Land Use & Zoning Committee approves a string of rezoning and PUD actions; several items deferred for more community engagement

The Jacksonville Land Use & Zoning Committee approved a series of land-use amendments, PUD rezonings and zoning exceptions at its February meeting while continuing several contested items for further neighborhood engagement.

Key approvals and actions

- Ordinance 20260008 (land-use amendment): Approved 5–0 to change 27.47 acres to light industrial and 2.4 acres to conservation at Port Jacksonville Parkway and Alta Drive; planning staff recommended approval. - Ordinance 20260009 (companion PUD rezoning): Approved as amended 5–0; the committee adopted conditions requiring a developer-funded traffic study (methodology to be set with city designees) and limiting access to one driveway per frontage if appropriate. - Ordinance 20260010 (land-use amendment near University Boulevard West): Approved 5–0; committee discussed elevations for the companion PUD. - Ordinance 20260011 (PUD for private automotive garage condominiums): Public elevation renderings were shared; the item was continued so members could review elevations and the applicant could meet with neighbors (deferred to next meeting). - Ordinance 20260012 (land-use amendment to LDR): Approved (vote recorded 4–0 then confirmed by roll); applicant said acreage is being added to secure access to Gold Star Family Parkway without changing unit counts. - Ordinance 20260013 (large PUD amendment adding an entrance parcel): Approved as amended; staff and applicant consented to conditions including traffic study requirements and sidewalk language in the written description. - Ordinance 20260014 (rezoning for Jacksonville Port Authority employee parking): Approved; staff recommended approval with 1 condition. - Ordinance 20260017 (PUD adding medical office uses and signage modifications): Approved 4–0 after the applicant accepted a Salem amendment. - Ordinances 20260027, 20260028 and 20260029 (rural-residential conversions, waivers of road frontage, and companion rezonings): Approved 6–0; applicants plan to use private easements and in some cases well and septic. - Ordinance 20260026 (PUD to subdivide office park): Approved as amended 6–0; amendment requires a traffic study upon PUD verification. - Ordinance 20260061 (zoning exception to sell all alcoholic beverage types off-premises at an existing convenience store on Atlantic Boulevard): Approved 6–0.

Items continued

Several items were deferred for additional community engagement or to allow applicants to revise submittals: Item 20260006 (public hearing continued so applicant can adjust a proposal affecting lot sizes/setbacks), 20260011 (garage condominiums; elevations to be reviewed and applicant to meet neighbors) and 20260022/20260023 (Historic Kings Road South; committee directed applicant to meet with residents). Those items were continued to the committee's next meeting (March 3, 2026) for additional public hearing and review.

Traffic and design conditions

Multiple PUD rezonings were approved with traffic-study conditions and other site-specific conditions. Committee members consistently asked applicants to provide landscaping and elevation details and to meet with neighborhoods when concerns were raised.

Voices from the meeting

Cindy Trimmer, representing several applicants, described the approvals as technical or straightforward and said applicants were comfortable with staff-recommended conditions. Hunter Faulkner and Zach Miller, applicants’ representatives at multiple hearings, answered questions about elevations, access and buffers. Several residents across multiple items urged more engagement and expressed concerns about noise, access, and neighborhood character.

What this means

The committee’s approvals permit several industrial, commercial and residential changes to proceed toward final readings, while deferrals signal additional negotiation is likely for projects where neighbors raised concerns. Several items included explicit traffic-study and sidewalk requirements that applicants must satisfy during PUD verification or as conditions of approval.