adamantly opposed to this ordinance and the detrimental effect it's going to have on the adjacent residential neighborhoods not only does it fly in the face of the original 1996 baseball heaven rezoning which was approved with the explicit understanding that future commercial expansion and the sale of alcohol would not be permitted on the site it also proposes a use that is both incompatible and potentially dangerous as those before me have said i'm not sure if you've physically seen the site it's maybe difficult to see it from the site plan but um i think you'd be hard pressed to figure out how you're going to put 72 outdoor seats let alone 172 or 173 there that close to the road um there's as was mentioned less than 20 parking spaces so i'm not a math teacher i'm not going to do the math for you but patrons will be parking all over the place including possibly some private property and then playing frog or getting across the street you know to get to um to get to the facility so you know for months the property owner has been you know quietly putting up pergolas and picnic tables and huge speakers and put putting up a food truck there never in that time has that the property owner attempted to engage with the arlington community to tell us what the intention was or to give us any sense of comfort that they would respect and protect our you know quiet enjoyment of our homes nearby so that's disconcerting um please understand i am a proponent of small business i'm a small business owner myself i serve on the renew arlington cra and the jack's chamber arlington board but i also believe that businesses have a responsibility to be both compatible and to become a positive influence in the neighborhood in which they do business and allowing a youth batting cage to become an outdoor nightclub would serve neither so thank you so much for your time and please opposed oh oh six five seven all right next we have jamie travis leonard good evening city council my name is jamie travis leonard my address is on file i'm going to double down on my support from last time which means i'm gonna be public enemy number one amongst some people up here so i've listened to community concerns and i've read back and read through the paperwork now i do understand that a new site plan was submitted i wish the community had had an opportunity to review that i think it would have alleviated a lot of the concerns they're coming up to express my understanding for the new site plan is they're getting rid of the proposed changes in seating and they're keeping 15 parking spaces which are most of the complaints so far so now for as far as the noise batting cages make noise the existing structure is going to make noise i find it concerning that some speakers came up last time and said this is basically an outside beer garden because personally i've never thought hey you know where's a great place to just go get a beer the bowling alley or top golf adding beer and wine is to enhance a family experience i have told numerous people about this because i've honestly been baffled by the community reaction again some concerns i understand but just the vitriol that seems to be coming from some of the speakers has just baffled me and every person i've spoke to has said this sounds great i wish it was in my area i wish it was by my neighborhood you know it's by my neighborhood an empty lot i would love a third space like this where my kids and my husband and i can go and have a family evening we were actually just talking about mini golf recently and how the closest to us is all the way in mandarin and both adventure landing locations are closed and if they were guess what this is closer to my house it's 10 minutes away so i decided to take a little field trip over to that area and i saw the location and i'm not quite sure that the concerns about people parking on the street is a thing because i wouldn't do i mean that road is not designed for people to be parking on the egress on top of that less than a mile away is merrill road elementary and you know what's across from there a racetrack that sells beer and wine and you know what else is around the corner from there a bonos that sells beer and wine so i hope this community who are so opposed to spaces that sell beer and wine where kids might be nearby advocate for changes to those with the same vehemence they've been advocating against this because i'll be honest what i see is a gentleman who is more comfortable speaking spanish than english being told by a very specific demographic to get out thank you all right next we have ed radloff good evening ed radloff name and address on file um i like steve madgett have been to six meetings on this issue um this is an area when you go buy it it just doesn't make sense um they say there's going to be a restaurant on the premises when you look at the original again we are just hearing about a new site plan but there's only six seats inside that building everything is on the outside um if you had gone by the property for the last two months it was unkept the grass was 12 14 inches high um it's been sitting there as an eyesore uh just adding beer and wine isn't going to make this overnight a success um residents yeah we're excited that when it reopened but then it quickly closed down the whole thing about this is it just doesn't fit the area and like was previously previously said by a member is that they never came to the community to kind of give us an idea um we had been fighting a housing development going next to our community and the developer came to us we had a conversation um we won they came back to us and now it's coming back that they're going to be putting in homes but that was something where we came together and discussed and out of that came a compromise here they're wanting to basically add beer and wine they've gone ahead and already done it opened it up without the proper permitting and then shut down um there were complaints of noise um again there's no parking on site and there's no parking on the side of the road and you've got a roundabout plus you have a school within 250 feet i mean we're not opposed no one's here saying that you can't serve beer and wine but it's not right for the area and again um you know i hear people get up here and uh where is he um oh he's not here so i was going to say you know it's like you know property owners rights business owners you know we're saying here it just doesn't make sense so i would appreciate your no vote thank you okay thank you next we have um michael garcia you wish to speak yeah good evening owner my name is michael garcia my mother is the the property owner so we buy that property last year we spent like 150 000 doing the rehab i don't know why you know these people opposed to you know to us to get the beer and wine you know license is you go to the zoo with your kids they say you know beer and wine if you go to the aquarium also they sell beer and wine if you go to a baseball game you they sell beer and wine so i don't know why they oppose too many times to say you know the beer over there it's going to be only you know in plastic glass doesn't going to be you know a uh doesn't have to be any glass just plastic you know the containers you know i'm also going to be you know a control a control drinking doesn't going to be too much we're not going to serve too many beer so it's going to be something that we can handle so i don't know what is the position for that if that is a recreational place to go with the family to spend you know a nice day in family having some you know some beer some food and playing some baseball so many golf i don't know why they're opposed to that okay thank you sir all right thank you all right next we have um magdiel alvarez sosa do you wish to speak okay is in support is in support does not wish to speak and then the following cards are also uh they've also checked that they do not wish to speak brett fails is in opposition tw moore is in opposition barbara o'connell opposition deborah hagan opposition samantha series is in support larry wagner didn't check anything dory davis is in opposition ted emerson is in opposition ralph chutter opposition and karen pool is in opposition so with that we will yeah we'll give the applicant the rebuttal time is it normally three minutes again mr harvey okay three minutes for rebuttal all right thank you so much um as as mentioned earlier you did hear from some folks that are half a mile even a mile away that do don't live right in the adjacent vicinity per se of this facility um i know you heard some things about 172 seats let me let me add some clarity to this uh my client as you know there's a language barrier uh he had someone do a for the site plan requirement he tried to he drafted this pud on his own uh he had someone draft a site plan that is not an normal customary site plan that which i would use had i been on this project in the beginning used a a civil engineer he had someone that put something throw something together and threw some tables out there it definitely is not something that a civil engineer would have would have presented it's not something that's realistic it would not have they looked at the code and say hey you can't it would not make sense based on parking requirements etc so i did have a civil engineer but with bowman come back take a look at what we're trying to accomplish look at the site plan present a realistic site plan for what he is trying to do those tables don't exist any longer because we do have what's pre-existing and that is some uh shelter spaces um with picnic tables that are already there on the property and that is in the northwest corner um so that's that's where the seating is that it currently exists um there's 15 parking spaces not eight parking spaces as we've heard before and i know that's come up in the past as well so there's adequate parking for this facility he's asking to serve beer and wine the building that's there is pre-existing there's restrooms as an office space and be able to serve concessions uh there's a food truck on site but to be able to get in out of the weather should they choose but we have shelter space there there was concerns about um the traffic or whatnot look one way or the other like i told you before when i came up whether beer and wine is served here or not he spent 150 000 of his money on this project this place is going to continue to exist as it has for 30 years it's going to exist for another 30 years whether the community wants it or not and while i address i understand their concerns kids are going to enjoy this place adults are going to enjoy this place um so i understand that noise i heard about noise there's noise only until 10 p.m the hours of operation for this place is 11 a.m to 9 p.m tuesday through thursday 10 a.m to 9 p.m friday through sunday most of our bars and restaurants those that do serve alcohol even recreational facilities serve way past nine o'clock at night this is not anything unrealistic for you guys to take a look at and truly consider you know we'll be open to some conditions if you know if the school's a concern which i didn't hear much about the school today at all that's across the street though we like i've said before we have child care facilities schools and other facilities churches across the street or next door in our neighborhoods already that from places that serve even liquor you know would be open to some conditions uh during the day uh so it's three o'clock to maybe even eight o'clock at night for beer and wine but i'm open to those conversations which we have not had with these communities because the community has been adamantly against this since the get-go but i am open to if push comes to shove defer this to have some conversations but have real conversations versus no we don't want anything but this place is going to still operate no matter what they say all right thank you so with that we have no other speakers speaker cards and for that we can see that we have one speaker in the queue so i'm going to leave the public hearing open just so we can get question and answer either from the community or from uh mr cockerel so uh did you have that party you said okay and sorry yeah we want to welcome uh councilman johnson go ahead declare your ex parte and we'll go to councilman gaffney there it is there it is thank you so much mr chair and good afternoon uh i want to declare ex parte for uh 2026 657 i heard from josh josh cockerel and uh members of the community uh there are about 41 emails and i did have a conversation with mr cockerel as late as 11 o'clock last night thank you mr cockerel uh but all of those things will be no i'm serious i appreciate you being uh an advocate for your client uh and i know you've been trying you're trying to get me all day it was only time i could get to yesterday but anyway thank you mr chair those things are being filed with legislative services thank you all right councilman gaffney you're recognized thank you through the chair um i guess it's a question for the planning department we had a lot of conversation tonight around i guess um this new site plan i'm not sure if the community had a chance to see it um i i think they i would before i vote i prefer the community even see it um you know this site plan um a lot of the questions was around this i guess traffic parking spaces and seating um i know we voted for um i guess the beer and wine exception right um correct through the chair to councilman gaffney yes so the only thing that is changing from what is currently entitled today to the new pud is just adding the sale of beer and wine for on-premises in connection with the existing food services that are already operating there and then the recreational uses on site for the park this the new site plan have no i guess relations to how we vote in terms of the um barren wine correct so well you will have to amend the application to include the revised um site plan so that would be an exhibit four um dated november 4th 2026 and again we we also just received this today um the difference of the site plan does remove references to um tables and seating area and it clearly lays out uh the parking situation that's on site mr carker while you standing up um a few questions so 15 parking spaces correct