Developers agree to 50‑unit PUD, 25‑foot buffer and traffic study after Jacksonville community meeting

Jacksonville City Councilman Reginald Gaffney Jr. and residents heard a presentation Thursday from the developer of a proposed housing project near Bridges Road and Quiet Country Lane, after which the applicant agreed to convert its rezoning request to a Planned Unit Development and to several written conditions, including a 50‑unit cap and a 25‑foot natural buffer along the southern property line.

The developer’s attorney, Hayden Phillips, told the meeting that Coastland Group LLC would switch the application from a conventional RLD‑70 rezoning to a PUD so the city and neighbors could hold the project to a specific site plan and written description. “We are agreeing to a total of 50 units,” Phillips said, adding the firm would submit a site plan and PUD written description that would cap density and include the commitments presented to the community.

Neighbors said the project’s traffic, school capacity and the proximity of the subdivision entrance to existing driveways were their chief concerns. Erin Abney, chief of current planning for the City of Jacksonville, explained the review process and the criteria the planning department uses, including the city’s comprehensive plan designation of Low Density Residential (maximum 7 units per acre) and transportation reviews. “From our quick review…50 single‑family homes is a very, very low traffic count,” Abney said, while noting formal traffic and agency reviews occur after a complete application is filed.

Why it matters: converting to a PUD allows legally enforceable, written conditions to be attached to the zoning approval (for example: capped unit count, minimum lot width, buffers and façade or square‑footage standards).…