Jacksonville City Council is set to consider a bill aimed at speeding up development by limiting public hearings and taking some decision-making away from appointed officials on some zoning matters.
Ordinance 2026-0364, introduced by Council member Rory Diamond, would make the city’s Planning Department responsible for decisions on applications for administrative deviations on zoning. The authority to grant those deviations currently lies with the Planning Commission, an appointed body.
In a text message, Diamond said the bill was aimed at facilitating more affordable housing in Jacksonville.
“The purpose of the Bill is to make administrative deviations administrative,” Diamond wrote in a text.
“There is no reason to add 6 months to infill permitting. We need the housing and this provides a faster, more transparent process to allow for the building on small infill lots.”
Administrative deviations from the zoning code allow for changes to individual property requirements without needing a full rezoning or land use change. Deviations can apply to lot sizes, requirements for parking spaces, landscaping and structure height.
Under present code, the Planning Commission decides on administrative deviation requests after Planning Department staff review applications. As part of the process, the commission takes testimony from individuals supporting or opposing the application. The commission then provides a final ruling on the matter based on what is presented to them, though those decisions can be appealed to Council.
Diamond’s bill would eliminate much of the commission’s role in approving or denying administrative deviations. Instead, the commission would only take up items that had been appealed in an attempt to change the Planning Department’s decision.
Additionally, administrative deviations would scale back public notice requirements under Diamond’s bill.
Current ordinance code requires that notices of applications be mailed at least 14 days in advance of the first scheduled hearing to all owners of real property within 350 feet of the boundaries of the property involved in the application, and to all neighborhood organizations qualified to receive notice.
Diamond’s bill would alter those requirements so that all neighbors within 300 feet of the applicant would be mailed a summary of the administrative deviation requested. That notice would provide directions on how to view the full application and where objections could be sent.
From that point, the Planning Department would have 30 days to approve or deny the application. Any failure to provide a decision within 30 days would result in an automatic approval.
Planning Commission Chair Moné Holder said she was concerned the bill would reduce opportunities for neighboring property owners and others to offer feedback on applications before the commission and Council.
“The community having an opportunity to participate in public hearings for matters that affect their property, their daily lives, anything that matters in the city of Jacksonville is extremely important,” Holder said.
“It’s their right. It’s a fundamental part of democracy. Removing that part of the access is something that is concerning to me.”
The city’s Planning Department did not immediately provide a comment on Diamond’s bill.
Additionally, the bill would relax requirements for approving administrative deviations. While current ordinance code requires that the zoning administrator, a city employee in the Department of Public Works, reports positive findings on six issues to recommend approval, Diamond’s bill would require that the Planning Department make a positive finding on one of the six requirements to grant approval.
Those requirements include the following:
• There are practical or economic difficulties in carrying out the strict letter of the zoning regulation.
• The request is not based exclusively on a desire to reduce the cost of developing the site, but would accomplish some result that is in the public interest.
• The deviation does not substantially diminish property values in the area surrounding the site, alter the character of the area or interfere with the rights of individuals whose properties would be affected.
• The deviation will not create a detriment to public health, result in additional public expense, create a nuisance or conflict with other laws.
• If a deviation reduces required landscaping, it must be recommended by a city landscape architect.
• The effect of the deviation aligns with the zoning code.
Applications that do not receive an a would not be subject to public hearings under the bill. However, neighbors who feel they would be harmed by a requested administrative deviation could appeal to the Planning Commission, after paying the required fees. The city’s website lists the fee at $650.
Those commission decisions could be further appealed to Council by anyone adversely affected, which would incur more fees.
Diamond’s bill is set to appear before the Council’s Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety; Rules; and Land Use and Zoning committees. Holder expected the bill would also appear before the commission for a recommendation.
Hearing dates have not been set.