JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Development of Phase 1 of a development on the site of the former Kmart site on Atlantic Boulevard was approved Monday night by the Neptune Beach City Council, according to Mayor Elaine Brown.
Neptune Beach residents have strongly opposed efforts to develop the property at every step of the process.
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The original development plan for the 4.59-acre site included 175 apartments, a 74-room hotel and 107,000 square feet of commercial space. Phase 1 includes what essentially was the front parking lot of the department store, which closed years ago.
News4Jax has asked for details of what will be built in Phase 1.
The property owner of the old Kmart site at Atlantic Boulevard and Third Street filed a lawsuit against the city in September after the city shut down the property owner's plan to build apartments and a hotel. The suit, claiming the property owner was denied due process, remains in the courts.
"I think it is impossible to find that a much less intense use, which uses less water and sewer, has one-third of the traffic impacts, has an adverse effect on the public interest," said attorney Paul Harden, who represents the property owner.
The developer’s request for a zoning exception was first denied by the Community Development Board, and then by the City Council. The Neptune Beach City Council’s consideration of that request was under what’s called quasi-judicial rules, which sets some legal standards by which the council must act. The developer says those rules were violated, and it was denied due process. The developer says City Council members met repeatedly with opponents of the project, and when it came time to vote, they had pre-judged the request and rejected it because of pressure from opponents. The lawsuit seeks to strike down the vote that denied the exception.
In the meantime, developers submitted a new plan that does not include any apartments. Instead, it proposes a mixed-use space with shops, restaurants and a boutique hotel room. Local who oppose the other plans say they are fine with commercial development.