that's correct what's the plan for overflow you know assuming that it's a big night um a holiday as we all know it could be more than 15 cars you know my i'm i just look i'm looking at the site right now and i'm not sure where these cars go go do you have you guys thought about i guess additional parking spaces through the chair to councilman gaffney that's something i need to address with my client i mean this prop this is the same 15 spaces that has been on this site as far as i'm aware since this place opened in 96. um it has not changed otherwise how they have a addressed overflow in the past i'm not certain on that but i would have to get my client to find out if it is a huge success what does parking happen from there i don't know if it's an agreement with the church across the street or the school across the street or if it's uh or not i don't know uh how to address that at this time but as far as i'm aware at this point in time we're meeting the parking requirements per the planning department okay um last question um well i'll hold off let me see what my colleagues have to say and then i move forward i well the question was uh you know have you mr cockerel have y'all have y'all had a community meeting with the community i have not since i came on which was less than two weeks ago yeah it's just it's just tough for me to move forward with i even having a community meeting to identify the issues i mean it's some kind of unfortunate that the community had to meet you guys here tonight and y'all have to address us with these questions i would have love for a community meeting even talk about the traffic this new site plan but if i'm if i may through the chair to council member gaffney i'd be open to a community meeting if the community is willing to discuss potential conditions on the beer and wine the issue and challenge that i would face otherwise is that the site plan itself in of itself as is the existing uh field the existing uh batting cages none of that changes the site plan in of itself is insignificant as we say today to the existing operation of the facility as much so as just adding the condition of a beer and wine you know the thing so i'd be open if it's if they're amenable to uh discussing the condition of beer and wine if you will yeah i appreciate that i would just prefer the uh community meeting certainly okay happened before tonight but i'll stand by and see what my colleagues have to say um just tough situation right now but no and i'm open to that community discussion okay all right thank you councilman johnson you recognize thank you mr chair um not to hop over through the chair that council member i guess amaro or someone from or designee from the community um would that be a problem for deferral to give them an opportunity so they can discuss it with the community because that's one of the things i saw in the emails that were coming through um as well as what i've heard is that there seem to be somewhat of a disconnect and they did not have an opportunity to sit down would that be something that if either the council member or somebody from the community would respond to that yeah is there someone from the community that can kind of speak to a deferral and then that way it gives you an opportunity to do at least i'm not saying that you would change and mr cochran i appreciate you even being available to you know open to do that but i'm not saying that it would change your decision but i just think it's important for you to have the conversation first are you the representative of the community that was coming up please someone that matter please tell us your name sir thank you mr chair okay and there are a steve matchup for the record um there are two people sam mclaughlin the property owner and another gentleman both that have attended hearings we've been to six hearings okay but the applicant's been to this is their second they didn't show at the first planning commission meeting which caused a two-week deferral there there was that pushed it back two weeks here last week we were deferred again waiting for new representation there's been two weeks since then and i've never received a phone call even though i heard that one might be coming obviously i think he's a little concerned about discussing this with the neighborhood because of our position and how it got here in the beginning mr magic i certainly understand that with all due respect i'm sorry through the chair with all due respect i just in the essence of time my question is moving forward are you and your community amenable to having a sit-down discussion it may not nothing may come from it but are you amenable to that or is this something that your decision has been made and you're not open to having further discussions i always believe in discussion okay i but i'm what i was trying to get to mr um council member is that two of these people sam mclaughlin and others have appeared here and literally in horrible health we're talking about chemo treatments stage four we're talking about 24 7 oxygen and these gentlemen made it down during planning commission when they thought their testament it's part of the record so um they i'd like them to be able to to see the outcome of this at some point so if you want to set a date certain that this group has to get together with us but i can tell you if anybody knows the history of this this thing wouldn't be a batting cage without the two covenants of no alcohol and the recreation open space and if alcohol is the whole crux of this issue i can tell you this community is united and it's not just the fact these these are solid neighborhoods around the entire operation this is an island in the middle that's why you see all these people out here it's their neighborhoods and it coexisted for this 30 years with no alcohol and um we that's that's something that that i don't think anybody's going to yield on i'll certainly listen i'll sit down and listen to somebody but i don't think there's any yield on that it's either no alcohol or alcohol the site plan and everything else is so deficient anyway you wouldn't want to resolve this question before getting to specifics i appreciate your response and i look forward to hearing what my colleagues say thank you mr chair all right we're going to go over to the district council member council member mario you were recognized sir thank you mr chair i was going to wait until the public hearing is closed uh the reality is that uh as you guys traditionally do when applicants or applications come forth you would hope that the applicant would meet with the district council member before it even gets to this place of discussion uh none of that has occurred so um if if the community is willing to meet with the applicant i don't have a problem with that but i've got some thoughts i'd like to say when it gets back into committee i mean my inclination is i'm i mean i think we can figure this out here no offense i mean i think the community is against the alcohol sales i didn't hear anything that there's anything to budge on in my opinion so i i'm ready to get the work done tonight that's just my opinion i mean i respect if you want to draw a hard line in the sand and say you know mr chair i want the opportunity then we can absolutely extend that and i won't withhold that but i think everyone's here they've been coming out yeah and i think we can maybe put some conditions on this tonight to get it to some type of a landing spot i i think sir that the uh the sale of alcohol it sounds like a no starter uh to me i i'm grateful for the investment 150 000 but there are some realities and the realities that you heard tonight should be part of your deliberation when you consider competent substantial evidence and the realities are that this is not a fit for the for the community the reality is that it's adjacent to a school the reality is it's less than 20 yards from a roundabout which is heavily traveled the reality is that you cannot accommodate that many cars uh without parking on the curb i've lived there i've seen it when it was active before the new owners whenever there were a lot of cars they were occupying hartsfield the curb along hartsfield road and that can be problematic um i believe that they have fulfilled before i say what else i'm going to say i'm a little bit troubled that one of the speakers tonight brought up the man's ethnicity which has nothing to do with this with the pushback has nothing to do with the pushback his ethnicity has no bearing on this and and i'm i'm a little bit disappointed that that was interjected into the narrative secondly bowling alleys are not sitting in the middle of communities top golf is in a commercial zone so the comparisons are way off base way off base but i find that this organization can be competent in providing fun for kids without the sale of beer and alcohol i i found that there's substantial evidence from the community showing that it's inconsistent it's not compatible it can be problematic and and i think the evidence that we have to look at is that since 1996 with the original pod when this was created the the barren alcohol was prohibited then and there was a reason for that and and so i i i i appreciate the investment that's been made i i i believe they can be successful uh i think they can do it without beer and alcohol i you know there's a there's a there's a book called uh work with what you got and and i believe that they can do what they need to do where they are with what they have thank you all righty thank you and okay close public hearing we're going to bring back to committee and i guess we'll just have do we need to let's just continue having dialogue right now before we move the amendment because i don't want to i don't want to speak on the amendment yet go ahead council member diamond you recognize uh thank you mr chair look i was just going to be a kind of a quiet no tonight uh i'm still a no but um i agree with everything the district council person said i i just want to be 100 clear i i love batting cages i like having a beer and going to a batting cage i think it's great these neighbors have been here before they had any idea who this applicant was they've been coming to all this stuff and to come up there and call them racist and they didn't even know who the people were is the disgusting type of race baiting people are so tired of and i've never seen it like this in luz and i hope this doesn't become a trend because i will call it out every time i see it it is totally inappropriate here race is an issue in america there's no doubt and when you see it up there and it's honest bring it but the facts do not bear it out and these people who are coming here just to protect their neighborhood did not deserve that tonight i respect the fact they're trying to defend their neighborhood they did not deserve to be insulted i'll be i know and i'll support the district council person all right thank you all right we have no one else in the queue um what's that oh sorry uh councilman johnson you're recognized real quick mr chair uh to the general counsel is there any mr through the chair mr harvey is there any legal thing that would hold us up i don't think there is from what i've been going through this for the last couple of weeks since we were walking through this uh this particular issue anything that would prohibit or any thing i mean anybody could come back with recourse but is there anything you see that kind of stands out to you from the quasi competent substantial evidence school of thought so as you make your decision to make your motion um you are allowed to and permitted to rely on the testimony of the community um so if they have presented competent substantial evidence um relating to the issues um as it relates to the criteria you are allowed to make whatever decision that you want if that is against um this pus d uh rezoning no council member white you're recognized yes sir through the chair might be a question or a statement and i think i'm clear on this i mean whether this place should have been there or not maybe it shouldn't been but it's there and been there 30 years so we're just voting on the beer and wine correct and i did hear the applicant say they could put some conditions on it uh and i'll probably support it tonight but i'm reserve the right to vote against it tuesday night at council court i want to go out here and see the place request but with some different hours uh i can understand maybe if it's hot and your children's playing ball you might want to have a beer but i don't think they should be late at night uh i don't know 12 to 6 i'm i'm just grasping at trying to ease up i just want to make sure we're just voting on the beer and wine is really what we're voting on not where it should be here or not here the facility itself correct correct thank you all right so was there a did you want the applicant to speak to that type of request as far as hours but what are the hours of operation josh cockerel 200 north laura through the chair um i stated earlier hours are tuesday through thursday 11 a.m to 9 p.m friday and sun five friday through sunday 10 a.m to 9 p.m close on mondays so the latest is a 9 p.m shut off got it okay i do want to if i may through the chair also address uh as i stated earlier i know there's still concerns we have roundabouts throughout our city we can't we can't allow that no sorry you were called up for a specific question all right so 9 p.m is the cutoff um is there any uh inclination to reduce that i guess for alcohol sales yeah absolutely as i as i mentioned earlier i mean if even during school time i think the school itself if i'm not mistaken is only open monday through wednesday for k through one of the lower grades and then uh so they have limited school hours as it is but we'd be willing to even condition it to where maybe alcohol doesn't start till later in the afternoon for beer and wine and then cut it off even at eight o'clock an hour before the we close at nine so we'd be even to condition that okay i mean council member white this is kind of your uh initiative so we're open to that uh give me them hours again that you're open to through the chair to council member white the hours are tuesday through thursday 11 a.m to 9 p.m i'm talking about the the