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An Atlantic Beach resident is suing the city to stop the planned development of a 7.2 acre patch of trees and wetlands. We also have video of the site.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/070208/nes_297856667.shtml

Last modified 7/1/2008 - 3:06 pm
Originally created 070208
  
Illegal fireworks and public drunkenness or unruly behavior won't be tolerated.

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

Beaches police from Duval and St. Johns counties are preparing to crack down on firecrackers and other explosives during Fourth of July celebrations on Friday.

In Neptune Beach, Police Chief David Sembach said all 20 city officers along with seven from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, three of those on horseback, will patrol First Street. That area has grown increasingly rowdy during Fourth of July celebrations in recent years.

"It seems everyone in the county flocks to Neptune Beach, particularly on First Street. That's where they want to do all their drinking and setting off fireworks," Sembach said, adding the problem areas of First Street are in residential areas between Seagate Avenue and Florida Boulevard. "The citizens are just getting tired of it."

People will be arrested for violations of the city's prohibition on open alcoholic containers in public places and illegal fireworks will be confiscated, Sembach said.

"On the Fourth of July, it's like people just want to get stupid. They drink too much, they party too much. Unfortunately, they think it's just part of their Fourth of July tradition. I think it's time we start changing that tradition to a more mellow tradition," said Sembach.

Neptune Beach and other Beaches cities see streets clogged with holiday revelers, many of whom resort to uncontrolled drunkenness and lighting of illegal fireworks that explode or launch skyward.

Similar preparations are being made in Jacksonville Beach, where the public fireworks display ignites the night beginning at 9 p.m. at the Jacksonville Beach pier off Fourth Avenue North.

Jacksonville Beach police spokesman Thom Bingham said the city will close the pier parking lot to give pyrotechnicians room to set up for the public display. All the city's 61 officers will be on duty.

"We're going to concentrate more on strict enforcement for illegal fireworks," Bingham said. "We're going to have teams of officers dedicated just to going out to confiscate illegal fireworks."

Bingham said individual officers will decide what to do with fireworks violators. It could include a trip to jail.

"They are subject to arrest," Bingham said. "Basically, it will include a notice to appear with a citation and they'll be released on their own recognizance. But with a citation, they will have to make a court date.

"If there are other charges along with the fireworks, they will be arrested," Bingham said.

Jacksonville Beach police will also be looking for violators of the open alcoholic container law in the city, Bingham said.

With fewer public beach accesses in northern St. Johns County, Fourth of July crowds are more manageable but sheriff's deputies will be in force, particularly in Vilano Beach, where many people gather to watch the St. Augustine fireworks.

"We've increased our personnel in every district," said sheriff's Capt. David Messenger, patrol bureau commander. "We will have shifts rotating throughout, especially the north beach, the Vilano area. There will be approximately 15 deputies patrolling that area.

"They man that beach area right there and it is packed every year. That's where we have most of our issues," said Messenger.

Further north, deputies will be patrolling from the Duval County line through Mickler's Landing. But Messenger said the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office will be relying on patrol plans that have worked for several years on the Fourth of July.

"We're pretty much going to go with the game plan that we've had for the past few years. We expect fireworks. We expect parties. We're just going to man our positions the way we have in the past few years," said Messenger, adding deputies are prepared to make arrests for violations of fireworks and open alcoholic container laws.

With thousands of outsiders expected to descend on the Beaches area Friday, Bingham said all coastal law enforcers take the holiday seriously.

"Every Fourth of July, it's extremely busy down here. We prepare for the worst," said Bingham. "We're used to the large crowds. We try to take every precaution and preplan as much as we can. There's always the possibility the crowds could be larger."

One thing that could help crowd control this year is the new Beaches trolley, which began running Friday from the South Beach Regional Shopping Center in Jacksonville Beach near Butler Boulevard to Atlantic Boulevard in Atlantic Beach, Bingham said.

Sembach said police are serious about enforcement but want people to enjoy the holiday.

