Residents pressed Jacksonville Beach city leaders on alleged code violations and safety risks tied to Discovery School's operations and growth, asking the council to pause further expansion and require a new conditional-use review.

At public comment, resident Donnie Brzuzka said his son was nearly hit during pickup and alleged the school's conditional-use approval requires crossing guards, 30-minute staggered drop-off times or fencing buffers that are not being met. “The school's conditional use approval expired in 2022,” Brzuzka said, and he asked the council to “enforce the existing conditions of use of Discovery School, pause any future or current expansion, require a new conditional application that reflects the current operations at the site, and hold a new public hearing so the community can provide meaningful input.”

Several other neighbors described similar safety and quality-of-life impacts. Sandra Brzewska said parked cars blocked the sidewalk and she was forced into the street; Robert Phelps said traffic backs up on Shutter and 15th Street, risking delayed emergency response to nearby senior housing; Victoria Yi said a new building sits about 15 feet off the property line and “children, teachers, anybody who's in there can overlook my yard,” with late-night lighting and inconsistent service-provider hours. Cheryl Brzoska told the council the school exceeded a stated enrollment limit of 200 and now has “well over 300,” producing more vehicles and congestion.

City Manager Mike read a prepared statement acknowledging public concerns about traffic impacts and site development at Discovery School, saying the city has been in contact with the school's head of school (name transcribed in the record as “Ms. Orbitsburger or Britzburger”) and that planning and development staff will research allegations of expired conditional use and deviations from approved site plans and will report back to council. The manager also reminded audience members that Discovery School is not an item on that night's agenda.

No formal council action was taken during the meeting; multiple residents asked the council to direct staff to pause expansion and require a new conditional-use application and public hearing. The city manager committed to an investigation by planning and development staff and a report back to council.

Next steps: Planning and development staff will research permit status and alleged deviations and provide findings to the council ahead of the scheduled January meeting, according to the city manager's statement.