by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Ponte Vedra Beach lawyer Deborah Andrews went to Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to speak for her clients. Instead, she got a police escort out of the room.
Andrews said she has spent plenty of previous time at the podium in the Council chambers, but said this was the first time police have guided her out. She specializes in land use and zoning cases, which might surprise Council president Lad Daniels, who wondered Wednesday if Andrews had any experience in the area.
The incident has been a bit overblown, Andrews said, particularly the police involvement. She was surprised to see her picture in the Florida Times-Union. She didn’t even realize there was a photographer in the room.
“I think people are making too big a deal about the police,” she said. “It’s not like they hauled me off.”
She didn’t go to the meeting to cause trouble, she said Wednesday, and didn’t want to embarrass anybody. However, she said her clients had legitimate objections to a pair of shopping “supercenters” planned for the intersection at Beach and Hodges boulevards.
Daniels who directed Andrews’ escort from the room said the time for public input on the issue had come and gone. He said Andrews and her clients, the residents of Jacksonville Golf and Country Club and Windsor Park, had ample opportunity to make their case during numerous committee meetings and other public reviews.
“The committee review of this was not something that was done in haste,” said Daniels. “It was thorough and extensive, and we certainly did our part in seeking public input on this one.”
Allowing Andrews to make her case, Daniels said, would have meant re-opening deliberations on both sides. Daniels dismissed her ill-fated trip to the podium as a publicity stunt.
If given the chance to speak, Andrews said she wanted to dispel the myth that construction at the intersection was a foregone conclusion. Although the area is zoned for retail, Andrews said the Council should have considered how building a Super Target and a Wal-Mart Supercenter across the street from one another would impact surrounding neighborhoods.
“Of course retail is allowed, that’s a no-brainer,” said Andrews. “But that doesn’t mean there’s no issues to be considered. If you look at privacy, safety for the surrounding neighborhoods and the effect on traffic, these are clearly factors that should have been heard and discussed prior to a vote.”
The Council voted 14-1 to approve both stores. Art Graham was the only Council member to vote against.
Andrews said she spoke against the construction at last week’s Land Use and Zoning Committee meeting. She said her comments were limited to three minutes. The committee considered the two projects together, giving her a minute and a half to address each, she said.
Approaching the podium uninvited was the only way for her to get her clients’ objections on the record, she said. She said her clients were considering whether to appeal the Council’s decision, either to the Council or to district court.
Daniels said he empathized with the residents, but said the stores’ actual impact would probably be less than imagined.
“I understand the emotional nature of a zoning like this, of this size and potential impact on people in the area, but I think the perception of the problems will be greater than the actual effects. I say that coming from 30 years experience living on the corner of Baymeadows and Southside,” said Daniels.