“The dog days of summer!” That was a phrase that always caught my attention. Wikipedia refers to the phrase as when the ancients believed “the seas boiled, wine turned sour, Quinto raged in anger, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies” In short, a reflection of our national condition in both government and finance. Political bodies have, in our lifetime, become both polarized and paralyzed. Wall Street and Main Street seem to be on different planets from one another… and yet the world goes on as it always does… indeed, as it must, with or without us.

So what does that have to do with the general well being and condition of Jacksonville? Just this! Though we live in a designated historic landmark city, that does not mean time has stopped and everything in the city is frozen in place as in a museum. The idea is appealing, but impractical. Jacksonville is not a city where a visitor actually travels in time to the past. Our past is always blended with the present; therein lies our dilemma. Our task is to hold on to those elements of space, design, and use, which constitute what we lovingly perceive as intrinsic to the very soul of our city.

All cities share this problem to some extent… even those as large as New York. It wasn’t until the Pennsylvania Railroad Company tore down their aging but magnificent terminal in Manhattan that people there realized something had to be done to save other famous architectural icons. For sheer beauty, the terminal had rivaled any in London, Paris, or Berlin.

Concerned at such a tragic loss, a Historic Landmark Commission was created to review both demolitions and construction of new buildings. One of the criteria established for new structures was that the project had to fit within the existing characteristics of the immediate neighborhood. This was adopted to preserve the character of neighborhoods. Though not always successful in application, it has worked well throughout the years.

In Jacksonville, we have similar problems in an attempt to hold on to our historic buildings. Recently, a new owner of historic property was given permission to move the building in order to make room for the construction of a brand new two-story structure right next to it. There is nothing in the code that ties an historic building to its location on the lot! This never should have happened and needs to be addressed in our ongoing review of codes within the city… a task which we are undertaking.

In conclusion, and on another matter, I  want to add that we have made progress and now have a code enforcement officer who is beginning a long-needed task of addressing code violations, which seem to appear from time-to-time throughout the city. Please continue to see us when you have questions about code enforcement. It is only through such vigilance that we can maintain our city character.