After more than three hours of public debate and two failed attempts to defer a decision, the Jacksonville Beach Planning Commission rejected a zoning and land use change to replace the Adventure Landing amusement and water park with apartments.
The commission voted 3-2 on Sept. 26 to recommend that Jacksonville Beach City Council not approve Trevato Development Group’s application.
Jacksonville Beach-based Trevato proposes to rezone 53.8 acres to planned unit development and make land use changes to allow the 427-unit apartment community with about 5,000 square feet of retail and office space.
Commissioners echoed the concern of about a dozen public speakers at the meeting that the developer has not conducted a traffic study to see how the development would impact Beach Boulevard and surrounding streets.
The panel also wanted the developer to consider saving several live oak trees fronting Beach Boulevard and adding workforce and affordable housing to what has been pitched as a market rate apartment project.
Commission members Justin Lerman, David Dahl and Colleen Murphy White voted against the rezoning and land use measures.
Commission Chair Margo Moehring and member Emily Stouffer agreed with the Planning Commission staff and recommended approval.
Commissioner Greg Sutton recused himself due to a business connection with the Adventure Landing property.
Council has final say
The commission does not have the final say about the application. That authority lies with Jacksonville Beach City Council, which could approve Trevato’s request to allow the development to proceed as proposed.
The project, at 1944 Beach Blvd., has been in the works for more than a year.
It was put on hold in December when Trevato asked the commission for time to address concerns the city had about the project’s proximity to salt marsh, the freshwater wetlands and flood plain.
Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow partner Steve Diebenow represented Trevato at the meeting.
Following the votes, Diebenow said he intends to present the requested traffic impact study, tree survey for Beach Boulevard and a proposal for adding workforce housing when Council considers the land use and rezoning in October.
“We look forward to working with the citizens and the city to make this project even better,” Diebenow said.
“We’re going to do the things we committed to do in front of the Planning Commission.”
The denial came after what appeared to be confusion from commissioners on what they thought should be the right course of action.
Two attempts to defer a vote, one for 30 days and another for two weeks, failed. Another vote to recommend denial also failed in a 2-3 vote.
Lerman argued that recommending approval before having traffic study information would give the developer “all the power” in the situation Dahl said he felt rushed and needed more time to review documents.
Moehring and Murphy-White both urged deferral, but fail to win support.
The board chair and Stouffer said the city should be working with a developer willing to compromise, particularly when Trevato was agreeable to adding affordable housing.
Seeking studies
Jacksonville Beach city code does not require a traffic study for the requested land use change and rezoning.
Diebenow showed the commission data from the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, an industry-standard aid.
It shows existing land use could create 8,737 daily trips on Beach Boulevard if it was redeveloped with single-family residential, multifamily housing and a 40,000-square-foot to 150,000-square-foot shopping plaza.
That compares with 2,950 daily trips with Trevato’s proposal.
Diebenow said if the rezoning is denied by City Council, the developer is likely to build a shopping center at the site, which doesn’t require rezoning.
Several of the public speakers pointed to plans for two parking spots per unit from a combination of surface and parking garage spaces as evidence that the project could add hundreds of cars to Beach Boulevard and nearby streets.
The developer held two public meetings since December and spoke with surrounding business owners and neighbors to try and address concerns.
Speakers also criticized the project for what they saw as little to no benefit to existing Jacksonville Beach residents and the loss of Adventure Landing, a community amenity.
While some speakers were happy with some of the developer’s concessions, increased traffic was the predominant concern.
Resident Ken Marsh said the added cars would further congest traffic on Beach Boulevard, Third Street, South Beach Parkway and Monroe Street and called for a traffic study before approval.
“We don’t know the impact, but we should,” he said.
“It’s not about adding trips up and down Beach Boulevard, it’s about adding more cars, period. And not just Beach Boulevard but to our entire island city.”
Diebenow said existing Florida Department of Transportation data shows Beach Boulevard could absorb any increase in traffic.
Trevato has extended the amusement and water park’s lease and allowed it to operate while it worked on the land use and rezoning changes. Adventure Landing can remain open until the end of the year.
Diebenow told the commission that Adventure Landing’s lease would not be renewed and, regardless of the decision, the property will be redeveloped.
The project
The Trevato project comprises 53.8 acres, but only 10.9 acres would be developed. That’s a 40% reduction in the total land development as permitted by the city of Jacksonville Beach Comprehensive Plan.
The remainder would be conservation land.
Adventure Landing makes up 22.2 acres of the site.
Trevato adjusted its original plans in an effort to gain the rezoning approval. It increased the conservation and recreation areas from 6.83 acres to 19.43 acres while reducing the planned land zoned for Community Commercial and Low Density Residential uses by half the original request.
According to Trevato, 1,800 square feet of the commercial space would be a restaurant or coffee shop open to the public.
The remaining 3,200 square feet includes retail, office, personal service and child care as permitted uses, but nothing was announced Sept. 26.
Trevato is proposing to build a boardwalk leading from the apartments to a platform next to the marsh.
The city has been invited to build a walkway along the marsh from Shetter Avenue to connect to the platform. If the city agrees, it will be open to the public.
However, if there is no city involvement, it will become an amenity only for the apartment residents, Diebenow said.
Diebenow does not expect the average size of the units, 850 square feet, to change. He said at the meeting the average monthly rent for the market rate units would likely be $2,250 to $2,400.
The original plan was estimated to cost $80 million. It called for four three-story buildings with 8,000 square feet of leasing, club and fitness space, and a 400-space parking garage.
Diebenow told the commission that rising construction prices will likely send the final project cost to nearly $100 million, but he said the developer does not have final projections.
The next two City Council meetings are scheduled for Oct. 3 and 17. It’s unclear when it will hold the first reading on the land use and zoning proposal.
Adventure Landing
Owner Hank Woodburn confirmed in September that Adventure Landing will remain open until the end of the year. The park was supposed to have closed at the end of October 2021 but received several extensions.
Once closed, Woodburn plans to move to a location in Duval or St. Johns counties and be open by late summer 2023 at the earliest. He estimated the new park will cost $10 million.
“It would be more than that if we had to buy all new stuff. But we have a lot of the equipment currently and that helps defray the expense,” Woodburn said at the time.
Staff Writer Dan Macdonald contributed to this report.