"We expect not only a larger crowd but we expect it to last longer because it's on a Friday night," Sembach said. "Fourth of July is a time to celebrate and we don't mind them celebrating. However, if things begin to get out of hand ... we are going to take progressive action to prevent that."

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313.

Last modified 6/27/2008 - 3:29 pm
Originally created 062808

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Group of park users is forming, seeking people who want to 'join and take action.'

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

A new group, Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park, is forming to serve as park stewards in the face of changing regulations at the last Duval County beach that allows vehicles.

Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park has held two organizational meetings in the past month. Bobby Taylor, the group's chairman and one of about eight founding members, said he hopes the organization flourishes.

"It's more like support for some of the things the city wants to do but doesn't have the money to do," Taylor said. "The sticking point is they don't have the money."

Jacksonville currently leases the 2-mile spit of land north of the jetties at the mouth of the St. Johns River from the park's owners, the state and the Army Corps of Engineers. The city is revising a 25-year management plan that calls for occasional closure of the beach due to wildlife and safety concerns. City officials are revising the plan for the fourth time.

Taylor said Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park formed in response to the management plan that's under review. The group is seeking members who live in the area, appreciate and use the park and want to be actively involved in its evolution.

"We need people who are going to join and take action," Taylor said.

It's one thing to have a management plan, he said, but residents can't expect the city to deliver every wish-list item. That's where the group can help.

"In the draft management plan, the city is asking someone to form a Friends of Huguenot Park," he said. "I feel that we always needed some organization that combined all the users of the park into one umbrella organization."

He's trying to bring in other organizations who often use the park, such as surf associations, fishing groups and environmental conservationists.

Cliff Payne, who lives on Heckscher Drive about a mile west of the park and attended the Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park meetings, said he's encouraged.

"I like it because we're going to stay abreast of what's going on and in touch with the park management," he said. "We'll stay more connected to them and we can tell everybody if we approve or disapprove. I'm looking at concerns about the traffic during the summer out here and how the neighbors can have some input. My neighbors can't get out of their driveway because of the traffic from Huguenot."

Beach access advocacy isn't the only issue that the Friends will get involved with, Taylor said. They'll also assist in water fowl monitoring and other environmental awareness programs.

"The park needs somebody to help do shorebird monitoring to let people know when birds are on the beach with their hatchlings so we cannot have blanket closings," Taylor said. "We need volunteers to help pick up the beach and things like that."

Dale Christenson, a kiteboarder who uses the park, said he was unaware of the group's formation but he's intrigued.

"Off the bat, an organization sounds good," Christenson said. "But what kind of power are they going to have to get things changed? If it's after the fact, it's going to be too late."

Payne said there's a sense of ownership that goes with supporters of Huguenot Park.

"I haven't lived out here all that long, but I know it's worth taking care of," he said. "Think about it, it's the last place you can drive on the beach in ... [Duval County]."

The group also plans to raise money to help set up a permanent camera to monitor the beach and link to the Internet, Taylor said. Beach cams have become a popular way to observe the First Coast's shoreline and surf conditions.

In addition, the group wants to work with the city to address overflow parking, which has been mentioned several times in three previous drafts of Jacksonville's Huguenot management plan. An overflow parking site west of the beach could help ease vehicle access, even if the beachfront is closed to vehicles, Taylor said.

"There are, right now, closings of beach access during [astronomical] high tide of that beach access," Taylor said.

Currently, there are no fees to join Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park. But Taylor said that could soon change depending on how many members they get. The group wants to become a nonprofit to help begin fundraising.

The park's proposed management plan has sparked more feedback than Taylor said he ever could have expected. That means the time is ripe for the new group.

"There's a vacuum right now. There's a lot of people who have a lot to say but it's based on their personal agenda or their organization's agenda and it's not based on facts," Taylor said. "We want to be a group whose focus is going to be not limiting people's access, but to make it where everyone has equal say and we can advocate for improving Huguenot Park to where it can reach its full potential."

