Council schedules de novo hearing on appeal of historic‑preservation denial for Valencia Road property

The Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday opened a de novo appeal of a local historic‑preservation decision and set the order and time limits for the hearing.

A staff member said the JHPC previously denied an application for a certificate of appropriateness filed by Matthew Allen on behalf of the owner, Christian Allen Inc., for work described as painting at a property variously cited in the record as “3524 or 203 Valencia Road.” The council will hear the matter as a new (de novo) proceeding, the staff member said.

That matters because a de novo hearing requires the council to base its decision on the evidence presented at the hearing rather than on the prior administrative record, the staff member explained.

Carla Lopera of the city’s Office of General Counsel will open the hearing with a brief, explanatory presentation but will not make legal arguments, the staff member said. The appellant will have seven minutes to present an opening and may reserve a portion for rebuttal. Staff from the historic‑preservation section — identified in the record as Aramis Wells — will present the city’s case afterward. The public will be allowed three minutes per speaker, followed by rebuttals, closing of the public hearing and council deliberation.

“This is a de novo hearing. It’s like most hearings. You base it upon the evidence you hear,” the staff member said at the meeting when explaining possible outcomes: affirm the prior decision (deny the appeal), reverse the decision (grant the appeal), modify it, or refer the matter back to the JHPC for further review.

The appeal before the council is one of two related requests; the staff member said the second will be deferred. An attorney who identified themselves as representing the property owner made a late request to defer one of the items, and the council accepted that request, the staff member said.

No formal vote on the merits occurred at the session; the council set procedure and scheduling. The hearing order and time allotments were presented on the record so that participants and members of the public understand the sequence of presentations and the standard three‑minute public comment interval.

The council did not specify an exact calendar date for final deliberation in the portion of the transcript captured here. The staff member and city counsel are the on‑record presenters for the procedural phase of the appeal; the appellant is listed in the record as Matthew Allen acting for Christian Allen Inc.

The council resumed an extensive agenda after setting the appeal schedule and signaled the meeting would reconvene at 5:00 p.m.