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Record of Proceedings

Land Use & Zoning Committee Meeting - May 19, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, May 19, 2026
BodyJacksonville, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:36

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

All righty.

0:02

We are going to call this meeting to order.

0:04

Welcome to the land use and zoning committee.

0:06

It is May 19th at 5 o'clock.

0:09

We're going to go ahead and get started here with introductions to the left.

0:13

Good afternoon, Councilman Reginald Gaffney, Julia, District 8.

0:17

Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the Beaches.

0:20

Joe Carlucci, district 5.

0:21

Good afternoon, Councilman Raul Arias, District 11.

0:25

Uh Terrence Freeman at large group one.

0:27

Randy White, District 12.

0:29

Terrence Harvey, Opposite General Counsel.

0:32

Aaron Abney, Planning Department.

0:34

All right.

0:35

Welcome everybody.

0:37

So we've got quite a few deferrals on the agenda today.

0:41

Yeah.

0:42

Yeah, so next next cycle is going to be pretty tough.

0:45

So we'll go ahead and go through these.

0:47

But before we get started, now that our other pages here, we'll introduce our pages tonight.

0:52

We have Elise Farkinson and we have Victoria Grissom.

0:56

So go ahead and please stand up.

0:58

Oh, thank you.

1:00

And I, yeah.

1:02

Thank y'all.

1:03

I said y'all pick the best meeting to come to.

1:05

Y'all can y'all can sit down, but uh yeah, y'all picked one of the best meetings to come to.

1:10

So all righty, we'll go ahead and get started here.

1:12

Item number one, 2026-122 is deferred.

1:16

Item number two, 2026-123 is deferred.

1:21

Item number three, 2026-124.

1:24

We're gonna go and open the public hearing.

1:26

We have one speaker card.

1:27

Tater salad.

1:37

This is Tater fucking salad.

1:39

Excuse me, sir.

1:41

This fingers for anyone who fucking votes.

1:44

All right, you're out of order.

1:45

Sergeant Barnes.

1:46

Thank you.

1:48

That was your first warning.

1:49

You're out of order.

1:50

You use profanity again.

1:52

You're still out of order.

1:52

Your time is up.

1:53

Thank you.

1:54

No, sir.

1:55

You're out of order.

1:56

Sit down.

1:57

Moving on.

1:58

We have no other speaker cars.

1:59

We'll continue this public hearing until 721 26.

2:02

Item number four, 2026, 125.

2:05

Open the public hearing.

2:07

No speaker cars.

2:08

We'll continue this public hearing until 721 26.

2:11

Item number five, 2026, 126.

2:14

This items deferred.

2:15

Item number six, twenty twenty-six one twenty-seven.

2:17

This items deferred.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████67%
Community Engagement███████████17%
Procedural███████11%
Public Safety███5%
Summary of Proceedings

Land Use & Zoning Committee Meeting - May 19, 2026

The Land Use & Zoning Committee of the Jacksonville City Council convened on May 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting lasted 25 minutes (adjourned at 5:25 PM), chaired by Joe Carlucci, with Vice Chair Rory Diamond and members Terrance Freeman, Randy White, Reggie Gaffney Jr., Raul Arias, and Rahman Johnson (excused late arrival) present. The committee addressed a heavy docket of land use and zoning items, including multiple deferrals, public hearings, and five approvals.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 2026-0124/0125 (Rampart Rd): One speaker, Tater Salad, opposed the proposal. He was removed after using profanity. No other speakers. Public hearing continued to July 21, 2026.
  • Item 2026-0310 (Boots Ln – Road Frontage Waiver): Five speakers: Xhenora Jano (support, applicant), Jamie Crawford (oppose, did not speak), Richard-Michael Smith (oppose, did not speak), Megan Graeyany (oppose, spoke about neighborhood character, traffic, safety, and fairness), and Robert Rihehart (oppose, spoke about private road maintenance and property line issues). Public hearing continued to June 2, 2026.
  • Item 2026-0345 (Margaret St Appeal): One speaker, Ashley Emans, opposed the project, citing architectural integrity. Public hearing continued to June 2, 2026.
  • Item 2026-0275 (Babylon Restaurant Zoning Exception): Ali Salman, property owner, spoke in support. Public hearing closed.
  • Item 2026-0276, 2026-0307, 2026-0308 (Sign Waivers): Anabel Soucey, applicant representative, spoke in support on each. Public hearings closed.