beer sales that you will move to uh depending on the school hours i mean if the school is an issue we'd be willing to to move it back if the school is the issue but if it means cutting off an hour before closing we'd be able to do that our closing is at 9 p.m so we'd be open to considering shutting off at eight i would like to put out there just from 4 p.m to 8 p.m if you're there in the afternoon and it's hot with your children playing and see where it goes from there okay um is that monday well i guess it's just what all the days that you're open um i'd like to hear from mr matchett see what he his thoughts are on this i look i know we're we're we're actually kind of doing the community meeting here but yeah let's just let's just get this done so there's no motion on the table we're just kind of feeling uh this out steve matchett and i'll just defer to our district councilman on that i think he has phrased it pretty well i think the alcohol is a non-starter the batting cage would have been a non-starter without the prohibition 30 years ago that was one of the conditions that was insisted upon um and uh i know because i was the author of that and uh it was voluntarily agreed to by the by the property owner sam mclaughlin at the time and that's been a caveat of this whole existence of this place is no alcohol and i think that's why the neighborhood allowed it in the first place okay no mr amaro we're also wanting to hear your feedback on this and i'm just curious like what what is the what is the the main concern with the alcohol sales and and and i'm i'm i'm in the middle on this i just just because it was done one way and you know 30 years ago like why does that transcend to today is is kind of what i want to really dig thank you mr chair um in the past sitting here on luz i have voted for uh the uh two cop license with facilities that were adjacent to uh churches and schools and usually those entities were not objecting to it uh they they had reached out to those entities and and they felt that uh they could accommodate whether it's through hours or whatever it might be i think given the the where it sits and and and the description earlier tonight has been uh it's an island i don't think it needs to have the sale of alcohol to be successful but but the the the there the argument is that it needs to be and it doesn't need to be i am grateful for the investment that they have made in the community i just think around a kid zone around a high traffic area the consumption of of beer and wine is a bad mixed drink if you will a potential for problem and so why why entertain that that's just my and i'm speaking as a resident as a dad as a district councilman so yeah no okay no i appreciate that um all right all right councilman gaffney you're recognized through through the chair thank you for recognizing me um i guess a question for the applicant councilman amara just brought up a great point why beer and wine now if if assuming that the baton cage is successful i'm not sure maybe it's not successful and maybe that's what you guys need to speak to i mean if it's not successful it's not why beer and wine uh that's a great question like now it's been a 30 years why beer and wine through the chairman to councilman gaffney i mean good question i mean someone that's now been sober for three years myself you know and i there's changing taste you know 30 years ago jtb was what two lane was it four lane even then populations and tastes change you know people want to go and have entertainment hit a ball and have a glass of beer why not accommodate such what's more refreshing you know why do people go and smoke cigars and and have a coke i mean and coffee i mean change taste change over time you know why do we go to top golf and hit balls and and have a glass my point is is that there's changing taste and so you know the place there has changed over time so why not accommodate the changing times it's just a question thank you and again i'm the sober one here advocating for it all right so we don't have a motion on the amendment and okay let's well let's get what do we have a i guess that's that's if we if we want to make a motion to amend to deny this do we need to take up anything or do we just need to make that or i could just move to pass the bill and whatever happens happens and then if we have to do an amendment later that's fine so i just move the bill okay well we need to do the amendment i don't actually know what it is but i'll move the amendment so we can so we can learn all right we have a motion to second on the amendment can someone please explain in that yeah okay yes uh so the uh amendment is the planning department's condition that carries over uh the uh lighting condition that carried over from the previous uh pud and it states all sag lenses uh drop lenses and convex lenses shall be prohibited illumination levels at all property lines shall not exceed one half foot candles when the building or parking areas are located adjacent to the residential areas all lighting lamp sources shall be metal halide compact fluorescent or led the maximum light pole height shall not exceed 20 feet an interior lighting design plan including photometrics plan pole and pictures schedules shall be submitted at the time of the verification of substantial compliance for review and approval by the planning department all right yep so we got a motion in the second all in favor of that and the revised exhibit four which is the site plan all right we have a motion and a second so all in favor of the amendment signify by saying aye aye aye any opposed the amendment carries all right we have a motion and a second on the bill as amended so we are in the posture of green means approve the beer and wine red means don't approve it correct does this take take four votes to get a committee got it okay all right well open about record your vote two yeas three nays by reaction you've deferred 20 26 657 so this is what that means ladies and gentlemen um we're gonna we're gonna keep it where it's at unless we get a motion to reconsider but um i think at this point what this means is it can either get discharged by the council president we can vote to reconsider someone can change their vote get out of committee and go to the council floor um at this point i think it's i i would recommend mr cockle just use this time to figure out if there's any wiggle room or any other type of thing that he can get with the district council person on um the reason i voted for yes is i just didn't hear a great answer of why y'all don't want beer and wine there to be perfectly honest and to say that there's kids there isn't good enough that's just not a good enough answer because there's so many establishments that do that and there's there's plenty of establishments that don't do it as well but you we you have to bring up some type of competent substantial evidence to justify that you can't just say they don't need it or they want it like that's that we can't we can't vote on that because what will happen is it'll take us to court and then it's just gonna what are we what are we hanging our hat on so that's where i'm at on it um you know look we've got one batting cage in district five no beer and wine it's great other batting cage had beer and wine it's i didn't really see that much of a difference if i'm being perfectly honest um so anyways that's where that's where my vote landed and um at this point it's i guess it's just going to be deferred unless someone wants to reconsider it seeing no one on the queue to reconsider so what that means is this bill is still in committee councilman gaffney you're recognized let me through the chair let me make sure you have a great understanding so if we move to reconsider someone will have to change the vote which means we will have to go against we will have to yeah change go against how we voted you know i don't plan on changing my votes i mean you know if i don't plan on changing my votes tonight so um mr harvey you want to chime in i was just going to opine you don't have your full committee here tonight so it will remain in committee the next committee meeting that you have will have presumably all seven members and so when the item comes back up um it will you might be able to get it out of committee based off of that vote yep and and to be perfectly honest that's going to be a entirely new hearing an entirely new process with new information so well as councilmember white said i reserved to change my vote that time too but from what i've heard tonight there wasn't enough to sway me to understand the real real reason um of why that particular um thing became an issue other than that's how it was created in 1996. i'm i'm not sure that that can be the reason so all right with that we're going to move on to the next bill oh mr amaro yes sir you're recognized thank you mr chair um what i would encourage committee members to do since you have uh the time between now and whenever it occurs again if you are in the arlington area eyeball location and and that will help you in your determination yep you've got my word i will go out there i know i think councilmember white you said you were going to go out there too yes sir and through the chair i want to let mr mayor that's why i said that i want to go look at this and uh but i will give you my word on that thank you 11 17 right mr harvey okay so we're going to open the public hearing and the public hearing is going to be continued until 11 17 26 item number 11 2026 689 open the public hearing get a staff report ordinance 2026 689 is for a small-scale land use amendment to change approximately three acres from rural residential to community general commercial to allow for commercial uses there is no companion rezoning application with this amendment the site was rezoned to a commercial pud in 2004 but no land use application was heard so the subject site is within a land use category that does not permit the uses within the existing commercial pud the site is undeveloped it is located at the southeast corner of yellow bluff road and north main street with frontage on both roads a railroad runs parallel to main street opposite the subject site yellow bluff road is a collector roadway and main street is an f dot is an f dot principal arterial roadway north of the subject side across yellow bluff road land was designated neighborhood commercial nc in 2012 to the east of the site along either side of yellow bluff road and south of the site is land designated excuse me rural residential and low low density residential this consists of single family residential homes southwest of the site across main main street and the railroad is land that was recently designated low density residential um that ordinance is from 2024 um so the proposed amendment to cgc allows for neighborhoods serving commercial uses in a developing area at the intersection of two major roadways and offers the opportunities for commercial choices and the operation of real estate markets to accommodate growth for these reasons and those in the staff report the planning department recommends approval the planning commission heard this item at their meeting on october 8th and unanimously voted to approve with minimal discussion thank you all right first up zach miller good evening zach miller 3203 old barn court as the planning department noted this is a little bit of an odd duck in 2004 there was a pud approving a gas station and convenience store at this location but for reasons that both myself and the staff can't find out there was a companion land use amendment to cgc but it never got heard we don't know what happened to it so we're sort of in a weird position of the pud with commercial uses was approved that is a zoning but the land uses are our this is just bringing the land use up to consistency it doesn't change any of the conditions there's the 2004 ordinance i have in front of me you still have to do a traffic study there's still requirement for a 20-foot wide unrestricted natural buffer in the rear the the site is i would have two access points one on main and one on yellow bluff again this is a little bit more sort of just cleanup work but i have to answer any questions you might have all right thank you next speaker samantha series is in support questions only jamie travis linner is in support come on down good evening city council my name is jamie travis linner my address is on file i'm a little upset that the person who put words in my mouth left the dais so i beseech everybody to listen to the words coming out of my mouth and not the words you hear i support this ordinance um i actually got to speak with mr miller earlier tonight i appreciate him taking the time to go through the plan for this proposal i understand that this kind of just kind of seemed like housekeeping but um it looked like a gas station with a couple retail spaces going on the side is going into that neighborhood as somebody that lived in the suburbs growing up and had a corner gas station that my friends and i would bike to um to get snacks and drinks and kind of just you know get something to then go hang out in the neighborhood i hope this can fulfill a similar um opportunity for the kids in the neighborhoods that are surrounding it thank you all right thank you we have no other speaker cards so we'll close the public hearing and bring back to committee motion in a second on the bill no discussion open the ballot record your vote four yay zero nays by your action you've approved 2026 689 it doesn't matter it's fine you weren't in the seat item number 12 2026 690 open the public hearing no speaker cards will continue this public hearing until 11 17 26. item number 13 2026 691 open the public hearing no speaker cards will continue this public hearing until 11 17 26. item number 14 2026 694 council members please declare your ex parte communication at this time councilman gaffney recognized thank you to the chair i rise to declare as parte i met with mr miller i think two weeks ago to talk about this legislation i also spoke with two constituents who have issues who had questions about this legislation i make sure everything gets filed with legislative services all right councilman diamond you're recognized thank you mr chair i also spoke with mr miller