First Baptist Church of Jacksonville’s appeal of the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission’s denial of a demolition permit for the church’s 125 W. Church St. building could be heard May 5.
However, City Council Land Use and Zoning Committee Chair Danny Becton could defer the appeal if in-person meetings remain suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Becton said during an April 14 LUZ Committee agenda meeting that the church’s request is tentatively scheduled for a hearing the first committee week of May.
Council Resolution 2020-0188 challenges the commission’s 5-2 vote Feb. 26 that halted the proposed demolition. The commission decided the 1927 building could meet the criteria to be designated a local landmark.
First Baptist wants to demolish the building to make way for a welcome center and primary entrance for the historic 182,000-square-foot Hobson Auditorium, the church administration building and the Ruth Lindsay Auditorium.
First Baptist proposes a more than $30 million project to renovate and redevelop 1.53 acres of church property into “The Hobson Block” as it consolidates and attempts to sell a majority of its 13.7-acre Downtown campus.
The building is a contributing structure to the National Register of Historic Places Downtown Historic District.
Becton said he wants to avoid meeting about the issue via videoconferencing because of the high level of public interest in the matter.
Opposition to the demolition led by local historic preservation and Downtown revitalization group Mapping Jax brought nearly 50 people to the Historic Preservation Commission’s Feb. 26 meeting. The church had a near equal number of attendees.
“I’m certainly anticipating public input into this, so I am being very cautious because I do feel like it will be significant,” Becton said. “I’m really trying to avoid a Zoom meeting on this. I certainly think it would be difficult for nontechnical people who I do anticipate in the community will be participating in this.”
Roger Towers firm attorney T.R. Hainline represents First Baptist Church in the demolition process.
He said the church also would prefer an in-person hearing as long as the full Council votes before the Historic Preservation Commission’s May 27 meeting where it will decide whether to designate the church building as a local landmark.
“We have a very strong preference of that,” Hainline said.
The bill was filed as an emergency, but that has expired because of deferrals, so Becton said First Baptist’s appeal will be handled as a standard bill when it comes before the LUZ.
First Baptist and other developers facing public debate to their projects could have a legal reason to defer their quasi-judicial hearings until in-person Council meetings return.
Shannon Eller, chief of the city Office of General Counsel’s Land Use Regulatory & Constitutional Law Department, told developers at the April 14 agenda meeting that city lawyers cannot guarantee Council’s quasi-judicial public hearings held in the Zoom videoconferencing platform would be upheld in a lawsuit.
A policy overview filed with Ordinance 2020-0200 that allows Council to conduct virtual hearings and vote during the COVID-19 state of emergency includes a disclaimer for land use and zoning applicants and developers who need a quasi-judicial hearing to proceed:
“Applicants may request deferral of quasi-judicial matters until the conclusion of the Emergency. If an applicant chooses to proceed with a quasi-judicial matter using the emergency procedures provided herein, the applicant acknowledges that these procedures may be subject to legal challenge by an affected party,” the policy states.
That disclaimer will appear on LUZ Committee’s marked agendas,” Eller said.
“You are preceding at your own risk,” Eller said. “A lot of the items that could potentially have lots of participation have been pushed out, and we’re looking to do those public hearings at a time when everyone can participate.”
The LUZ Committee could hear the church’s appeal as late as its May 19 meeting to advance it to the full Council for a final decision before the Historic Preservation Commission takes up the landmark designation.
Becton said he would consider holding a special LUZ Committee meeting for the First Baptist appeal to ensure the issue is heard before May 27 and to accommodate public participation.
If the Historic Preservation Commission does not recommend the local landmark designation, the church automatically will be granted a demolition permit.
Likewise, if Council rejects the local landmark designation, the building can be demolished. If Council grants landmark status, the building will be preserved.
Only Council can designate a structure a local landmark.
First Baptist Church Pastor Heath Lambert said Feb. 19 the church does not have an alternate option for the Hobson Block and would take legal action to challenge local landmark status if it is approved by Council.