JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Neighbors in Jacksonville said in a meeting Monday they’ll do everything they can to stop the opening of a new liquor store on the city’s Westside.
Dozens of people attended the community meeting to discuss a new Shores Fine Wine and Spirits store planned on the corner of Collins Road and Old Middleburg Road in the Oakleaf area.
“A liquor store or some kind of venue that’s similarly situated, Mr. Councilman, would impact our property values,” said Michael Rogers, president of the Longleaf Master Homeowners Association, to City Councilmember Rahman Johnson, District 14, at the meeting.
Neighbors said they worried about traffic, property values and the fact the liquor store would be near a school and a daycare. Residents like Articia Burrell, another HOA president whose grandson attends the nearby school, said the decision to build a liquor store "happened behind their backs."
"Some of the children do after care so there’s less adults in the area as they’ll be walking to the different communities going home,” Burrell said. “So that’s a huge concern for us.”
City representatives including officials from Jacksonville's office of general counsel, planning and development department, and traffic engineering answered questions from community members. Johnson, who hosted the meeting, said the land was rezoned in 2021, allowing a liquor store.
"We have got to take a comprehensive look at the zoning code and it needs to be overhauled because you end up in situations just like this where you’re putting things in communities where people feel they don’t belong and they feel their voices aren’t heard,” Johnson said.
The owner of Shores Liquor did not want to do an on-camera interview, but told First Coast News over the phone they’re a local, family-owned business. He said the new store will be “upscale” and that they already have the permits needed and construction has started.
“I don’t think this is going to bring any negative effect to the community and we’re not trying to have any nuisance here and want to have an upscale operation,” he told First Coast News.
The store owner was not at the meeting, which Johnson said he was surprised and disappointed by. The owner told First Coast News that must have been a miscommunication because they told Johnson they were more comfortable meeting with a smaller group and with him personally instead.
In north Jacksonville last year, residents won a fight against a liquor store that was set to open near a school and the city of Jacksonville decided to buy the property for nearly $2 million. Johnson said that situation does not apply to this one.
