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Neighbors oppose Pernicia Street rezoning, citing traffic, wetlands and tree removal
Summary
At the Jan. 28 Jacksonville City Council meeting, dozens of neighbors spoke against a proposed PUD rezoning for 6211 Pernicia Street (2024-0980), raising concerns about a single access road, drainage and extensive tree removal. The public hearing was held; no final zoning decision was made.
Dozens of residents told the Jacksonville City Council on Jan. 28 they opposed a developer’s request to rezone a 4½–5-acre property at 6211 Pernicia (filed as 2024-0980) from single-family to Planned Unit Development, saying the plan would add too much traffic, threaten local wetlands and remove mature trees.
The speakers asked the council to deny the rezoning or require RLD‑60 lot standards instead of a PUD that, they said, would allow higher density and manufactured homes.
Neighbors said the parcel’s single entrance on Pernicia Street is an 18‑foot, local road with open ditches and blind corners and that adding the proposed units would create safety and emergency‑access risks. “The proposed PUD with 21 units on a smaller parcel represents quite an increase in density,” Carolyn Chant Sangthong said, urging the council to require development consistent with adjoining RLD‑60 lots. Kaylee Nelson told the council the developer said 10 units would not generate enough revenue to pay for infrastructure, so he proposed 21 units; she called that a problematic financial justification and said it raised questions about whether infrastructure would be completed before tenants moved in.
Speakers also raised environmental and drainage concerns. Fran Hetherington said she saw “devastation” after scores of trees were removed on the property and asked whether a St. Johns River Water Management District review had been done and where residents could find the report. Don Carter, a nearby landowner who later spoke on related land‑use items, told the council that wetland drainage runs from Pecan Park Road toward the Nassau River and warned that trucks already hauling dirt into wetlands had caused standing water on adjacent roads.
Applicant Jacob Parker told the council he owns the parcel, plans a cul‑de‑sac and paved road built to city standards and that he would install utilities and infrastructure before homebuilding. He said financing for 10 houses is difficult because of fixed costs and said 19 additional houses would make the project feasible. Parker asked for an opportunity to revise his plan and return to the planning department if needed.
Council staff closed the public hearing. Several council members invited the applicant and residents to meet in the green room for further discussion; Parker and others agreed to meet with Council Member Johnson after the session. Neighbors repeatedly asked for an RLD‑60 requirement, limits on manufactured homes, confirmation of wetlands boundaries and an engineering study of drainage before any rezoning was finalized.
The council did not vote on 2024‑0980 at the Jan. 28 meeting; speakers asked for additional materials and a final hearing date was discussed for the next meeting cycle.
The item remains under the city’s land‑use review process; neighbors asked for more outreach and clearer permit and tree‑removal documentation ahead of any final vote.
