A proposed development on 170 acres of wetlands on
Jacksonville's Southside remains alive but will get closer scrutiny in light of
the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council's vote against it, Jacksonville
City Council members say.
The wetlands are located in Freedom Commerce Centre, an 855-acre tract that
is an island of green space, thick with forested wetlands, amid the concrete sea
of suburbs along Interstate 95, Baymeadows Road, and Philips Highway. The
Goodman Co. of West Palm Beach wants permission to build a mall-size collection
of stores, restaurants, office parks, and apartments in the southern end of the
tract, adding to what's already allowed for construction in Freedom Commerce
Centre.
Under state growth-management laws, such large-scale developments first
undergo review by the regional planning council, which then forwards a
recommendation to City Hall.
The planning council's staff recommended approval of the Freedom Commerce
Centre application. Brian Teeple, executive director of the council, said the
vote to override the staff recommendation marked the first time that had
happened to such an application in his 15 years with the council.
That doesn't kill the proposal, but it does "raise some flags," said City
Councilwoman Lynette Self, chairwoman of the council's Land Use and Zoning
Committee.
"It's almost new territory," Self said. "It will bring out more discussion."
City Councilwoman Gwen Yates, who also sits on the regional planning council,
said she doesn't think the planning council's vote will sway the City Council.
"I think that the City Council is very independent, and we'll look at it and
we'll ask more of the questions that were asked to see what we're comfortable
with," said Yates, who voted for the project when it came before the regional
group.
Mayor John Delaney, who has made land preservation a top priority at City
Hall the past two years, will get a briefing from his top administrators before
deciding whether he supports or opposes the project, said Audrey Moran, the
mayor's chief of staff.
The Freedom Commerce land is not on City Hall's list of potential sites for
acquisition in the Preservation Project, said Mark Middlebrook, a mayoral
administrator for the program.
Middlebrook said that to become eligible, property first gets reviewed on a
17-point checklist that assesses how a purchase would help manage growth,
preserve environmentally sensitive land, protect water resources and give the
public access to nature. The Preservation Project also seeks "willing sellers"
and works with other organizations to obtain funding for purchases.
"There are a lot of projects that may qualify for it, but we don't have the
funding for them or don't have a partner for them," Middlebrook said.
To offset the loss of wetlands, The Goodman Co. agreed to set aside for
preservation at least 226 acres of wetlands and scattered uplands elsewhere in
Freedom Commerce Centre; restore 951 acres at St. Marks Pond in mid-St. Johns
County to its "original state" and donate it to the water management district;
and donate $1 million to the Preservation Project.
The Goodman Co. also would set up equipment to clean up the polluted water
onto the Freedom Commerce Centre from surrounding property through drains and
culverts. Under that plan, the developer would treat pollution it's not
responsible for to improve the qualify of water flowing into Julington Creek,
said John Dowd, senior vice president of the company.
But opponents on the regional planning council said The Goodman Co. had not
pledged to do enough to offset the loss of wetlands. The St. Johns River Water
Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still must rule on
wetlands-related permits, and both agencies have raised concerns about the
developer's plan.
The Sierra Club, Audubon Society and Florida Wildlife Federation have opposed
the project.