uh today earlier about this bill and i'll follow the legislative services thank you all right we have no other speakers let's open the public hearing and get staff for you thank you this is conventional rezoning ordinance 2026-0694 requesting to rezone approximately 60.69 acres for a property along galloway drive from a pud that was approved in 2005 to rld 40. the request will allow the property to be developed with single family residential lots meeting the sizes size requirements of the rld 40 zoning district this will replace a 2005 pud which allowed for a mix of residential lots ranging in sizes from 50 60 and 70 foot wide for a total of 176 lots the applicant states that the rezoning will actually reduce reduce the the units that are originally under the pud just due to some requirements of drainage and stormwater retention that has changed and then it also will include an increase in some open space throughout the property uh the parcel is designated low density residential and located in the suburban development area which does allow for compact single family neighborhoods up to seven units per acre when connected to both city water and city sewer which this site is we find it's consistent with the comp plan surrounding zoning and land use patterns support the rld 40 zoning the area can contains established single family neighborhoods with several recent rezonings along garden street which have rezoned properties to rld 50 and rld 40 which does illustrate a development pattern trending towards smaller lot widths there are substantial buffers that will be provided between this development and adjacent um developments and the railroad that runs by it um so for these reasons and those described in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval application was heard by planning commission on october 8th where there were no speakers in opposition and little discussion and they voted unanimously for approval all right thank you so much first up zach miller good evening again zach miller 3203 old barn court uh just uh one housekeeping note after uh the last meeting uh councilman gaffney gave me the numbers of the two ladies who spoke had questions about it one was i think miss allen who's the hua president i was able to speak to her i think a week ago a week ago so why are we doing this um this originally part of a four phase pud that was allowed up to 677 units only 420 of them had been developed this was the fourth phase that was uh pud approved in 2005. unfortunately uh part of our access went through the existing development and a home was built where that access goes so we lost some of the units the easiest way to compensate from that instead of redoing the entire pud is to make the lot smaller as the plane department stated we can have 50 foot lots right now going down to 40 allows us to have the same number of units on a smaller footprint the reason we feel comfortable going to a conventional instead of a pud is normally the conditions already addressed by easements there is a 25 foot easement requiring a 10 foot tall berm between us and the existing residential development to the east and then there's a 65 foot wide drainage easement between the homes on the southern portion and the northern part of the property we're also committing to do a 50 foot easement between us and the railway because we're having those buffers in there because the building of that home limited the number of units because there is a communication easement that is also causing a further reduction of the um we feel this is appropriate to go to rlb 40. with that i'm happy to answer any questions the uh committee might have all right thank you next speaker jamie travis leonard good evening my name is jamie travis leonard my address is on file once again i entreat you to hear the words i say and not the words you hear i come up in opposition of 26 694 i'm not uh opposed to the neighborhood it's just the rld 40 lots um i did speak with mr miller earlier and he did explain the reasoning behind it um so i kind of understand this is there's really no way around it for the developer based on the changes in the plan that were outside their control um so i guess i'm coming up as a general opposition against rld 40 but not necessarily opposed to this neighborhood specifically because of um like i said the explanation i was given for why there was a request to change thank you all right thank you and next speaker samantha series is in opposition does not wish to speak and with that we will close the public hearing and bring back to committee motion and second on the bill no one open the ballot record your vote five yeas see renee's by reaction you have approved 2026 694 item number 15 2026 741 open the public hearing get a staff report thank you ordinance 2026 741 is for a small scale land use amendment to change approximately 1.35 acres from residential professional institutional to business park to allow for flex warehousing uh for uses that are consistent with the bp land use category the site is located at zero burris drive between jefferson road and saint john's bluff road the site rests in between residential uses along the west and low intensity commercial or some industrial uses along the east along saint john's bluff road while the site can physically be accessed from the residential on the west the companion pud rezoning application limits access to the site from saint john's bluff road only uh saint john's bluff road is classified as a collector road this subject site is approximately 630 feet from craig airport 900 feet from atlantic boulevard and 850 feet from i-295 the proposed amendment to bp would allow for low intensity light industrial and office uses on a vacant underutilized parcel within an urbanized area located near the intersection of two major roadways saint john's bluff road and atlantic boulevard and less than one mile from access to an fdot expressway for these reasons and those in the staff report the planning department recommends approval this item was heard at planning commission on october 22nd one member of the public expressed opposition they cited flooding concerns ultimately pc recommended approval with minimal discussion thank you all right thank you first up ian brown good evening ian brown 245 riverside have jacksonville florida 32202 i'd like to circulate the presentation that i had for planning commission thank you so we come here with a staff recommendation of approval with our proposed land use change from rpi to bp cro zoning to pud i know that's the second phase planning commission did have minimal discussion i have been in communication with the adjacent neighbor i'll point out his location and his concerns were that we were going to put water into his pond i'll point out on our site plan that we have self-contained storm water and it's underground retention but as you see from page one if it's circulated yet i also emailed these prior you can see the intensity of the nearby development at this quadrant of saint john's bluff and atlantic our subject parcel is undeveloped cro when it was acquired and the owner is here the intention was multi-family and if you do have the packet page two is a proposed concept that is eliminated by the pud so this was the concept when the property was acquired to do a three-story 30-unit apartment with access on burris which as we just heard from miss kelly is an access that will be closed with the proposed pud that concept also put a lot of traffic on burris and created potential site line issues into the community next page is our proposed site plan for the pud i've highlighted a few things that i think are most relevant number one moving the access out to saint john's bluff via saltsman terrace that's a 60 foot right of way it's partially developed now but it does go all the way to the subject buffering the residential neighbor with an additional buffer in the pud to the west buffer and fence closing burris and locking that for emergency circulation only a strict 35 foot height limit with the current zoning cro you can go up to 45 and you can also shrink the setbacks and get up to 50 feet and that's when you'd hit the craig airport high hazard limit so we're strictly 35 also flex is generally built single story so should not have any sightline issues in the community the next page a lot of our uses from cro are going to carry in to this pud medical professional fitness vocational what we lose is multi-family what we gain is building trades contractors you also lose congregate shelters group care rooming houses i'll run through the last page here with some of the neighborhood protections and we worked on these with staff we also met with councilman gay before right as we were working the first concept of the pud and discussing what we can do to protect the community and kept his office updated along the way so we've eliminated the three-story apartments closed burris moved access to st john's bluff via saltzman extra buffering for residential neighbors strict 35 foot height all right thank you sir next we have paul's a boonie oh sorry okay in support questions only great thank you so much all right we have no other speaker cards so let's close the public hearing and bring it back to committee motion second on the bill we have no one in the queue let's open the ballot of court to vote that's okay separate button you've never pushed the button you've never pushed five yays zero nays fire action you've approved 2026 741 item number 16 2026 742 council members please declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you this is the companion pud rezoning ordinance 2026 742 requesting to rezone the the same 1.35 acres from cro to a pud to allow for the development of a flex warehousing facility and associated office uses similar to those permitted in the ip ibp zoning district so the the pud will allow development similar to the ip ibp district but incorporate site-specific sanders to address compatibility particularly with nearby residential homes to the west and south the pud will limit access to to birth to burst drive as emergency only and directs primary access to saltsman terrace which does connect to st john's bluff road the pud will restrict building heights to 35 feet require a minimum but team foot setback along the west property boundary and require them to install a six foot tall fence along the west and south boundaries together these measures provide enhanced buffering and mitigation potential impacts to the adjacent neighborhood we find it's consistent with the comp plan with the land use change to bp we find it furthers the goals and objectives of the comp plan by encouraging infill redevelopment of vacant parcels within an established commercial corridor the project is compatible with surrounding development patterns while residential uses above the site to the west and south area east and south towards st john's bluff road include commercial uses service garages office and hotels so we find that it is compatible internal and externally surrounding developments all uses will be conducted indoors and no or outdoor storage um will be allowed so for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval this was heard by planning commission on october 22nd with again there was the one speaker who had just concerns about stormwater retention but overall planning commission had no concerns and they voted um unanimously for approval thank you all right first speaker ian brown thank you ian brown 245 riverside suite 100. thank you miss abney so the um one thing i didn't have a chance to point out is in the site plan the script is relatively small we have underground stormwater storage so for someone that may have looked at our site plan and wonder how we're controlling our water it is underground retention so and i have spoke to the neighbor that expressed water concerns and he was worried about his pond receiving our water and that will not be the case all right thank you next we have paul zabuni and support questions only next av avini get that avi come on down name and address good evening my name is avi and i am the owner of uh salzman 10606 uh since mr boris wants to build a building close to my property my concern is regarding flooding on my property it's a note i want that everybody knows i want to you to put a note that construction will not cause flooding on my property thank you all right thank you sir councilman gaffney uh are you on the what do you need to do the chair i just want to address his question right quick on his comment um and i guess mr brown if you could come up i mean i don't want to prolong this meeting i even prolonged this legislation and look like i am but what this is what we could do we can vote and you too if y'all on my if we could address this flooding issues i would hate for him to come down here and feel like he'd be in the north or north i mean i have the same concerns he has i mean he's our neighbor so he just addressed i know you stated that you have addressed it if i'm not mistaken through the chair i'm sorry you have addressed the flood and concern but obviously he still have some concerns certainly ian brown for the applicant through the chair we have our site is not in a flood plain his has a large pond on it he is next to us his concern and he's more than welcome to speak for himself was that we were going to discharge water our storm water into his site our site plan does have retention it has to keep all of its own water and our tenset engineering i did point out earlier on the site plan we have underground stormwater retention so if you're looking for a large pond on our site plan you won't see it underground stormwater retention is very common it's a little more costly but it puts the stormwater retention literally underground the owner is a gc and a builder if you want to hear more about the engineering on the stormwater i could bring mr zabuni up but i'll pause there i'm confident that we're not a we're not allowed to discharge water onto another property he could have legal remedy against us for that and b we'll be tenset engineered to keep all of our own stormwater on site with underground retention if we can through the chair um to the planning department if we could get someone for development services i guess