Councilmember holds fast-track meeting after residents allege sewage, missing permits and slow repairs at East Side HUD properties

City Councilmember Jimmy Paluso convened a recorded public meeting at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3 to hear residents’ complaints about living conditions at two HUD project-based properties on Jacksonville’s East Side and to press property management and city code compliance for follow-up.

Residents and community leaders described ongoing health and safety problems they say persist despite recent renovations. “A little over $3,000,000 has gone into these projects,” Dennis Sanchez told the meeting, and “people are living in practically sewage,” accusing the developer and management of failing to secure required plumbing permits and of using nonlocal labor. Latavia Harris said publicly funded remediation had not addressed core infrastructure and warned that community benefits agreement money should not be used to fix problems the owner already received funds to address.

Management representatives and code compliance officials disputed some characterizations while acknowledging outstanding issues. Carmen Roman, a representative of Eastside Gardens, said the properties had been in poor condition before the current ownership and listed capital improvements completed since purchase, including new roofing, window replacement, plumbing repairs and HVAC installations. Roman told the meeting that Eastside Gardens’ most recent REAC/INSPIRE score rose to 99% and that East Side Terrace scored 90% after renovations.

William Hanks, Zone 1 supervisor in the municipal code compliance division, described the city’s enforcement process and cited a recent sewage incident the city observed on Nov. 6, 2025. Hanks said the circumstance involved a vacant unit, that maintenance had been working to remediate the condition before inspectors arrived, that the owner received a 72-hour notice and a subsequent fine when the initial correction was inadequate, and that the case was closed after the unsanitary conditions were removed.

Councilmember Paluso pressed management and code enforcement on access to units, repair timelines and tenant notification. Management said roughly 70 of the combined 96 units have been retrofitted, with approximately 20–30 units remaining. Management described occupancy in the two buildings at roughly 89–91% and said some repairs require tenant permission to enter occupied units. Paluso urged more proactive tenant outreach, suggesting quarterly or neighborhood meetings so residents know how to report problems and what to expect.

Code compliance officials said tenants should submit work orders to trigger repairs and inspections; inspectors must obtain legal access to enter occupied units. Hanks said inspections led to citations for unsanitary conditions and damaged exterior stairs after inspectors were granted access in a limited number of units. He emphasized the city’s approach is to seek voluntary compliance, with timeframes ranging from 24 hours to 30 days depending on severity.

Residents called for stronger accountability and an on-site community meeting so tenants can speak directly. “We couldn’t get the city to come out,” Latavia Harris said, urging the council to withhold community benefits agreement funds until existing issues are resolved. Dawn Curling, a business owner and community leader, said plumbing and infrastructure should be prioritized: “For raw sewage to be coming out of pipes and coming down the street where children have to play is despicable,” she said.

Paluso said he plans to schedule another community meeting in the neighborhood, requested that code compliance notify his office as open cases are closed or if complaints increase, and asked management for the remaining unit-by-unit rehab timetable and documentation of HUD inspection scores.

The meeting adjourned without a formal vote; Paluso moved to the scheduled community benefits agreement meeting at 10 a.m.