To join Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park, e-mail Taylor at NJsurfer@bellsouth.net.

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313

Last modified 6/27/2008 - 3:30 pm
Originally created 062808
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The city is vowing to clean up the corridor and reduce crime in the area.

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

ATLANTIC BEACH - With a dilapidated shack just west of her home and drugs and prostitution in the apartments to her east, Sarah Thomas has seen crime waves come and crime waves go.

While sweeping the driveway of her modest Stanley Road home Wednesday, the 80-year-old was glad to hear that Atlantic Beach is cracking down on code violations in the neighborhoods off Mayport Road. The effort is meant to clean up the corridor and reduce crime.

"I'm sure glad of it," Thomas said of the city's new clean-up initiative. "They need to get this place cleaned up. I'm sick of it."

Dale Hatfield, the city's new community redevelopment coordinator, knows Thomas's misery. He was a street beat police officer before the city appointed him in April to the post of revitalizing the Mayport Road area.

"That's a shame," Hatfield said as Thomas told him about the neighborhood. "But we're going to get rid of some of that mess for you."

Reassured, Thomas was thankful for his commitment. "Well, all right," she said in her soft voice.

That's the general reaction of many residents and business owners along the Mayport Road corridor. Thomas's home is just a half block east of the Road.

Hatfield said he's already spoken with the owner of the boarded-up, dilapidated home on Mayport Road, which has turned into a crack house and is a known den for prostitutes. The owner has pledged to demolish the structure within 90 days, he said.

In the few weeks since accepting his new job, Hatfield has already put homeowners and business owners along Mayport Road on notice that the city is getting rid of the blight that has plagued the area for years.

While the $5 million Mayport Road improvement project will help, Hatfield said that's not going to be enough.

He has already contacted about 150 property owners about code and zoning violations and he's dusting off old city ordinances that haven't been enforced for years.

One key ordinance that was adopted about five years ago, and has never been enforced, seeks to eliminate chain link fences along Mayport Road. Hatfield said he has already informed about two dozen property owners that they have to remove their chain link fences on Mayport Road and replace them with more decorative fencing.

He has also started enforcing an ordinance that prohibits store fronts from being covered in signs, like what is often seen at convenience stores or other quick-stop shops.

In addition, Hatfield is helping the city draft an ordinance that would let code enforcers enter private structures to inspect for zoning violations, especially at rental units. Currently, they can't enter private buildings. But the former officer has seen squalor conditions over the years in many of the buildings he's entered with search warrants.

"Lights are falling down, there are holes in the ceiling and they can't go anywhere else," Hatfield said. "We want to have a safe place for people to live. All we're asking is that they come up to code."

The new proposals are still being drafted and it's not clear when they will be finalized, he said.

Meanwhile, the enforcement of existing ordinances is already getting attention.

"I think they're doing a great job," said Marlo Gelico, general manager of the Comfort Inn motel at 2401 Mayport Road. "I'd prefer more tourists to come down to this area. If they make it a nice place to look at, more people will come here."

Thomas agreed, saying the overhaul of the Mayport Road area is long overdue.

"Ain't it the truth? I'm just so tired of it. It just needs a little work," Thomas said.

She said she takes pride in keeping her yard clean and nice, but the surrounding area has slipped over the years and she has witnessed crimes outside her home.

While many welcome the city's efforts to clean up the blight along Mayport Road, there are skeptics and critics.

"They go way too far," said Romeo Joudi, owner of Romeo's Food Store at 1211 Mayport Road. Joudi's shop has been a target for the sign ordinance and he's complied with Hatfield's request to remove most of the signs from the front window of the store.

Joudi said it hasn't been good for the store. "It's ridiculous and it's hurting our business.

"They don't want us to put up cigarette signs any more and cigarette prices are vital to our business," said Joudi. "They want me to take down my neon sign for my ATM machine."

Joudi said his business is one of the few that has been targeted by Hatfield's enforcement. But Hatfield said he has contacted all the businesses on Mayport Road that are violating the sign ordinance. It's just that not all have complied.

