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Jacksonville council advances resolution to steer new jail away from historically redlined neighborhoods
Summary
Councilmember Jimmy Paluso introduced a resolution asking that future site searches and RFPs avoid neighborhoods identified in the 1934 Federal Housing Administration redlining map; city staff said a contracted consultant will propose three sites and the city will hold town halls. Residents urged transparency, asked for budget details and warned past siting harmed Brentwood and other communities.
Councilmember Jimmy Paluso introduced a resolution asking the Jacksonville City Council to make explicit that future site selection for a proposed new jail should avoid neighborhoods identified on the 1934 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) redlining map.
"This resolution is about history," Paluso told the council and a packed public gallery, saying the city has already recognized past redlining and should take steps to avoid repeating decisions that concentrated public facilities in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The proposal follows work by a jail committee that studied what a modern correctional campus should include. City employee Mike Weinstein said the city issued a request for proposals to identify potential locations and asked bidders to deliver three candidate sites in Duval County and estimates of long-term capacity. "We put in an RFP to get assistance in trying to locate potential 3 sites within Duval County," Weinstein said, adding that proposals were ranked and negotiations with the top-ranked firm were scheduled for next week.
Councilmembers put numbers to the scale under discussion. Ron Salem and others cited figures ranging from a few hundred acres to as much as 400–500 acres for a spread-out campus that could house jail, juvenile shelter and other components. Several members urged the council to adopt guardrails or a map that designates areas to avoid so residents in affected neighborhoods can have clarity before an RFP winner proposes sites.
Several residents used the public-comment period to press the council on accountability, transparency and past siting decisions. Amina Sharif said the system needs closer oversight and alleged multiple custodial deaths this year, calling for thorough investigations before pursuing new construction. "People are not supposed to go to jail to get killed," she said.
Lydia Bell, president of the Metro Garden Neighborhood Association in Brentwood, recounted prior decisions that placed a medical examiner facility and a forensic lab near homes and schools and said her group has filed a federal injunction; she announced a public protest she called a "shame opening" for the medical examiner facility on Dec. 20. Labor leader Joseph Macio George questioned the purpose of town halls, saying residents have felt ignored after prior consultations.
Speakers pressed staff and councilmembers for specifics: whether city-owned sites would be prioritized (staff said ownership does not limit consideration), what the project budget would be, whether the old jail could be refurbished and whether construction would be phased. Mike Weinstein said the consultant has roughly a year to research and present candidate sites and that the city would follow procurement rules if negotiations with the top-ranked firm fail.
Paluso closed the meeting by reiterating the council's stated position: while the body acknowledges the need for a modern jail, it does not want a new jail or accessory facilities placed in the historically redlined areas identified on the FHA map. The discussion ended without a formal vote on the resolution; Paluso said the resolution is intended to guide the RFP process and to signal the council's position to potential proposers and future councils.
The next procedural step is the planned negotiation with the top-ranked consultant and subsequent town-hall meetings; no procurement contract award or final site has been announced.
