Jacksonville rezoning proposals for Yellow Bluff draw broad concern over lot sizes, drainage and services

Councilman Mike Gay opened a community notice meeting on ordinances 20250493 and 20250494 concerning proposed rezoning near Yellow Bluff Road and Jake Road in north Jacksonville. Brian Small, representing developer BirdDog, and engineer Bill Shafer answered technical questions while dozens of residents raised concerns about flooding, tree loss, traffic and public services.

The two related ordinances would amend land-use designations on adjacent parcels. Brian Small said ordinance 20250493 applies to a roughly 6-acre parcel at the front of the site and would change that area from a rural residential designation to low-density residential; ordinance 20250494 would convert other parcels from RLD-100 (100-foot lots) to RLD-50 (50-foot lots) in order to match a recently approved subdivision to the north. Small said the southern parcel’s plan includes a stormwater pond and that the owner, Randy Donaldson, is relocating tenants and offering relocation assistance for mobile-home residents.

Why it matters: residents said the combined proposals could add roughly another several dozen to more than 100 lots behind an already-approved 189-home project and would change the character of an area many neighbors described as largely half-acre and one-acre lots. Neighbors pressed whether the city and developers can prevent increased flooding, ensure long-term pond maintenance, and verify school and traffic capacity.

Project and infrastructure details - Developer representative: Brian Small of BirdDog. Small said the project will extend sewer service from JEA “from the South all the way up to Ed Johnson Road,” which he described as a public benefit that will cost on the order of "1 to…