to speak to the gentleman about i guess the pond flooding issues um that would be nice he's in the back um he has some concerns about flooding so that's that's all i want to put on record all right thank you all right okay yeah no problem with that we'll close the public hearing and bring back to committee all right we have a motion to second on the bill no discussion open the ballot record your vote five days zero nays fire action you've approved 2026 742 item number 17 2026 743 council members please declare ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public in and get a staff report thank you this is pud rezoning ordinance 2026-0743 which is seeking to rezone approximately 10.5 acres for a property that's located along norwood avenue from rlv 60 to a uh and a pud which was originally approved in 1998 to a new pud the site is part of the gateway shopping mall which is located between i-95 and norwood avenue the request is intended to allow for redevelopment including adaptive reuse of of the mall for a self-storage facility as well as development of a jta bus training and operations facility the site currently contains an existing existing personal property storage facility and the former tax collector's office that has closed the jta training use and the existing self storage facility already operate as permitted uses today the pud does not introduce new intensities but instead resolves existing site non-conformities and provides a unified regulatory framework under one pud it also allows for storage options such as a larger interior storage unit capability capable of housing boats and rvs and a defined outdoor storage area for those vehicles ensuring the adaptive reuse function safely and compatible with the mall property the pud generally adopts ccg1 type uses but allows for the bus training facility and parking and storage it also removes several higher intense uses the it also protects nearby neighborhoods particularly the single family subdivision to the south the pud increases the southern setback to 10 sorry to 20 feet and includes buffers and landscaping standards specific to that boundary the site lies within the rc regional commercial land use category which does support redevelopment and adaptive reuse and mixed commercial activities we find it's consistent with the comp plan by promoting re revitalization and infill developments the property is also located within the metro north neighborhood action plan which identifies the gateway area as a priority for revitalization so the pud directly supports those objectives the pud does divide the property into three parcels so parcel a will be the existing personal property storage facility which will be expanded for more indoor and outdoor storage parcel b will be the dedicated jta training facility and then parcel c will be for future commercial developments uh we find that it meets internal and external compatibility it's consistent with the character of the area the surrounding development pattern includes the remainder of the gateway mall uh commercial properties to the east and west and the and the i-95 corridor so for these reasons and those contained in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval with one condition listed in your agenda the application was heard by planning commission on october 22nd where there were three speakers from the community in opposition mostly citing concerns related to the proposed outside storage near residential properties the applicant did explain that the landscaping buffers and visual screening adjacent to these neighborhoods would be significantly improved compared to existing conditions today and then we ensured the community that that there is no connection provided between the neighborhood and the development via the castlewood drive west the commission expressed no concerns regarding the proposed rezoning and voted unanimously for approval with the same condition thank you okay first up cindy trimmer thank you so much cindy trimmer one independent drive suite 1200 on behalf of the applicant i handed out a quick package to run through this site plan and the existing development because i think there is some confusion regarding the proposed use and what's permitted by right today and what's being proposed going forward on page one you can see the southernmost portion of the gateway shopping center our client purchased the old jc penny site and then sold the portion you see on the left side with the small building with the kind of turquoise roof to jta so they currently own the shopping center portion you see in the center of the parcel if you turn to page two as erin referenced this is an rc mixed-use pud dating back to 1998 that already permits redevelopment of the shopping center for self-storage use this isn't an ai image they've invested millions of dollars into this site and have already converted it to the self-storage facility if you turn to page three they are demolishing a portion of the mall that was in the rear of the site that doesn't make sense to maintain and part of the pud ask is to have larger units than what our code permits so that they can have indoor storage of boat and rv and then outdoor storage on that additional space behind the building i passed out to you a january 2024 zoning confirmation letter that was issued saying that that boat and rv storage for the outdoor portion is something that they are allowed to do under the existing entitlement if we move to page four when we appeared at the cpac and at the planning commission and have had phone calls and conversations with the community one of the primary concerns is with the existing buffer at the rear of the facility and we acknowledge that that does not meet today's code for an uncomplimentary use buffer between residential and commercial use our code would require us to install a six-foot fence along that property line recognizing you can see in that picture that they do have a retaining wall and those residences are raised from what our property line elevation we would be willing to commit to a condition if you wanted to offer it that would require us to install an eight-foot fence along our portion of that property line i can't require jta to do it along their portion but the portion that global jacks owns which is what does front the single-family residences they would be willing to put an eight-foot fence likewise they would be willing we had already offered to do a 20-foot setback they would be willing to increase that further to a 30-foot setback from that property line before any of the proposed uses where there is an existing single-family residence and that any of the proposed outdoor boat and rv storage or any future development would be at least 30 foot from those existing single-family residences and then we had had some questions regarding what the view from i-95 is and those last two images are just to show that from 95 what you can see is that jta facility for the small amount of visibility that there is it wouldn't be this facility all right thank you and next we have a few other speakers that want to come down katrina spencer lydia bell wells todd kathleen murray if you all wish to speak y'all can feel free to come down to the front row and we can have you speak miss katrina spencer is first katrina spencer address is on file we requested a traffic study because the streets are already narrow we already have a problem with um the buses when you're on norwood avenue turning into gateway you have to back up if a bus is coming out of gateway all the traffic have to back up the streets are too narrow and the rv and the boat storage this is not going to do anything for the community no one in that community around those areas have rvs our boats so that's not going to do nothing for our community we need something in our community that's going to help our communities and where would the rv when they return where would they empty their way set and the storage will bring rats and rodents to that area and we had stores in that area montgomery ward we had morrison cafeteria jc pennies we never had no rvs and boats coming into that area no one in that community owned boats and rvs so why should it be coming to that area we're not going to get anything to support that community with rvs and boats coming in there and which end would they come in are they coming in from lim turner in are they coming in from golf air in we already have traffic backed up already and can't get out your community so the rvs and the boat where is the traffic study for that all right thank you ma'am next we have lydia bell lydia bell address on file drive through liquor store 300 body morgue and forensic lab 100 unit shots watcher jscb business center among other entities in brentwood without any planning here in our community involvement now we have a company from california that want to park boats and rvs of our home but yet none of the residents own boats or rvs that i've seen uh gateway is the first shopping center in jacksonville it is a historic center a historic area i've lived in brentwood for 30 years i've never seen a boat come down limb turner or the area therefore i would rather see these boats and rvs in the areas where the residents are using them what benefit does it serve our community of our homes which will be entail fumes from these gas tanks rats and roaches with uh and a buffer won't stop any of that we are concerned with the air quality which we have to deal with now and we need a traffic study which was part of the planning department that says with approval we need that traffic study because not only is it gateway shopping center with a no numerous uh businesses there across the street is the flea market so this is a congested area already because this is a shopping center no shopping center in jacksonville florida have rvs and boats parked at their shopping center why should gateway center be any different we need economic development there instead of boats and rvs imagine looking at boats and rvs all day but can't sell out or ride out what good does that do mean to be looking at that all day long so these are things that does not enhance our community these boats ramp uh rvs do not plus it's a school there so that's going to be a huge congested area so we don't need that bring back some businesses i'd like to deal with the uh owners of gateway shopping center and see if they can bring back uh bring some better businesses in there than having just boats and rvs there it does nothing for the community so um consider that consider plus we're dealing with the air quality we already have have stymize in the area we already have the more with the big vents we already have all of these things we don't need fumes from boats and rvs in our community dealing with our health but more so than anything we would like that traffic study that the planning department says with conditions we definitely need that thank you all right thank you next we have wells todd my name is wells todd and my address is on file um word was used two words were used by the person supporting this effort revitalization revitalized development this used to be a thriving mall area with jc penny montgomery ward and other stores but as we understand the economics the economic structure we live under when businesses don't feel that they are making the profit that they desire they leave i was told once when i came to this mic that redlining had nothing to do with the issue but redlining has everything to do with the issue it was put into effect by the roosevelt administration in 1933 and it has caused devastating effects to the african-american community across this country because it exists in every single city across this country as the speakers before me said there are no rvs or boats in that area one of the gross things that took place with redlining was that everything that the white community didn't want was dumped into the black community whether it be toxic waste liquor stores or medical examiner's office that was done because of the propaganda mr todd you got to speak to this bill sir sorry once again the understanding of what is happening in this city and in this country needs to be exposed the reason for what is being built is the same reason for everything else that's being built is that the north side is used as a dumping ground all right next we have kathleen murray good evening kathleen murray address on file and proud resident of mandarin and i say i'm also a grateful resident of mandarin because neither my husband nor i grew up with money we came from very working-class families so every morning i raised my cup of coffee to the kitchen crucifix and i thank jesus for his sacrifice and then i thank him for my home in mandarin so why am i here tonight why did i battle rush hour traffic i don't have a dog in this fight any more than i had a dog in the fight when i came and opposed the building of a liquor store across the street from an elementary school i didn't have a dog in the fight when i opposed the morgue that we discovered while opposing the liquor store again built in a residential neighborhood next door to somebody's home it's not about politics wells todd and i are on opposite poles when it comes to politics i'm a registered republican the answer is quite simple it's because i'm a catholic and i take that second commandment of love your neighbor as yourself very seriously but this there seems to be confusion around that as there was two thousand years ago when jesus told the people to love your neighbor as yourself and then was asked who is your neighbor i'm getting there i'm getting there so i'd submit to you that wherever you live in jacksonville and whatever your faith the people of brentwood are your neighbors and you wouldn't want that type of rezoning in your neighborhood then don't force one more unwanted project on the residents of brentwood instead i ask that you defer the approval of this ordinance until there could be meaningful engagement with the community and consider alternate businesses that would actually provide meaningful employment and jobs for the people of brentwood so for example in gainesville they took a a failing shopping center a mall and turned it into a medical complex that employed hundreds if not thousands of