by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Having all the parties involved sitting around the table and on the same page from day one makes any project progress faster. That can be especially true when it comes to urban development or redevelopment.
High-density mixed-use environments are well-known to be fraught with a wide range of accepted practices and guidelines that are often expressed as rules and regulations.
When the City of Jacksonville approved the “Downtown Master Plan” in 2000, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), which was part of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC) at the time, created an ad hoc group of DDA staff, architects and Downtown stakeholders that was empowered to make recommendations.
In 2003, the Design Review Committee (DRC) was created to replace the previous ad hoc effort with nine voting members including DDA staff, architects, Downtown property owners and an urban planner. Ex officio members were also included from the City’s Planning Commission and Building Inspection Division.
In 2007, the DRC was replaced by the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB). The nine voting and existing ex-officio members remained and representatives from the Waterways Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission joined the ex-officio membership.
The DDRB reviews and approves all Downtown projects that are subject to the City’s Zoning Code and performs the role previously held by the Planning Commission for Downtown development. DDRB also has jurisdiction over projects associated with the Downtown signage and the Maintenance Code.
Also in 2007, the JEDC defined and adopted the “Downtown Action Plan.” The document sets out specific goals and timelines for the development of new urban projects and for the redevelopment of existing buildings and property.
The DDRB helps fulfill one of the Downtown Action Plan’s 19 specific objectives, said Ron Barton, executive director of the JEDC.
“We committed ourselves to refining the approval process and create a one-stop shop for those who wish to develop Downtown projects. The DDRB is one piece of that commitment to be development-friendly,” he said.
The members of the DDRB possess specific knowledge that is needed in order to develop or redevelop Downtown and are charged with evaluating how projects conform to specific concepts.
“From a regulatory standpoint, we created urban design guidelines that transitioned Downtown from a suburban building code to an urban building code,” said JEDC Redevelopment Manager Eric Lindstrom. “Downtown is vertical instead of horizontal and you rarely see in the suburbs mixed-use development where business and industrial uses can be combined.”
In addition to the urban design parameters that apply to a specific project, there are also regulations on how buildings relate to each other. Taking the “big picture view” can go so far as to include evaluating where the shadow of a new building would fall on existing property.
Lindstrom said that’s why developers are encouraged to come to the JEDC and get involved in the process that will lead to the DDRB as the first step of a proposed project. That’s particularly true in Downtown projects because the majority of developers who are looking at the urban core aren’t from Jacksonville and aren’t familiar with the processes involved to complete a project.
“We’re here to facilitate development, not hinder it,” said Lindstrom. “Before the City will issue building permits, the DDRB has to grant conceptual approval to the project. The (JEDC) staff has a feel for what the DDRB wants and we encourage developers to come to us and pick our brains. The ultimate goal is for Jacksonville to have the best possible Downtown experience.”
George Register, a professional engineer with North Star Harbor Company, attended the January meeting of the DDRB when final approval for a project he designed, a 75-slip marina on the south bank of the St. Johns River east of the Main Street Bridge, was granted final approval. He works on similar projects in many jurisdictions and said the DDRB protocol is unique.
“It’s a streamlined process compared to other areas of the state. Jacksonville has a reputation for being tough but fair. The rules are well-stated and they are applied evenly. One good thing about the DDRB – they apply the rules to all developers,” said Register.
One of the projects Developer Mike Balanky took to DDRB was San Marco Place, a high-rise condominium project on the south side of Riverplace Boulevard. It’s across the street from The Strand and The Peninsula and Balanky said without a thorough review of the orientation and design of those two riverfront high-rise buildings, the value of his project could have been diminished.
“I was definitely impressed with the DDRB’s commitment to preserving the view corridors for San Marco Place and how proactive they were through the entire approval process,” he said.
The DDRB meets on the last Thursday of each month at 2 p.m. in the JEDC offices at 1 W. Adams St. All interested parties are invited to attend. Meeting agendas are posted on “Downtown Development” link on the JEDC’s home page at www.coj.net.
Downtown Development Review Board organizational structure
Voting members*
2 Architects
1 Landscape architect
1 Contractor, developer or Realtor
3 Property owner, business owner or employee
1 Urban planner
1 Transportation planner
Ex officio members
• Building inspection chief
• Traffic engineer
• JEDC director
• Planning director
• City Council district representative
• JTA director
• Waterways Commission chair
• Historic Preservation Commission chair
• Downtown Vision, Inc. director
• Duval County School Board chair
* Members serve two-year terms, staggered with contractor/developer/Realtor and property owner/business owner/business employee starting with an initial term of one year. All members are limited to three terms.
Source: Jacksonville Economic Development Commission
356-2466