Arlington homeowners who oppose two town home developments near their properties went 1-for-2 on March 4 as members of a Jacksonville City Council committee sided with them on one project and with the developers on the other.
The proposed developments are planned on a 3.3-acre property at southwest Townsend Boulevard and Fort Caroline Road, and on 11.38 acres to the northwest of that site at 7535 Fort Caroline Road between Townsend and Allenby Drive.
Plans call for 69 town homes at 7535 Fort Caroline Road and 20 on the other site.
On a 7-0 vote, the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee recommended denial of rezoning for the 7535 Fort Caroline Road property. That vote came on Ordinance 2025-0005, which would rezone the property from Residential Low Density-60 to Planned Unit Development.
On the other project, the committee voted 6-1 to recommend approval of Ordinance 2024-0922, which would rezone the property from Commercial Office and Residential Low Density 60 to Residential Medium Density. Committee member Ken Amaro, whose District 1 includes the site, cast the no vote.
At least 60 neighbors turned out to the LUZ meeting, many of them raising concerns about traffic congestion from the infill developments. In the case of the larger project, neighbors criticized it as being out of character with adjacent neighborhoods predominantly comprising single family homes.
“We’re a single-family community. We moved to that area because it is single family,” said Ed Radloff, president of the Colony Cove neighborhood home owners association. “Now you want to put in 69 town homes? That just doesn’t seem right.”
Colony Cove is one of several neighborhoods adjacent to the site, which is between Townsend Boulevard and Allenby Drive.
Neighbors also raised concerns about traffic congestion on Allenby Drive and on Fort Caroline Road, the effect of the town homes on property values of neighboring homes, drainage and overcrowding in the town home community. A common thread was that in an area where the homes are mostly single-story and constructed of brick, the two-story town homes with board siding would be out of character.
Cyndy Trimmer, a Jacksonville land use attorney who represented project developer RCBF Properties LLC, said the development team had worked extensively with neighbors to revise the project with respect to their concerns. She said a building was eliminated from the original plans, allowing for larger buffer zones, more landscaping and relocation of a retention pond.
She said the developer conducted a traffic study showing that the additional traffic, estimated by city staff at 497 trips per day, would not overburden streets in the neighborhood. As for property values, Trimmer said the town homes would be sold at just under $300,000 and would have little effect on nearby values based on a comparison of another Arlington-area neighborhood where town homes had been built.
By right, Trimmer said, the developer could have developed up to 79 town homes.
The property is owned by Fort Caroline Christian Church Inc., according to Duval County Property Appraiser records.
Amaro said he opposed the rezoning based on a goal of the city’s master land-use regulations to protect and preserve the character and fabric of neighborhoods.
“This proposal does not meet that threshold,” he said.
At-large Council member Ron Salem, who has lived in the Colony Cove neighborhood since 1983, urged the committee members to look at the neighbors in the crowd and take their concerns to heart.
“This is just a bad idea,” he said. “I hate it when the developers constantly tweak and change and tweak and change (their plans) and they try to get you to a point where you almost have to vote for it.
“This development is inconsistent with this area, period. And they said they don’t want it, and you should listen to them.”
Regarding the developer’s changes to the plans, he said: “They’ve got a pig, they put lipstick on it, they’re trying to get you to vote for it.”
The Planning and Development Department staff recommended approval of the rezoning, and the Jacksonville Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend it.
Erin Abney, city chief of current planning, said properties near the site contained town homes and apartments.
Committee member Joe Carlucci agreed with neighbors that the project was out of place.
“Everything can always look good on paper,” he said. “You can tweak the numbers to where it all makes sense and is justified, and then you can look at it in reality and see it just doesn’t fit whether it was drawn up correctly on paper or not.”
On the property at Townsend Boulevard and Fort Caroline Road, committee chair Kevin Carrico said he supported the rezoning based on subtle but significant differences between it and 7535 Fort Caroline Road. For one, it is south of Fort Caroline Road, where it is closer to large apartment and condominium communities along Townsend.
He said that compared to 7535 Fort Caroline Road, where the town homes would be surrounded by single-family homes, the site is a transition area.
Amaro disagreed, citing traffic concerns and saying the property was currently zoned appropriately.
The planning staff and Planning Commission both recommended approval of the ordinance. A staff report on the legislation lists the property owner as Ilya Soroka, a manager of Townsend Road LLC.
“I’m happy that the 69 was defeated, but I’m disappointed we did not get both of them,” Radloff said.
Radloff said neighbors had successfully opposed a previous development plan for the property at the intersection, reducing it to two single-family homes and an office building. The property sold, he said, allowing a new owner to introduce a new proposal.
The votes advance the ordinances to consideration by the full City Council, likely on March 11.