Over neighbor fears, rezoning OK's subdivision by Jacksonville's 7 Creeks Recreation Area

Steve Patterson, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
Rezoning and land-use hearing notice signs tell people about plans to develop a 97-home subdivision in the middle of Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park.
Rezoning and land-use hearing notice signs tell people about plans to develop a 97-home subdivision in the middle of Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park.

Jacksonville’s City Council narrowly approved rezoning legislation Tuesday night allowing construction of close to 100 homes on property surrounded on three sides by state parkland in the 7 Creeks Recreation Area.

The 10-9 vote to rezone about 49 acres at 6131 Cedar Point Road followed months of efforts by residents in nearby areas to oppose the planned Terrapin Creek subdivision as overdevelopment in a rural area vulnerable to both flooding and forest fires.

Land managers in the neighboring Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park set controlled burns in the woods adjacent to the subdivision site and the fires sometimes jump beyond planned boundaries.

This 2013 photo shows a wildfire that jumped Cedar Point Road and ignited a second fire.
This 2013 photo shows a wildfire that jumped Cedar Point Road and ignited a second fire.

A council zoning committee agreed last month to require that a development plat for the subdivision and any homeowner association covenants to carry a notice that “prescribed burning will create smoke, which may temporarily impact the neighborhood and surrounding areas” and to encourage homeowners to follow state wildfire safety standards known as Firewise.

But neighbors and representatives of the Timucuan Parks Foundation, a nonprofit support organization for parks in the area, still expressed concerns about whether the homes, mostly planned on suburban-style 60-foot lots, would be adequately protected. An attorney for the property owners seeking the rezoning told council members the site would have fire protection as well as water and sewer service and would be engineered to handle stormwater runoff to prevent flooding.

A survey marker shows the edge of St. John River Water Management District parkland yards away from orange and green public notice signs (background) on neighboring property being rezoned for a 97-home subdivision.
A survey marker shows the edge of St. John River Water Management District parkland yards away from orange and green public notice signs (background) on neighboring property being rezoned for a 97-home subdivision.

The council had previously limited development over large parts of Cedar Point and Sawpit roads through a zoning overlay designed to retain the area's rural character, but the property the council rezoned had been excluded from that overlay.

Voting in favor of the rezoning were council members Aaron Bowman, Michael Boylan, Kevin Carrico, Rory Diamond, Terrance Freeman, Reggie Gaffney, Jr., Nick Howland, Sam Newby, Ju’Coby Pittman and Randy White.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: City Council rezones land by state park for Jacksonville subdivision