by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
When downtown attorney Denise Watson stepped in as chairman of the City’s Design and Review Committee, she was excited to help shape the downtown landscape. She prepared herself to review plans for skyscrapers and multi-million dollar historical renovations. She didn’t realize she’d also have to become an expert in bus stops and advanced trash can design.
When the City Council approved last summer a wave of design changes for downtown development, it was chasing two seemingly contradictory goals: relax regulations to make downtown an easier place to set up business while preserving a consistent look and feel. When it approved the zoning overlay, the Council legally established the DRC as the arbiter of those goals.
Any permanent change to downtown’s structure starts at the DRC. Before a permit is granted, or a brick is laid, Watson’s committee ensures the project will fit into downtown’s developing landscape. From trees and streetlamps to $50 million apartment buildings, all of them took their first step on the 15th floor of the City Hall Annex at the DRC’s monthly meeting. As Downtown Development Authority board chairman Bob Rhodes puts it: “If it’s permanent downtown, it goes before the DRC.”
The committee fills advisory and supervisory roles. The DRC needs to maintain a high standard for design, but it shouldn’t be an impediment to doing business downtown said Eric Lindstrom, senior project manager for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
“Like the zoning overlay, the DRC has some discretion to allow different uses for land that might be different than what it was zoned for. Sometimes a project might be a little outside what specific regulations allow, but you just look at it and realize the project looks good and fits into what we’re trying to do downtown.”
For instance, a plan to build a Goodyear service center downtown off Clay Street had some the committee wondering whether it represented the best use for the land. Using the DRC’s recommendations, the developer flattened the roof, (pitched roofs are too suburban) agreed to build a fence around the property and added palm trees. The project was approved, and owner John O’Conner said he’d be open before the Super Bowl.
“I’m telling you, if there was a prototype for what all Goodyear buildings should look like, this would be it,” said Watson.