by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For the last year, the City has been rewriting the entire zoning ordinance; all 16 sections of Ch. 656 of the Municipal Code.
Although the rewrite will be eventually submitted as a finished product, it is being done section by section. So far, the cellular phone tower and the landscaping ordinances have been addressed. And, while the City’s sign ordinance is on the way to being dramatically changed, amending the zoning laws that pertain to how far liquor-serving establishments must be from churches in the downtown area may draw the most criticism and public outcry.
The idea is not to create a free-for-all atmosphere with a topless bar across the street from a church, but rather to help make the creation of a future downtown entertainment district easier.
Mike Herzberg, the City’s zoning administrator, said the new code is months away from being reality and he doesn’t expect drastic changes in the current zoning laws or distances. At present, the code requires any establishment with a full liquor license to be at least 1,500 feet from the nearest church. That measurement, however, has variations to it.
“It depends on the type of liquor license, the class of the license and whether or not they serve food,” said Herzberg. “A 4-COP establishment, one with a full liquor license consumable on the premises, must be 1,500 feet from the nearest church. A 4-COP probably doesn’t serve food.
“A 4-COPSRX is a license for a restaurant that has a certain number of seats and a certain number of square feet. They must serve 51 percent food and they can be 500 feet from the nearest church.”
What makes these zoning laws difficult to comply with and will make establishing an entertainment district downtown difficult is two things: one, the number of churches in the downtown area and, two, the method by which the required distance is measured.
There are approximately a dozen churches in the immediate downtown area and the distance is not measured by either walking or driving city blocks.
“It’s measured as the crow flies,” said Herzberg. “It’s measured from the nearest portion of the bar to the nearest portion of the property used for church grounds. It’s measured from a survey.”
City Council vice president Suzanne Jenkins said amending the zoning laws is as much about the distant future as it is about making downtown Jacksonville an inviting place for businesses, regardless of their nature.
“It’s certainly something we have to look at if we want downtown to become a neighborhood again and have an entertainment district,” said Jenkins. “The downtown master plan said it [an entertainment district] is what we wanted.”
Jenkins wouldn’t say that the current laws on the books were written on papyrus, but they are old enough to consider amending to reflect the current calendar year.
“I don’t know if they are antiquated, but I do think they need to be fine tuned,” said Jenkins. “I think we need to have laws on the books, but we should always have exceptions and variances. I think you also have to have a balance in the type of establishments downtown.”
While she is all for progress, Jenkins also made it clear that she wants to consider the wishes of current, longtime downtown businesses, religious establishments and schools.
“We should always respect them and the type of establishments they are,” said Jenkins, adding, however, that anyone interested in investing in downtown should be afforded the same respect from a business standpoint.
According to Herzberg, the City isn’t looking at radically altering the distances currently in the zoning code, but with the assistance from a consulting firm that has been on board for almost a year now, they are looking at ways to come to compromise with downtown churches and schools.
“The City isn’t going to specifically reduce those distances,” said Herzberg. “We are trying to look at where we are with the code and how it relates to what we want to do downtown. There may be conflicts with the entertainment district and downtown schools and churches. We are looking at modifying the requirements but I hesitate to give any specific reduction figures.
“It may be something as simple as ‘In certain districts ...’”
Rewriting the entire code has already proven to be a time-consuming task. Considering the attention that such issues as the cell towers and landscaping drew, Herzberg said he expects plenty of debate on any zoning changes or relaxed requirements as far as bars and churches go.
“It’s a very, very small component of the rewrite, but it’s very important for downtown,” said Herzberg. “I don’t necessarily expect a big war over it. It’ll be up to the City Council and the citizens to determine what happens. The citizens will have a great deal of input. We are in the process of drafting scenarios that will go to citizens groups and CPACs [Citizen Planning Advisory Committee] and other public hearings. The public will have a great deal of input in the future of the zoning laws.”
Although the entire code is being rewritten section by section, Herzberg said it is not being submitted to City Council for final approval piece meal.
“The intent is to adopt it all at once,” said Herzberg.