residents for the university of florida medical complex as an rv owner i can tell you that that area and that type of shopping center is the last place that i would store my rv so it doesn't even make sense from that finally it's concerning to me that based on what miss trimmer said this project has been on the works for years so making decisions without community involvement is a disturbing pattern that must be stopped please vote no thank you all right thank you miss trimmer we'll give you time for rebuttal and then we will bring it back to committee thank you so much cindy trimmer one independent drive on behalf of the applicant i want to reinforce that the owners understand the neighbor's desire to have a robust shopping center at this site the fact of the matter remains they are permitted by right in a zoning that has existed on this property since 1998 to do the build out that they have already invested millions of dollars in and completed the pud is not asking to add uses that aren't already allowed today except to allow some of those larger indoor boat and rv storage units that aren't going to be visible visible to anybody in the surrounding area they would be inside the facility the pud as you often see with self storage that come through because our code is an old code that only recognizes the old drive up version of self storage addresses non-conformities in the site that wouldn't meet today's current code to do self-storage but are consistently approved to allow indoor climate controlled storage facilities as far as the traffic study and i i do want to also share that we we have shared the materials that we've provided to you electronically and in hard copy with the residents at prior to planning commission and at planning commission the traffic study is a condition to this pud in the event it were developed for something that would trigger the requirement to do self or as traffic study in the future self storage being a use that is amongst the least traffic intensive uses did not require them to pull a permit and or to do a traffic study when they pulled the permit to do that build out and something like self storage which is a very low traffic generator routinely would not require a traffic study to go into an existing commercial area that had historically a shopping center and very intense traffic uses on the site already i would also like to share that the project does include additional vacant space we have shared all of the correspondence and feedback with from the community with the owners and they are taking that under advisement as they search for additional tenants to fill that vacant space that does exist in the shopping center but it would not be appropriate to ask them to give up the property rights to the self storage that they have today and with that we'll stand by for questions all right thank you we have one speaker in the queue council member diamond you're recognized uh thank you mr chair through the chair and miss trimmer uh can you just explain to me the jta training piece of this puzzle again uh i was going through the documents on sunday and it didn't quite make sense to me how you all are involved with that piece when global jacksonville purchased the site it was originally a single large parcel they have owned this now for a couple years and you heard a resident allude to the fact that we have been working on this there was a window of time where they were working to incorporate um residential into the back portion of the site that was an affordable housing developer that fell through and there is no residential included in this pud today which we have heard from the community they would prefer not to have over the course of that time the western portion of the parcel was purchased by jta we had understood prior to things that are being dealt with today that their intent had been to do a training facility an office classroom training facility which would be something that they're permitted to do out of that existing building but that has not come to fruition yet today okay i'm tracking they were going to train people how not to drive buses got it thanks all right uh council member johnson you recognize a couple questions thank you mr chair uh first to you miss trimmer and then i'm going to call some community members um the 30 foot buffer you said you are willing to do that condition yes through the chair yes okay thank you through the chair the retaining wall in the back that we saw um that would be adjacent to that land um what would be the height that you would go up to for that retaining wall through the chair it wouldn't be increasing the height of the retaining wall just redoing it but recognizing that it exists and that their elevation is above ours we agree that a six foot fence would not necessarily be appropriate because it would probably be about four to five foot for their yards so they're willing to increase a fence to eight foot height so that it would be an appropriate height to compensate for the fact that the residences are raised above what their base floor elevation is that back area thank you for that the back area they would have you said it would be and i saw the picture i think it's on page four um the just asking that spot there by 95 would it not be visible from there from 95 through the chair when you're going on 95 first of all you're going pretty fast 65 plus an hour yeah and there is robust fdot landscaping along most of it but there is a portion that if you craned your neck and looked back over your shoulder while you were driving by that you can see the site and what you see in that glimpse is really the main building and then the jta site in their parking field you don't really see the back behind the shopping center um and i i did want to add for what it's worth our engineers have identified that the rear of this site does have draining drainage problems that's something that we heard they will be tearing up concrete along that property line to create a 10 foot uncomplimentary use buffer that will require new plantings and ground cover and they will be doing additional civil engineering to correct the drainage problems that exist at the rear of the the property along that property line gotcha thank you for that um and we don't know where again that wall but i'm sure that'll come up in discussion uh if i may through the chair miss bell can i see you for just a moment please thank you and while you're coming up i'll go ahead and get this question out so um you're the president of metro gardens we know that we've heard you before and i want to make sure that i'm asking you because i'm gonna look at you as the de facto representative of this group while you're coming up am i able to opine mr or i can only ask questions in this point um the public hearing is still open but i can opine a bit we'll just close public hearing i mean i'll keep it short i just you know it's not nothing too much i just wanted to put on the record um you know we heard earlier some some conversation i too am catholic and i also understand that's like a poor decision to you know bring religion into this because that's not what this is about but i wanted to make sure that we put it on the record uh that it's understood uh this is a about competent substantial evidence i say it all the time i say it over and over and it's about the competent substantial evidence that is put up we make decisions on that in this body so it has nothing to do with help that brother and help a business or any of that it's uh and i also look at i think it's romans 31 where it says you know uh maybe romans 3 and 1 but it talks about helping um going again going with the law of the land so that things are right and in order and that's what we're trying to do things right and in order so invoking bible verses just is nonsensical in this space miss bell let me ask you quickly does this community is the objection because our we can't look at what businesses specifically go there because as we heard earlier by right this particular property owner has certain businesses uh and the larger uh vehicles that rbs and boats that would go in um they would go inside and so they would not be visible is that still a problem for the community and would you be willing would you meaning metro gardens and the other people in the brentwood community be willing to sit down with the developers and have the conversation or is this something that you believe that your constituents in the community is just dead on arrival for you okay i could barely hear all that you said yes ma'am sorry is the community itself is this project dead on arrival right now we heard that by right there are certain things that can be done already is this something that you believe that the people that live in your community association don't want at all or is this something you'd be willing to sit down and have a conversation with to see what we can do to work together since they're already running a storage business there and by right they can all right the we're concerned with okay you say by right yes ma'am we're concerned with the traffic study she gave an explanation of that but is she an engineer where is that traffic study well let me and if i may just to step aside through the chair to educate a bit because i want i was a little bit turned around on this too miss bell the traffic study and correct me if i'm wrong miss abney does not have to be provided or is not supposed to be provided until after the decision is made i'd want to make sure because i didn't understand that either miss bell i was like well why are we doing the traffic study after we've done the zoning based on the 10 set review the traffic study comes in that can you explain that i'll get back to my questions for you but can you the chair to councilman johnson so yeah so when they go to develop the property at civil site plan review traffic will look at it determine or they'll look at what is what use is actually being proposed and then they will do a traffic study based on the use that's going to go there and that is all done during civil plan review which is after the vote yeah yeah correct you have to get entitlement phases first and then when you go to develop it then you'll do the traffic study before you get off the mic can you explain the rationale for doing the traffic study after the vote um yeah so traffic studies are quite costly and if the development is never going to occur because the entitlements are not given it's kind of early it's you know there's the chicken before the egg and you want to make sure what exactly is the use that's being proposed on the site so that you can do a site-specific traffic study based on the use that's going to go there and the needs that would be generated out of that use quite costly can you give me a ballpark idea um i've heard that it's between 20 and 30 000 for i see you're shaking 30 so we'll go with we'll go with the load so we'll split the difference and say 25 000 so about 25 000 that would have to be paid by the applicant prior to the vote so if the vote doesn't come through you spent thirty thousand dollars for nothing what is the reason for what can come about afterward once the vote has gone on then let's say the traffic study because i want to make sure we're on the same page the traffic study happens now we get the traffic study back how does that affect the development so depending upon what is determined from the traffic study in regards to traffic mitigation measures the developer will be required to do those traffic mitigation measures um from the outcome of the traffic study so if that means that you need certain turn lanes or you need a traffic signal or you know certain entrances and exits that they will have to do that based on that traffic study got it so ms bell does that help you understand why is it always a situation where our lives have to is is dealing with money if they have to pay you 20 to 30 000 to do a traffic study then that study should be done before you all vote on it ms with all due respect i understand what because always and i've had to have this conversation it does not always some of this is not logical i've said since i've been on this council that the code is broken and we need to redo it but in this case for this specific issue i we got to focus on this issue but because this is something we we i want to change the law i'm working to do that i'm trying every day to to amend the code as we can but for this specific issue my question for you is kind of central will the metro gardens and the surrounding areas brentwood that entire area do you think because you meet on a regular basis with your community is there an opportunity to sit down with the developer and say let me at least have this conversation or unfortunately because it's this since it's already there is this dead on arrival in your opinion let me ask them i represent the neighborhood would you all like to have a conversation wait wait you got miss katrina miss katrina come on you know the rule i think i i think i if miss katrina you're more than welcome to come up if you want to say something if not we can move on and i just but i wanted to at least give the opportunity because some of the stuff that they can do is already allowed by right and so before i make a decision i wanted to get as much feedback from you as i could but what about our rights when do we have rights this is it right now miss bill you are you are exercising that miss katrina hold on because we got to do one at a time just got to put you on the record we got to do this is your right right now being exercised so that's why my question to you is if it would help to sit down with them if they especially if they're taking the the the materials the rvs and the boats and i did some preliminary research and there does seem to be an opportunity within a 10 mile radius a five to 10 mile radius amount around the mall i just pulled some stats and data on it and there does seem to be a demand for that which is probably why they want to put it there but the question for you is i do get that there could be other kinds of businesses but would you at least be willing to have the conversation especially with we just heard from the developers uh council that they are actively looking for other