Despite unanimously approving an overlay that prohibits construction of self-storage facilities in Jacksonville’s “downtown,” an area that includes the Southbank, city council members last week voted 11-8 to make a significant exception to their own rule.
Like any good parent—do as I say, not as I do.
City council’s majority not only made an exception to its own rule, it did so despite considerable neighborhood opposition, and despite objections voiced by the Southbank’s city council member representative.
This kind of city council majority action drives folks, if not to a deeply cynical view about local government, then certainly to feeling that citizen engagement in local public affairs is futile. So much for “government closest to the people” being best.
No one listens, so why bother?
Overriding the Overlay
San Marco’s residents, citizens, and voters lost a multi-year, well-fought effort to maintain the character of their neighborhood—basically codified in the 2019 overlay—only because the developer included four floors of affordable housing in the project.
It’s not cynical to argue that without the affordable housing component the proposed storage facility most likely would have failed. It already had.
City council members admitted as much, arguing that the affordable housing inclusion tipped the scales in favor of the developer, allowing council members to justify their votes to override the overlay. And they’re right: Jacksonville is suffering from a lack of housing working folks can afford.
Do not be fooled. The development’s primary purpose remains self-storage, else this development would be an affordable housing project without self-storage, and its design—yet to be approved—would be in keeping with the neighborhood plan.
Never give up
Public problems abound, now and forever.
Once we elect folks to public office, we cannot leave them on their own. Our representatives make better decisions when their discretion is informed by the many they are elected to represent, and not the few who benefit financially from the decisions they make.
Never let them forget that we elected them to always put the public good over private gain. Elected folks all too often confuse the two, holding that it’s their job to subsidize private development with public dollars because the public benefits in some way, if only temporarily and indirectly. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
While the city council majority may have neutered downtown’s overlay and defied the considered opinion of San Marco’s engaged citizenry, the majority only garnered 11 votes. Two additional “no” votes would have killed the deal. The public engagement on this issue by San Marco residents over several years is admirable, and something of a victory. We should take heart, and not despair.
After all, the self-storage facility design remains to be approved.
So . . . take a collective deep breath, continue to organize, write and call and email city council members, show up for their meetings, and weigh in on this development as it unfolds.
Citizen engagement matters. Never doubt it.
Don’t stop believing.
Sources:
https://cityclts.coj.net/docs/2018-0684/Original%20Text/2018-684%20EXHIBIT%201.pdf
Two powerful paragraphs:
“Once we elect folks to public office, we cannot leave them on their own. Our representatives make better decisions when their discretion is informed by the many they are elected to represent, and not the few who benefit financially from the decisions they make.”
“Never let them forget that we elected them to always put the public good over private gain. Elected folks all too often confuse the two, holding that it’s their job to subsidize private development with public dollars because the public benefits in some way, if only temporarily and indirectly. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.”
Well said, Sherry. This is a further reminder that we can't just campaign and vote for our own local-district City Council representative. The City Councilman who represents the voters out near Bayard or up near Yulee has just as much impact on our lives when it comes to the vote on issues like this one. We must help elect good City Councilpersons in every other district besides our own