Neptune Beach board continues Jarboe Park open‑air market application to get vendor, parking and sanitation details

The Neptune Beach Community Development Board on April [date in agenda packet] voted to continue an application for a one‑day open‑air market at Jarboe Park so staff, the parks director and the applicant can return with more detailed plans.

Heather, a city staff member who presented the application for DP2603, told the board the packet included a site layout, traffic and parking plans, vendor display rules, trash and sanitation plans and liability documentation. She said the market is planned for Aug. 22 and that the applicant proposed using the Here Tomorrow facility dumpster and the Neptune House restrooms for visitor needs. “They’ve given details of their floor requirements…they will be taking all of those to the dumpster of the Here Tomorrow facility,” Heather said.

Board members raised several recurring concerns that led them to pause decision‑making: the absence of a vendor list; uncertainty about overflow parking and whether the applicant has a formal agreement with the nearby church that is shown for overflow parking; possible damage to newly sodded park areas if food trucks park on grass; restroom capacity and the need for additional portable toilets; vendor licensing and enforcement (including alcohol and other regulated goods); security planning for crowd size and potential alcohol service; and whether a tiered fee should be adopted to offset city expenses for larger events.

One member suggested relocating food trucks to the north side of the park along the Bay Street path to minimize impacts on recently sodded areas and ease ingress and egress. Heather said staff and the parks director had reviewed the layout and that staff could request the applicant provide attendance estimates and a formal shared‑parking agreement; she also said the applicant had been working with staff since January and could return with revisions. “If you requested revisions I can take it back to the applicant,” Heather said.

After discussion the board moved to continue DP2603 to the May meeting so the applicant and the parks director can be present to answer questions and provide a vendor list, an estimated attendance figure, documentation for overflow parking, a plan for additional restrooms, and a security plan. The motion passed with affirmative votes from the members recorded on the transcript.

What happens next: staff will relay the board’s ten specific items (landscaping and truck parking, restroom capacity, vendor vetting and licensing, shared‑parking agreement, applicant attendance at the next hearing, fee considerations, and security requirements) to the applicant and the parks director and schedule the application for the board’s May meeting.