businesses to put in the vacant space that's there we're going to land this plane in 30 seconds because we're getting into having a community meeting and you're absolutely right and we just did that and that's not the format that we're going to have this so you can answer the question but then we're going to and now i'm done after that thank you mr chair what did you say well yes okay my concern is katrina spencer my address is on file my concern is norwood is already a narrow street the rvs are large the boat the boats are large when you are driving on the expressway you have those cars coming by saying wide loads right so the streets are already narrow so how are they going to be coming in and out the rvs are already tall the fence is not going to be what they're talking about putting up we're still going to see the rvs and it's not safe we don't have a turning lane now we have a light up for when they come out of gateway and you still have to back your car up for a bus to come out of the gateway shopping center so how is the rvs and the boats going to be coming in and out and the traffic all right with that we're can i say i would like to have that meeting with them all right thanks okay thank you ma'am so we will go ahead and close the public hearing bring back to the committee we have an amendment all right we have a motion and a second on the amendment can someone please explain the amendment the amendment is for a traffic study uh to be conducted uh undertaken by the developer upon pud verification and upon excuse me and provided during the 10-set review okay thank you all in favor of the amendment signify by saying aye aye any opposed the amendment carries all right we have a motion do we have a second on the bill as amended we have a motion second on the bill as amended council member gaffney you're recognized thank you through the chair this will be brief i just want to i'm putting this on record um i'm really in the middle i mean i'm very familiar with this area um my dad ran an organization not too far from here so i understand the community complaints all the community is not here tonight um i was hoping we could hear um the councilwoman that's over this district to get her thoughts but um i'm gonna try to talk to some more neighbors do some internal research myself so i'll be a yes but we'll see how i lead up to tuesday all right thank you uh okay all right and we have no one else in the queue so let's open the ballot record your vote oh just for transparency the pud today does not have the condition that we would have an eight foot fence along the global jacksonville property line that would need to be a condition that you would move this evening all right close the ballot and nope we didn't take the vote so we have a motion on the amendment for the eight foot fence all right and we have a second okay all right good deal and y'all will get the yeah all right we'll roll it up but we need to take the vote so all in favor of the eight foot fence amendment signify by saying aye aye any opposed that amendment carries we're going to roll those up into one amendment and we're going to get a motion on the bill as amended from councilmember diamond and a second from councilmember johnson before we vote on it councilmember johnson you're recognized does that include mr chair the the the buffer getting the higher buffer can we put that in there as well since that's what the developer brought up we have a motion on the 30-foot buffer do we have a second we have a motion and a second on the 30-foot buffer do you agree to the 30-foot buffer through through the chair the language that we proposed was a 30-foot setback along the property lines where there are existing residential structures almost not a buffer a setback got it so sorry about the verbiage there we have a motion on that and we got a second all right all in favor of the 30-foot setback indicate by saying aye aye any opposed that amendment carries so we're going to roll all those amendments up into one and we're going to get a motion on the bill as amended in a second there we go open the ballot record your vote by the a's zero nays by your action you've approved 2026 743 and next we're going to skip over to page we're going to skip over to page 15 and we're going to go to items in my district we have four of those because i might have to cut out of here early and if we if i do i just want to make sure that i'm able to speak to these individually so 31 2026 790 council members declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get the staff report thank you 2026 790 seeks to permit the retail sale of beer and wine for on-premise consumption in conjunction with casa de monica restaurant at 8101 old kings road south the restaurant will occupy units five and six within the existing shopping plaza and no expansion of the building is proposed staff finds a request consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan the site's located within the neighborhood commercial land use category which supports neighborhood serving commercial uses and restaurants the proposed is compatible with the surrounding development which includes commercial office multi-family and single-family residential uses paul's right there council member johnson you can't leave the chamber because we need to core them up here sorry so say your goodbyes come back to the dice please thank you continue okay the proposed use is compatible with surrounding development which includes commercial office multi-family and single-family residential because the alcohol sales will remain secondary to the restaurant use the exception is not expected to alter the character or intensity of the site staff finds no adverse impacts traffic parking environmental conditions or future developments of surrounding properties for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward recommendation of approval all right thank you with that we have one speaker card myra gonzalez is in support questions only no other speaker cards no one in the queue so we'll close the public hearing and bring back to committee all right we have a motion a second on the bill no one in the queue i'm supportive let's take this vote on the ballot open the ballot please verbalize your vote council member white all right four yays zero nays by reaction you've approved 2026 790 item number 32 2026 791 council members please declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you 2026 791 seeks to permit the retail sale sale and service of all alcoholic beverages including liquor beer and wine for on-premise consumption and including outdoor sales and service in conjunction with the caprice restaurant and lounge at 5230 bay meadows road the restaurant is located within an existing shopping center that's owned ccg1 the site qualifies as a bonafide restaurant and no churches or schools are located within 500 feet of the the proposed location staff finds a request consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan and compatible with the surrounding commercial corridor along bay meadows road and old kings road south the shopping center already contains similar alcohol related uses including marcus restaurant which received an exception under e2212 for beer and wine sales bay's liquor which received an exception under e141 for a package store as well as los loros mexican restaurant which offers full alcohol sales these existing uses demonstrate compatibility with the established development pattern and staff finds a request will not negatively impact traffic parking public services or surrounding properties for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward recommendation of approval all right thank you so much we have one speaker lawrence yancy come on down lawrence yancy 1301 st john's bluff road north jacksonville florida i agree with the staff requires to think the full support that's out here for any coercion in one hand all right thank you sir we have no other speaker cards no one in the queue let's close the public hearing and bring it back to committee motion and second on the bill no one in the queue i'm supportive let's open the ballot record the vote four yes zero nays by reaction you've approved 2026 791 item number 33 2026 792 council members please declare your exports a communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you 2026 792 seeks to permit the retail sale and service of beer and wine for on-premise consumption in conjunction with parkwood coffee at 3570 st augustine road the existing coffee roasting and cafe operation has expanded into an adjoining tenant space to provide additional seating and proposes limited beer and wine service during evening hours a companion waiver of liquor distance uh wld 2610 for this application was approved by the planning commission on october 22nd 2026 staff finds a request consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan the site is located within the cgc land use category along st augustine road which is a commercial corridor the proposed beer and wine service remains accessory to the existing cafe use and does not alter the site's commercial character staff notes proposed use is lower in intensity than many existing commercial uses on the corridor and is not expected to create adverse impacts for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval all right thank you we have one speaker card michael gantt is in support questions only are you here all right cool you're here thanks for waiting all right we have no other speaker card so we'll close the public hearing and bring it back to committee motion in a second on the bill no speakers in the queue i'm supportive let's open the ballot record your vote four yays zero nays by your action you've approved 2026 792 now our council members and colleagues we are going to go over to page 17 for item number 37 2026 796 please declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hand and get a staff report 2026 796 seeks to permit the retail sale and service of beer and wine for on-premise consumption for the bookseller a bookstore and community gathering space located within existing shopping center along hendrix avenue the establishment proposes to host book clubs events and wine tastings as an accessory component of the bookstore use the property is located within the cgc land use category which supports commercial retail entertainment and service uses within established commercial corridors the proposed use is compatible with the surrounding commercial development and staff notes that a similar alcohol related exception was approved within this same shopping center for second wind cigars under 2024 359 and the companion waiver of liquor distance additionally a companion waiver liquor distance wld 2612 for this application was approved by planning commission on october 22nd for these reasons and those in the staff report before recommendation of approval all right thank you so much we have one speaker card folks huxford in support questions only we have no other speaker cards let's close the public hearing and bring back to committee all right we have a motion and a second on the bill no one in the queue let's uh open the ballot record to vote and i am supportive this is go check it out all these are cool spots in district five oh i need to vote four yay zero nays by direction you've approved 2026 796 all right let's see let's see okay all right we're just going to go ahead and do 38 and 39 real quick so 2026 797 council members declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report 2026 797 seeks to reduce the required minimum road frontage from 160 feet to 133 feet to allow for one additional dwelling on a 3.96 acre parcel that's currently zoned rr acre the property consists of three combined lots and fronts grover road which is a public maintained right-of-way the request is accompanied by an administrative deviation which will be heard next staff finds a request meets the criteria for granting a waiver the property satisfies all rr acre development standards except for road frontage and lot width the request is not intended to reduce development costs or avoid subdivision regulations and the proposed additional dwelling is compatible with the surrounding area which contains similarly configured rr acre parcels with reduced frontages the site has direct frontage on grover road and does not require an easement for access for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval all right thank you we have one speaker card in support david mantia all right do you want to do wish to speak david mantia of one two nine three zero grover road just saying we're trying to build a house for mom all right good deal no other speaker cards let's close the public hearing and bring it back to committee motion and second on the bill no discussion open the ballot record your vote four yeas zero nays by direction you've approved 2026 797 item number 39 2026 798 council members please declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report 2026 798 seeks to reduce the minimum lot width from 200 feet to 133 feet to allow placement of an additional home on a 3.96 acre property located at 12930 grover road this is the companion ad to 2026 797 staff finds a request consistent with the development pattern in the area as previously mentioned the property consists of three combined lots and it meets the acreage requirements for two dwelling units in the rr acre zoning district and is similar to nearby properties that contain multiple dwellings that do not fully conform to current lot with standards staff finds a deviation will not diminish property values alter the character of the area or create impacts to public health safety or well welfare for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval all right thank you we have one speaker card david mantia questions only he's in support no other speaker cards no one in the queue let's close the public hearing and bring him back to committee we have a motion in a second on the bill no one in the queue open the ballot record your vote four yeas zero nays by reaction you've approved 2026 798 all right we're going to do one last final call for councilman johnson to make his way back to the dais we have other council members who need to exit the dais