Fight against downtown storage facilities returns, neighbors voice concern at town hall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The fight to keep storage facilities out of most of downtown Jacksonville has returned, but this time it’s focused on the Southbank.

Developers applied to rezone an empty lot at the corner of Hendricks Avenue and Prudential Drive. It is currently zoned for commercial use. This application would allow for a planned unit development like a storage facility.

“It makes no sense to put a storage facility two blocks from the river when there is plenty of room elsewhere I think this could go,” Bryan T., a neighbor, said.

He’s one of more than 200 who signed a petition against the proposal and joined dozens at a town hall meeting in San Marco Monday night.

The controversy might sound familiar because a proposal to allow storage facilities in the entire downtown overlay was killed by the city council last summer. This application for rezoning stems from the same bill, but instead focuses on just one lot on the Southbank.

RELATED: Council kills bill to allow storage units in downtown Jacksonville, fight continues

“There’s a reason it got pulled across the whole downtown. Why would we want to make a single exception for this?” Andrew Tyrell, with the San Marco Preservation Society, said.

The organization hosted Monday night’s town hall meeting after hearing from the developers about the plans earlier this month.

According to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the Southbank is still part of the downtown overlay which doesn’t allow for storage units. But according to the application for rezoning, “it does not prohibit mixed-use developments that include integrated self-storage.”

It goes on to say, “this prohibition was established before more than 5,000 multi-family units were proposed.”

The bill for rezoning is currently sitting in the Land Use and Zoning Committee. A public hearing for the $27,500,000 project is scheduled for Feb. 22nd.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.