The Jacksonville Planning Commission approved the first step toward expansion of the Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary at 1860 Starratt Road.
Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary is a nonprofit serving Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
Its mission is to provide a safe home to endangered big cats and similar exotic animals while educating the public about their plight in their natural habitat and in captivity.
The facility has been licensed by the state since 1984 and received a federal license in 1992, according to its website.
The commission voted April 5 for a large-scale land use amendment to allow the expansion and renovation.
The facility is considered a legal nonconforming land use because it began at the location before the adoption of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan.
Expansion and renovation requires a land use amendment and rezoning. The application is only for the land use amendment. Owners will seek rezoning after the land use is processed through the state.
The property comprises 218 acres. Catty Shack wants to amend only 14.26 acres. The balance of the property is a part of the Caney Swamp and will not be used by the facility.
The planning commission also approved the first step for rezonings to be heard at the City Council Land Use and Zoning Committee on April 17:
• TDK Christian Academy at 6505 Norwood Ave. seeks to rezone 0.92 acres from Commercial Office and Community Commercial General-2 to Planned Unit Development for a private K-8 school within the three existing buildings of the Mount Horeb Baptist Church.
• Compass Rose Group LLC, which owns 17.42 acres at 7633 Wilson Blvd., seeks to rezone the property from one planned unit development to another. It previously allowed 312 multifamily units that were not developed. The new PUD provides for up to 80 single-family lots.
• Great Meadows I LLC, which owns about 97 acres at West Meadows Drive, south of New World Avenue, seeks to change its PUD to provide either multifamily of single-family.
• Spartina Cove, a 41.4-acre multifamily development on the north side of Cole Road, seeks to rezone the PUD to increase the allowable units from 220 to 270, with 50 designated as “workforce housing.” The development also allows for two single-family lots.
• DCCF Properties LLC seeks to rezone about 34 acres off Driftwood Creek Drive from a PUD and Rural Residential to another PUD.
The property is the remaining undeveloped third phase of the two completed single-family phases.
The applicant seeks to increase the number of single-family lots in the third phase from 39 to 60 by reducing lot width to 50 feet and developing additional property that was previously designated as wetland.