so thank you if you're out there in the rotunda hopefully our sounds coming through all right where do we leave off 19 are you sure all right you're you're paying attention over there all right 2026 745 open the public hearing no speaker cards we'll continue this public hearing until 11 17 26 we've already taken up action item number 20 we have item 21 2026 779 open the public hearing let's get a staff report thank you this is uh ordinance 2026 0779 seeking to amend the zoning code particularly part six for industrial parking back in 2025 the code was updated to reduce the required parking for industrial uses from one space per 2 000 square feet down to one space per 5 000 square feet this ultimately caused an issue for other industrial type uses like distribution centers that do need a little bit more parking than that ratio so this update is now to create a range so you'll keep the one per 5 000 square feet but then add the three per thousand square feet which matches traffic studies done by ite so we are affording a recommendation of approval thank you all right thank you we have two speaker cards jamie travis leonard is in support does not wish to speak samantha series in support does not wish to speak we have no other speaker cards let's close the public hearing and bring back to committee motion in the second on the bill no one in the queue open the ballot record your vote you're about 20 minutes late we're not holding them there's such a man of the people there you go five a's zero nays by your action you've approved 2026 779 all right following bills are deferred 2026 781 782 785 786 787 788 789 are all deferred with the public hearing next cycle on 11 11 17 26 now item 2026 783 is up for withdrawal motion and second on the withdrawal no discussion open the ballot record your vote five yes zero nays by your action withdrawn 2026 783 item number 25 2026 784 up for withdrawal we have a motion and second on the withdrawal no discussion open the ballot record your vote five yes zero nays by your action withdrawn 2026 784 we've already read the other items that are up for deferral we took up 31 32 33 which takes us to item 34 2026 793 counselors please declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you 2026 793 seeks to permit the retail sale and service of all alcoholic beverages including liquor beer and wine for on-premise consumption in conjunction with hana sushi cafe at 9825 san jose boulevard the restaurant is located in a shopping center that's currently zoned ccg1 staff finds requests consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan the site is within the cgc land use category along san jose boulevard which is a commercial corridor where restaurant and retail uses are anticipated and supported staff knows that similar alcohol related exceptions have previously been approved within the same center including margarita's mexican grill under e1436 and crystal river seafood under e1617 demonstrating a long-standing pattern of restaurant uses with alcohol service at this location because the request involves an existing restaurant with an established commercial center staff finds no adverse impacts to traffic parking public services or surrounding properties for these reasons and those in the staff report before a recommendation of approval all right thank you we have one speaker card gia jen she is in support and here for questions only are you here okay cool just want to make sure you're still here thank you for waiting all right we have no other speaker cards no one in the queue let's close the public hearing and bring it back to committee motion in the second on the bill no one in the queue open the ballot record your vote seriously i'm hungry by interaction approved 2026 793 item number 35 2026 794 council members please declare your ex parte communication at this time seeing none let's open the public hearing you get a staff report thank you this is zoning exception ordinance 2026 794 requesting approval to allow for the retail sales and service of all alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption for a property located along st john's avenue zone ccg1 the request is associated with the biscotti's restaurant which seeks to establish a private dining room in a nearby storefront as an extension of its existing restaurant operations the proposal would allow private dining meeting and special events for up to 60 guests in an existing storefront located within the shops of avondale the space will operate as a separate but related venue to the main biscotti's restaurant is in and is intended to provide additional event and dining space without expanding the footprint of the existing building business staff finds the request consistent with the comp plan it's located in the cgc land use category the proposed use is compatible with surrounding area the property line property lies within the riverside avondale historic district and the commercial character area of the riverside overlay staff notes that several nearby establishments there's several restaurants that operate under similar alcohol service approvals this exception would activate a current vacant storefront while maintaining the scale and character of the avondale commercial district so for these reasons and those outlining in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval all right thank you we have uh two speaker cards first up richie mulaney richie mulaney with driver mcafee one independent drive suite 1200 on behalf of the applicant that applicant being biscotti's um of course biscotti's has been a beloved local restaurant in the avondale neighborhood for over 30 years now and due to their popularity they're seeking to open a private dining room right down the street um as mentioned in the staff report it's compatible with the uses in the area they're excited for their next chapter um and so ask for your support for this exception to serve all alcohol i'm here for questions thank you all right thank you next up we have alicia grant good evening alicia grant my address is on file i stand in opposition to this or for different considerations of the approval i have lived in my house on riverside avenue at 3575 for the last 36 years i have seen the neighborhood that commercial strip go from an area that was developed to serve the neighborhood and the residents of the neighborhood including dress shops hairdressers bookstores gift stores um dry cleaners a pharmacy shoe shoe shoe stores and um other stores and it has now become an imposition to the neighborhood because of all of the the travel the traffic that goes through the neighborhood um i'm a little bit concerned because i believe i am with within the 300 foot radius and i got no legal notice about uh the um exception or the administrative deviation that was being filed um we originally had when i moved into my house we originally had two restaurants the fox which so serves breakfast and lunch and what what what is now bluefish which was then known as sliders uh several years after that one of the dress stores at the corner of ingleside and st john's was taken over and turned into a partner's restaurant a few years after partners took over that corner they took over the next adjoining street storefront which then became the foot footprint for what is now the brick i'm concerned about putting another 30 cars if you're looking at two people per car into the neighborhood if any of you have eaten there which i'm sure must have most of you have gone to that destination for restaurants you know how difficult the parking is and how difficult the traffic is imagine how difficult it is for the residents who live there um i would suggest that if this is going to be a private dining room or an event event room that they reduce the number of participants from 60 to maybe 30 or be able to take if it's going to be a sister restaurant to the current biscottis that if they have 60 people in this new private dining room they take 60 feet 60 seats out of their existing restaurant that's what happens with josephine across the street they have an event room in the back of their restaurant too but the the rule is that they can only have 120 seats at any one time that includes their outside dining their bar any table any tops you know table tops that they put up but if they use 30 seats in that private room they must take 30 seats out of their existing dining room all right thank you ma'am we have no other speaker cards so we're going to go ahead and close the public hearing and bring back to committee we have a motion a second on the bill no one in the queue open the ballot record your vote set open the ballot record vote five days zero nays by direction you approve 2026 794. next up we have item 36 2026 795 council members please declare your export a communication at this time seeing none oh seeing none let's open the public hearing and get a staff report thank you this is the companion administrative deviation 2026 795 that seeks to reduce some parking requirements and several landscaping deviations staff finds the request is consistent with the development pattern of the shops of avondale where many commercial buildings were constructed in 1950 directly on the property line without one-site parking similar parking and landscaping deviations have been approved throughout the corridor over several decades including approvals associated even with the existing biscotti's restaurant location staff concludes that there are practical difficulties in complying with the strict letter of the zoning code because the building occupies nearly the entirety of the parcel and there is insufficient space to provide modern parking and landscaping standards without substantially altering the historic structure strict compliance would require significant reconfiguration of the contributing building within the historic district staff further finds that the deviation will not diminish property values alter the neighborhood character or interfere with adjacent properties similar parking and site conditions already exist throughout the surrounding commercial district so for these reasons and those in the staff report we forward a recommendation of approval all right thank you first up richie mulaney richie mulaney with driver mcfee one independent drive suite 1200 on behalf of the applicant as aaron mentioned this is the companion administrative deviation to the biscotti's application like most businesses and storefronts in this area in the shops of avondale a business could not reoccupy this building without an ad because there are no parking spots on the property given the historic built environment and so this deviation for parking and landscaping is really just to preserve the existing condition in the historic neighborhood as i've mentioned before this is a ccg1 zone in the commercial character area of of the avondale of the riverside avondale historic district and overlay and it's within the keeping with the character of the area and so that's why this companion ad is before you today so business can reoccupy this space i'll be here for questions thank you all right next up we have alicia grant again my address is on file um when we first approved the historic zoning overlay in 2006 for riverside avondale the parking requirement was reduced 50 to require that any business that went in there at least meet meet a 50 parking requirement the fact that they are continuing to bring in restaurants and private party rooms allowing 60 people puts another 30 cars plus and probably five to seven cars for staff into the residential district we already have cars that are parking along illegally along right-of-ways from st john's avenue all the way to her shell street at night it's it's impossible if you and there are many houses in that neighborhood that do not have driveways they had alleys at one time that had garages to the back of them the alleys are now being taken over also by the by the restaurants as you know the zero footage that they're reducing everything to on the alley there's only so much that the residential area can absorb and i think we have done and have gone over and above and have been subjected to more than this than what we need to be so i would i would hope that you would cut their seating so that they wouldn't have 30 more cars into the neighborhood and reduce that 60 seat count down to something that's more reasonable thank you all right thank you we have no other speaker cards we will close the public hearing and bring back to committee motion and second on the bill council member gaffney do you want to speak okay thank you through the chair rich if you don't mind i'm not sure what's a good compromise i definitely hear her concerns i mean all of us have ate at the restaurant obviously been to in that area and she right we park on the street park illegal um i don't know what we could i don't know what we could do to rectify this situation but we don't vote again until tuesday next tuesday at city council meeting before full city council so um if you can y'all too rich if y'all can y'all kind of i don't know what what's the solution but you know i i want her concerns to be heard thank you through the chair i appreciate it i appreciate you coming um today and we'll um we'll discuss this like i said any business uh i understand the concern about a restaurant but any business would need some form of ad for for parking here and we're hoping that this is a less intense use than a traditional restaurant um since it's a private dining room but we'll definitely we're happy to talk any time to anyone um about this okay yeah i think we just maybe have a conversation and see where it goes make sure there's understanding between both parties so all right with that we have no other speakers in the queue we have a motion in a second so open the ballot record your vote five yays zero nays by reaction you've approved 2026 795 following bills are deferred well there's only one 2026 807 is deferred with the public hearing next cycle and the following bills are on second reading 2026 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 and with the public hearing next step now if any take notice or on third reading in the document step adjust tosilence to the public hearing these moments come in further andкив稿