Committee approves sign setback waiver for Cedar Hills Animal Hospital

The Land Use and Zoning Committee on Sept. 16 approved a waiver to reduce the required monument-sign setback at the Cedar Hills Animal Hospital, allowing the existing sign to remain closer to Blanding Boulevard than the city’s 10-foot requirement.

Casey Cox of the Planning Department summarized the request as a sign-waiver application to reduce the setback from 10 feet to 6 feet for a 0.42-acre parcel at the intersection of Blanding Boulevard and Wilson Boulevard. "The existing sign is located along Blanding Boulevard," Cox said, and staff recommended approval, noting the sign was originally permitted in 1973 and has become progressively closer to the right-of-way after roadway widenings. The reduced setback, staff said, would allow continued maneuverability in the site parking area and was consistent with the character of the area.

Patrick Joyce, speaking for the applicant, told the committee the staff summary covered his principal points and cited a paragraph in the application documenting the sign’s history and the reasons the waiver should be granted. Joyce gave his address on the record as 14 East Bay Street, Jacksonville 32202.

After the public hearing the committee moved the ordinance, and the clerk recorded the vote as "5 yeas, 0 nays." The waiver will allow the existing sign — and a potential replacement sign in the same place — to remain despite the formal 10-foot setback in the zoning code.

The action applies only to the sign on the listed parcel and does not change the underlying parcel zoning or other site conditions.

Votes at a glance: The committee recorded the approval as 5–0.