Developer proposes 40 townhomes at Richardson and New Kings; neighbors raise traffic, drainage and school-capacity concerns

Councilwoman Pittman convened a public meeting where a land planner described a proposal to build up to 40 townhomes on the northeast corner of Richardson Road and New Kings Road.

Mike Versberg, a land planner representing Popage Properties, told attendees the 3.36-acre site is currently zoned planned development and was previously approved for 20 single-family lots; the owner is seeking an entitlement for an attached product of roughly 1,800-square-foot units, three to four bedrooms each, with asking prices he estimated “in the $260,000 to $275,000 range.”

The project design presented to the community would place a single ingress roadway off Richardson Road that turns from New Kings Road, locate a retention pond along the site’s northeast edge and include a six-foot fence and a tree roughly every 25 feet to buffer the adjacent single-family neighborhood. Versberg said the layout aims to create “a transition from that intensive roadway to the residential community behind it.”

Neighbors at the meeting said the parcel is small for 40 units and voiced multiple concerns. Several residents described traffic problems on Richardson and New Kings — the planner cited New Kings as an FDOT principal arterial with about 27,000 vehicles a day — and said large vehicles and funeral traffic already complicate left turns and sightlines. One resident called the plan “a bad idea at a bad location” because of existing congestion near a nearby funeral home.

Residents also asked about drainage and school impacts. Versberg said the development would be required to provide on-site stormwater capture and coordinate an outfall into the city drainage system; the city will review capacity as part of permitting. Erin Emile of the city’s current planning staff said the application has been submitted to the department and that the Duval County School Board runs the concurrency analysis for schools. Emile said the board’s estimate for the proposed project was roughly nine new students, “it could be a little bit more. It could be a little bit less,” and that a project entitlement might still fail at later steps if concurrency for schools or other infrastructure cannot be met.

Councilwoman Pittman and staff told the audience the application is pending and that the planning department will produce a staff recommendation before the matter goes to the planning commission, the Land Use and Zoning committee and then full City Council. Pittman gave residents ordinance tracking information (2024-917) and encouraged people to sign in to receive notice of hearings.

What happens next: the city will complete technical reviews (traffic, drainage, school concurrency and zoning), produce a staff recommendation, and schedule public hearings. Neighbors said they will attend those hearings; several requested clearer notices and earlier outreach from the city.

Ending: The application remains under review; no entitlement or permit has been approved at the time of the meeting. City staff and the council office said they will return to the community with hearing dates and further information about reviews and potential mitigation measures.