Jacksonville land use committee approves multiple rezonings, clears 71‑unit Garden Street PUD with traffic‑study condition

Jacksonville’s Land Use & Zoning Committee approved a package of rezoning and planned‑unit‑development (PUD) ordinances at its May 6 meeting, including requests to expand commercial uses in an existing business park, allow a 71‑unit single‑family PUD on Garden Street and to add industrial uses at several sites across the city.

Committee members voted unanimously on each final action recorded by the clerk. The meeting included brief staff presentations, applicants’ remarks and several public comments raising traffic and stormwater concerns; the committee attached conditions requiring civil‑review traffic studies in at least two PUDs.

The votes affect properties across Jacksonville: a 32‑acre business park that will carry forward IBP (industrial/business park)‑compatible uses and allow additions such as restaurants, retail and animal‑care facilities; a 16‑acre Garden Street PUD allowing up to 71 single‑family homes; conversions or rezonings to light industrial along Pickettville Road; a proposed charter school conversion of an existing office building; and a two‑acre site slated for a highway maintenance/guardrail company expected to bring roughly 25 jobs.

Planning staff summarized each application and recommended approval when reports found proposals consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and local zoning overlays. Applicants told the committee they had coordinated with staff and, in some cases, nearby neighbors. Where public commenters raised concerns — most prominently on the Garden Street item — the committee required additional assurances: the Garden Street PUD was approved as amended to include a revised written description, a revised site plan and a condition that a traffic study be provided at civil site plan review conforming to the Land Development Procedures Manual (section 1.10.11, January 2024). A similar traffic‑study condition was added to the proposed charter school PUD.

Speakers from the public expressed concern about stormwater, retention ponds and neighborhood flooding tied to recent nearby excavations and requested guarantees that new development would not reduce water levels in existing neighborhood ponds. Planning staff and applicants said drainage and retention sizing are evaluated during civil site plan review and by the St. Johns River Water Management District and other reviewers. The committee closed public comment on several items and continued at least one public hearing (a separate subdivision proposal) to the May 20 meeting so staff could further examine drainage and traffic impacts.

Votes at a glance (committee actions) - Ordinance 2025‑0211 (PUD rezoning, ~32 acres, Deerwood Park Blvd area): approved, 6‑0. Request: rezone to a new PUD to reinstate uses consistent with the IBP district and add uses including retail, restaurants, animal hospital/veterinary clinic, boarding and a dog‑daycare facility (applicant noted K9 Resorts representatives are available). Staff: recommended approval. (See staff report excerpt.) - Ordinance 2025‑0213 (conventional rezoning, ~17.21 acres, Armsdale Road): approved, 6‑0. Request: RLD‑40 to permit up to 41 single‑family lots (4,000 sq ft minimum lot area; 40 ft width). Staff: recommended approval; applicant said the proposal fits existing lot patterns. - Ordinance 2025‑0166 (small‑scale land‑use amendment to light industrial, ~15.87 acres, Pickettville Road): approved, 6‑0. Planning staff found the site lies in an Industrial Situational Compatibility Overlay and recommended approval; planning commission and Waterways Commission also recommended approval after hearings where citizens raised road‑condition and flooding concerns. - Ordinance 2025‑0167 (companion conventional rezoning to IL for Parcel above): approved, 6‑0. - Ordinance 2025‑0208 (land‑use amendment, ~16.13 acres, Garden Street): approved, 6‑0. Companion to the PUD below; staff recommended approval, finding central water and sewer available and that the change matched recent land‑use shifts nearby. - Ordinance 2025‑0209 (companion PUD rezoning, Garden Street, ~16 acres): approved as amended, 6‑0. Request: PUD permitting up to 71 single‑family dwellings (RLD‑50 lot standard, ~5,000 sq ft/50 ft width); amendments added a written description and a revised site plan, a one‑story height limit on the lot closest to an adjacent neighbor, additional northern buffering, and a condition requiring a traffic study at civil site plan review (Land Development Procedures Manual §1.10.11, Jan 2024). - Ordinance 2025‑0210 (PUD rezoning, ~6.8 acres, former Haskell/Acosta building): approved as amended, 6‑0. Request: convert an existing office building to a public/private/charter school use; site plan indicates roughly 3,000 linear feet of vehicle stacking. Committee added a traffic‑study condition to be provided at civil site plan review. - Ordinance 2025‑0214 (conventional rezoning, ~2 acres, Woodley Road): approved, 6‑0. Request: rezone from IBP to allow a highway maintenance/guardrail company to support FDOT projects; applicant representatives said the business will bring about 25 jobs to Jacksonville.

Items deferred or continued - Multiple items were deferred to the May 20 meeting by motion (listed on the meeting agenda). One public hearing (a subdivision proposal referenced during public comment at Dunn Creek/Dunn Creek Road) was continued to May 20 to allow further review of drainage and traffic concerns raised by nearby residents.

Why it matters: These approvals change permitted uses on several parcels across Jacksonville — adding industrial capacity, new residential units and an educational use — and include committee‑level conditions (notably traffic studies) intended to address neighborhood impacts. Public comments at the meeting illustrate local concern about stormwater, retention ponds and roadway capacity as the city approves new development.

What’s next: Approved rezonings and PUDs proceed to subsequent Council steps or civil site plan review as required; traffic and drainage details will be examined in civil review and by the St. Johns River Water Management District and other technical reviewers. The continued items will return to committee on May 20 for further public hearing.