Land Use & Zoning Committee approves multiple rezonings, PUDs and liquor exceptions; one hearing continued

The Jacksonville Land Use & Zoning Committee approved a series of zoning and land-use items at a Jan. 21 meeting, voting to advance multiple rezoning ordinances, a pair of alcohol exceptions and several PUD rezonings after staff presentations and brief public comment.

Why it matters: The actions change zoning or allow new or renewed uses at sites across the city, affecting land development patterns, business operations and where alcohol may be sold. Several approvals were framed as compatible with existing corridors or as reuses of longstanding commercial buildings.

What passed (committee action summaries): - Ordinance 2025828 — Conventional rezoning (CCG1 to CCG2) to permit a rental-car business near Jacksonville International Airport. Staff recommended approval; no public opposition recorded; committee approved. (Transcript vote line: '68, 0 nays' as read by the clerk.)

- Ordinance 2025859 — Large-scale land-use transmittal to change 337.29 acres from rural residential to low-density suburban residential and extend the suburban development boundary. Planning staff recommended approval; the planning commission had unanimously forwarded the item; the committee approved following applicant presentation and a small amount of public comment.

- Ordinance 2025860 — PUD rezoning (~1.7 acres) for Chef's Gardens of Jacksonville to renovate an existing industrial-park building for catering and events; staff and planning commission recommended approval; committee approved.

- Ordinance 2025861 — PUD rezoning (~5.14 acres) to allow private automobile/vehicle garage condominiums along Phillips Highway. Committee adopted an amendment (to adopt a revised site plan and written description dated 01/13/2026) and approved the bill as amended.

- Ordinance 2025863 — Waiver to reduce required road frontage to permit subdividing a lot and building a second single-family dwelling (RLD-60). Staff recommended approval; applicant provided easement documentation showing proposed rear access; committee approved.

- Ordinance 2025888 — Zoning exception to allow on-premise sale and service of all alcoholic beverages at a proposed local boutique grocery, butcher and tasting-room on Mayport Road (the former Terry's Country Store site). Applicant described a neighborhood-serving reuse and event space; committee approved.

- Ordinance 2025889 and companion waiver (WLD 25-16) — Exception for off-premise sale of all alcoholic beverages (package store/drive-through) at a site on Blanding Boulevard and Confederate Point Road and a waiver reducing minimum liquor distance to a nearby church from 500 feet to 178 feet. Planning staff and the applicant noted the site's prior liquor uses and nearby alcohol-serving uses; the committee approved the exception and companion waiver.

What was continued: Ordinance 2025862 (conventional rezoning from commercial office to residential office for a single-family home on Rejero Road) was continued to Feb. 3, 2026, to allow the applicant time to consult with the district council member and for staff/district outreach to proceed.

Details on votes and procedure: Committee actions generally followed staff recommendations and the planning commission's prior unanimous votes where noted. The clerk read the vote tallies in the transcript; in multiple instances the clerk's line appears in the record as strings such as '68, 0 nays' or '78, 0 n 8' (transcript text reproduced here exactly as read). Where the transcript showed unclear numeric formatting, the article quotes the clerk's spoken text rather than inferring exact numeric totals.

What to watch next: Items continued to Feb. 3 will return to committee with any new district-council input. Several of the approved rezonings and exceptions require subsequent administrative steps (building permits, site-plan implementation and, for liquor uses, licensing) before businesses can open.