JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Approximately 30 people who attended a City Council meeting Tuesday spoke out about a new development in Northeast Jacksonville near the Pumpkin Hill Preserve.
Concerned residents say the planned development that would bring nearly 100 new homes could increase flooding in the area and make homes vulnerable to fires. The land is also right across the road from trees that have seen flames in the past. Residents are also concerned about things like controlled burns.
Despite the opposition from many residents, the City Council voted 10-9 in favor of moving ahead with rezoning the area.
“It’s almost like you’re giving the middle finger to our taxpayers and you don’t care,” one speaker told Council before the vote.
The “no” votes included Councilman Al Ferraro, who represents the area, Randy DeFoor, Joyce Morgan, Brenda Priestly Jackson, Ron Salem, Tyrona Clark-Murray, Danny Becton, Matt Carlucci and LeAnna Cumber.
The “yes” votes included Rory Diamond, Terrance Freeman, Sam Newby Ju’Coby Pittman, Randy White, Kevin Carrico, Nick Howland, Reggie Gaffney Jr., Aaron Bowman and Michael Boylan.
“I feel pretty passionate about keeping the area the way it is,” said Kevin Assaf, who lives near the preserve. “I think it’s a very unique area of Jacksonville. There’s just no where in Jacksonville like it where you can go to it and get away.”
Danielle D’Amato is also a concerned homeowner who lives in the area. She’s a biologist who specializes in wetlands.
“This area happens to be Jacksonville’s prime resiliency area, which means any type of flooding, hurricanes, anything like that — the water from those storms is going to go into our area first,” she said.
Ferraro, who notably is running for mayor, had believed the bill would pass despite the objections. He had hoped to find a compromise.
“I think this is kind of the floodgates opening up in the area of our parks and preserves, not to mention the rest of our city,” Ferraro told News4JAX before the meeting.
The landowner is represented by veteran land rights attorney Paul Harden, who said he worked on finding a compromise.
“We’re going to bring water and sewer to the site and we will have fire hydrants on our site,” he said. “If there’s a fire emergency, we have suppression there.”