JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A piece of land along Black Creek designated as conservation land for years could be rezoned, paving the way for residential homes to be built along the water.
The Clay County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the proposal, but some people living there have started a movement to keep the land protected.
“From owls, to bird life to Florida wildlife, it’s just a great place to live," Richard Shettler, a Black Creek Resident and conservation advocate says.
Flooding, loss of habit, pollution sweeping in the water are just some of the concerns a group of neighbors has about potential development on Black Creek.
“I don’t just mean animals, I’m talking about the plants and everything that maintain the health and integrity of our waterways in Jacksonville, so this isn’t just a problem for the people who live on Black Creek, it’s a problem for anybody who enjoys the waterways," says Robin Shettler.
The site is currently designated as Branan Field Primary Conservation Network in the County's Future Land Use Map (FLUM) of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
The request to rezone was submitted by Clay County on behalf of the property owner Marvin Durrance Jr who bought the property back in 1999, before the conservation designation.
The county's requests states that; "At Master Plan adoption, both the uplands and wetlands portions of these lots were designated as Branan Field Primary Conservation Network (BF PCN). The proposed amendment seeks to amend the designation of the uplands portions only from BF PCN to BF MPC. The property owners have been prevented from developing their parcels based on the BF PNC designation which this application seeks to correct."
"The Primary Conservation Network (BF PCN) overlay district includes most creek and stream banks, major drainage ways, major wetlands, hydric soils, and FEMA designated 100 year floodplains.The BF Master Planned Community (BF MPC) land use category provides the opportunity for a mix of uses in one project, but may be developed as a combination of individual projects, the density and development characteristics to be determined relative to activity centers, neighborhood centers, PCN and existing development characteristics."
Durrance says he wasn't aware of the conservation designation until earlier this year when he got a letter alerting him that his neighbor's adjacent parcels would be rezoned. That's when he discovered his land's zoning status and reached out to the county.
“I have a lot more uplands than my neighbors have....what they're trying to rezone from conservation is just the uplands the rest would stay conservation," Marvin Durrance Jr, the landowner, said.
Durrance says the conservation designation has diminished the property's value because he can’t develop on it, which is why he originally bought the land. If approved the conservation designation would be removed from the uplands portions.
"At this point, unless it gets rezoned I wouldn't be able to use my property at all so It's like the county taking my property without compensation," Durrance said.
Durrance says at the moment, he has no immediate plans to build on the land and would be open to selling the land for conservation.
Advocates believe this is an option the county should strongly consider.
“There are means in place to buy that property from that individual and make him whole again, I think that’s an option I mean there’s all kinda of non-profits and the county has money set aside to buy that property as well but we want to see it stay the way it is," said Richard Shettler.
A public hearing will be held Tuesday during the Clay County board of commissioners meeting to discuss the rezoning.