Discussion Items

  • 2026-0273 (JEA Rezoning – Southside Blvd): Staff reported the proposal to rezone 11.88 acres from RR-Acre to PBF-1 for the JEA H2O Water Purification Center, consistent with the comprehensive plan and compatible with adjacent uses. Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously. No committee discussion. Approved 7-0.
  • 2026-0275 (Zoning Exception – 8602 Baymeadows Rd): Staff reported that the request to allow retail sale and service of all alcoholic beverages with outdoor seating at Babylon Restaurant Lounge & Bar was consistent with the comprehensive plan and compatible with surrounding commercial uses. A previous exception existed for the same unit. No committee discussion beyond Councilmember Arias asking to meet with the applicant. Approved 7-0.
  • 2026-0276 (Sign Waiver – 6680 Powers Ave): Staff reported the request to reduce the sign setback from 10 ft to 0 ft for an existing sign at a gas station, noting the sign has been there since 2002 and moving it would impede traffic flow. Approved 6-0 (Chair Carlucci recused).
  • 2026-0307 (Sign Waiver – 7575 Melvin Rd): Staff reported the request to reduce the sign setback from 10 ft to 6 ft for a new sign in the same location as one from the 1980s. Councilmember Clark-Murray asked about pedestrian ways; staff confirmed none exist. Approved 7-0.
  • 2026-0308 (Sign Waiver – 5406 Timuquana Rd): Staff reported the request to reduce the sign setback from 10 ft to 0 ft for an existing sign at a gas station, present since 1987. Approved 7-0.
  • 2026-0310 (Boots Ln – Road Frontage Waiver): Councilmember White requested deferral pending a legal opinion and allowed speakers despite no action. Public hearing continued to June 2, 2026.
  • Second Reading Items: Items 2026-0365 through 2026-0376 (various rezoning and text amendments) were read for a second time and rereferred to the committee, with public hearings scheduled in June.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved (unanimous or near-unanimous):
    • 2026-0273: Rezoning 11.88 acres to PBF-1 for JEA water purification center (7-0).
    • 2026-0275: Zoning exception for alcohol sales at Babylon Restaurant (7-0).
    • 2026-0276: Sign waiver at 6680 Powers Ave (6-0; Chair Carlucci recused).
    • 2026-0307: Sign waiver at 7575 Melvin Rd (7-0).
    • 2026-0308: Sign waiver at 5406 Timuquana Rd (7-0).
  • Continued Public Hearings:
    • 2026-0124/0125 (Rampart Rd) continued to July 21, 2026.
    • 2026-0274 (Blanding Blvd rezoning) continued to June 2, 2026.
    • 2026-0309 (Yellow Bluff Rd frontage waiver) continued to June 16, 2026.
    • 2026-0310 (Boots Ln frontage waiver) continued to June 2, 2026.
    • 2026-0345 (Margaret St appeal) continued to June 2, 2026.
  • Deferred Items: All items marked for deferral in the agenda (2026-0122, 0123, 0126, 0127, 0289, 0290, 0291, 0292, 0293, 0294, 0295, 0296, 0297, 0298, 0299, 0300, 0301, 0302, 0303, 0304, 0305, 0306, 0311, 0363, 0364) were deferred to the next cycle (June 2, 2026 public hearing).
  • Second Reading Items: 2026-0365 through 2026-0376 were read a second time and rereferred, with public hearings set for June 2026.

Meeting Transcript

All righty. We are going to call this meeting to order. Welcome to the land use and zoning committee. It is May 19th at 5 o'clock. We're going to go ahead and get started here with introductions to the left. Good afternoon, Councilman Reginald Gaffney, Julia, District 8. Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the Beaches. Joe Carlucci, district 5. Good afternoon, Councilman Raul Arias, District 11. Uh Terrence Freeman at large group one. Randy White, District 12. Terrence Harvey, Opposite General Counsel. Aaron Abney, Planning Department. All right. Welcome everybody. So we've got quite a few deferrals on the agenda today. Yeah. Yeah, so next next cycle is going to be pretty tough. So we'll go ahead and go through these. But before we get started, now that our other pages here, we'll introduce our pages tonight. We have Elise Farkinson and we have Victoria Grissom. So go ahead and please stand up. Oh, thank you. And I, yeah. Thank y'all. I said y'all pick the best meeting to come to. Y'all can y'all can sit down, but uh yeah, y'all picked one of the best meetings to come to. So all righty, we'll go ahead and get started here. Item number one, 2026-122 is deferred. Item number two, 2026-123 is deferred. Item number three, 2026-124. We're gonna go and open the public hearing. We have one speaker card. Tater salad. This is Tater fucking salad. Excuse me, sir. This fingers for anyone who fucking votes. All right, you're out of order. Sergeant Barnes. Thank you. That was your first warning. You're out of order. You use profanity again. You're still out of order. Your time is up. Thank you. No, sir. You're out of order. Sit down. Moving on.

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