by Sean McManus
Staff Writer
Argyle residents want to know why anybody would want to move into a place where they aren’t wanted. In this case, it’s a 14,500 square-foot Walgreens drugstore slated for some hot property at the corner of Argyle Forest Boulevard and Rampart Road on the Westside. The people who live in the area say they aren’t interested.
“It’s nothing personal,” said David Hodges, the president of the Argyle Area Civic Council, a group representing about 20,000 homes in Argyle. ”We just don’t need another pharmacy in our neighborhood.”
Tony Sleiman, president of Sleiman Enterprises and the developer of the project, could not be reached for comment.
Representatives of the Civic Council voted last week to oppose the land use change for Sleiman for the two acres at the intersection of the busy roads. The vote was almost 3-1 against the measure from those members who participated in a straw poll at the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church. It was 11-2 against the measure from those residents who live within 35 feet. There were about 40 people at the meeting.
An attorney for Sleiman, Robert Heekin, was quoted earlier this week as saying he realizes growth and change were sometimes painful.
According to Hodges, Joe Forshee, the permitting specialist for Sleiman Enterprises, approached the AACC about three months ago about whether they wanted a new Walgreens in the neighborhood.
“When we told him two months later the preliminary vote was ‘no,’ they put up the rezoning signs anyway,” he said.
Hodges, who spearheads the AACC, which meets monthly and even posts agendas and minutes on their website, said it seems to him like some developers aren’t doing their homework.
“I mean, there’s another Walgreens and a Publix pharmacy right down the street,” he said. “Forget about the neighbors. What about market research?”
According to Hodges, the neighbors would ideally like to see a senior citizen center or a park on the property where the Walgreens would go.
Hodges said the City’s 2010 comprehensive land plan has that property zoned for residential development.
“But there seems to be a loophole that allows zoning decisions to be changed by City Council, even though we always understood the State would have to override something like that,” said Hodges.
A public hearing before City Council is scheduled for Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. The Jacksonville Planning Commission will address the zoning request the following day. The topic will then be discussed by the Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee on Dec. 3.
But the efforts of Hodges and the AACC signal a growing activism among community organizations, which are beginning to notice that their voices can be heard.
“We had a sheriff’s substation installed in the neighborhood and a new fire station, just by lobbying for them,” said Hodges. “We even got the speed limit raised on Rampart Road. It was slowing everything down for no reason. It’s amazing what you can do if you don’t care who is getting credit.”
Hodges said he plans on contacting Walgreens directly, to make sure they know there is opposition to a new pharmacy. And he said his group is not opposed to all development.
“There is a need for a Lowe’s,” said Hodges, “and people want a hardware store, restaurants and department stores.”I just don’t understand. I thought they’d want to know what we would want there. We’re the ones that buy things.”