Council Work Session 2/21/23—More Housing?—The main event at the work session was a proposal from Freel & Associates on expanding Jacksonville’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) into a 30-acre parcel of land known as JK-1. The parcel runs alongside the northwest side of Highway 238 near Royal Mobile Estates and runs west, connecting to North Oregon Street. Dan O’Connor presented a plan for “The Jacksonville Gateway” for up to 200 new housing units, including 50 apartments, 50 townhome-style units, and small, cottage-style homes. The development would include an access road connecting 238 to North Oregon Street, pickleball/tennis courts, a walking pathway, dog park and other amenities. A full-length version of the plan may be viewed on the city website. This is the second UGB proposal the council has heard recently—another for Stage Pass near DANCIN Winery was presented earlier. Mayor Bowen made it clear that the city is only in the investigative process at this time. Should an annexation process move forward, it would be preceded by multiple meetings/public hearings and would take up to two years to complete. The Gateway project would take 3-5 years to complete if land annexations occurs.
Municipal Code Update—Councilor Steve Casaleggio presented an update on more updates to the city’s outdated code. He reported that Title II has been reviewed and changes have been recommended regarding how the city deals with: City Council Rules, chain of command, appointment of officers, city department lists, personnel risk management, cemetery/sexton posts and more. The council will be reviewing suggestions in an upcoming meeting.
Urban Renewal Updated—At its 3/7 meeting, a Public Hearing was held on a Substantial Amendment to the City of Jacksonville’s Urban Renewal Plan that will increase its maximum indebtedness by $2,167,333 and adds the following new projects to a list of possible uses of the funds: construction of a new water storage reservoir, purchase of a new fire engine and the construction of 3rd Street pedestrian plaza along with existing restoration of historic buildings and grants for downtown/California Street property improvements.