JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Neighbors living near Cedar Point Road in Northeast Jacksonville are suing the City of Jacksonville one week after local lawmakers approved a controversial development.
The Jacksonville City Council approved a rezoning request that will allow 97 homes to be built on a 49-acre plot near Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve. The property is in a rural area, and surrounded by conservation land.
In their Petition for Formal Administrative Hearing, neighbors cite environmental concerns related to the development, which is in a flood zone. It's also adjacent to lands where prescribed burns are required.
The suit notes the approved plan is the same as a prior development proposal unanimously denied by the City Council in 2020.
Last week, the project narrowly passed, 10-9.
"This location is not suitable for these residential developments that they have planned in the area that is rural agriculture and surrounded by agricultural and conservation land uses," neighbors' attorney Ralf Brookes told First Coast News.
First Coast News asked the city's attorney to respond to the neighbors' environmental concerns and City Council's previous denial of the same development, but the Office of General Counsel declined to comment on pending litigation.
The city has not yet filed a formal response to the lawsuit.
The case will be heard before an administrative judge from Tallahassee.