Violators who don't comply could face fines of $250 a day.

He said he's giving most businesses and private property owners a grace period and he points out he's only now enforcing codes that have been dormant for years.

Still, others are worried the city is overreaching on the seemingly impossible task of cleaning up Mayport Road.

Michael Hoffmann lives west of Mayport Road in a neighborhood that has complained for years that the city has ignored many of their civic issues.

In a commission meeting Monday night, Hoffmann gave Hatfield credit for helping to reduce noise in areas near Mayport Road. But Hoffmann is skeptical about enforcing other residential zoning regulations, such as preventing boats in driveways.

"I don't think it's fair and I don't think it's going to fly. What's been suggested in terms of zoning and revisiting this whole thing about boats and trailers and work trucks, it's not going to fly on the west side," Hoffmann said.

Hatfield said he understands the skepticism will persist. While he has received lots of pats on the back since taking the new job, he's also seen people cringe as they half-heartedly wished him good luck.

He is already trying to organize a landlord association and is holding a second Mayport Road "stakeholders" meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the City Commission chambers at City Hall, 800 Seminole Road. Business owners and property owners are encouraged to come and air their concerns.

"It's been mixed," Hatfield said of the reaction to his efforts. "Some folks are for it. Other folks kind of don't care and other folks don't think we should be doing things like that.

"I just want to keep going to them," Hatfield said. "I want people to understand that we're not going to go in there to take a white glove and go down the wall to see if it's dirty. It's just to make sure your facility is up to code and it's liveable. It would give people a better quality of life. It would give them a better outlook on where they live and it would give them pride about where they live."

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313

Last modified 6/23/2008 - 9:53 pm
Originally created 062508
  

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

After holding two tumultuous public meetings through the past year, trying to mediate debates between beach access advocates and conservationists and rewriting a management plan three times for Huguenot Memorial Park, Jacksonville officials are basically starting the process over.

It's been a long and difficult task trying to figure out how to control public access to the city's only place where people can drive on the beach.

About a month after completing a 58-page document that was supposed to be the final draft, the Jacksonville Recreation and Community Services Division is revising it again.

"I think the issue's not the time so much, but getting it done right," said Scott Shine, president of the beach access advocacy group Florida Open Beaches Foundation. "So many changes have been made since public hearing that it's appropriate to bring it back to the public and the advisory board for review."

He and those who want to protect birds and other species on the oceanfront park off Heckscher Drive had expressed concern that the most recent plan for park managers to decide who gets into the park on any given day is too arbitrary.

Nathan Rezeau, the city's acting division chief of Waterfront Management and Programming, said Monday that they want to address all the comments made to the plan under revision.

"We got more [comments]. I think people wanted more explanation and detail," Rezeau said. "It's going back and putting in clarifications. We want to present this as a final draft. We want to put in [the plan] when calls are made to close the beach."

The park's beach could be closed to motorists when the shoreline overcrowds on weekends. The park is most popular between March 1 and Sept. 30 when as many as 6,000 vehicles visit the park on weekends.

For the new version, the city is considering calling on scientists and regulators to say how traffic should be controlled, depending on safety issues or wildlife issues. "We are proposing that we convene a committee that would provide input in making that decision, specifically for the wildlife situation," Rezeau said.

The revisions to the management plan will be distributed to the City Council, Huguenot Park Advisory Board and other government officials July 10. Then it will go to a public town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, at the First Coast High School auditorium, 590 Duval Station Road. A similar town hall meeting in February turned into a contentious debate between beachgoers and conservationists.

Rezeau said the plan will go to the City Council Tuesday, Aug. 12, and to state and federal officials for review by the end of September.

Through the debates, beach access advocates have called for limited controls on availability to the shoreline while conservationists worry too many people on the beach will threaten rare, endangered species of water fowl and other wildlife.

Shine said he's hopeful the next draft will heed criticism that beach closures left up to the park's management are too arbitrary.

"I'm feeling good. I think that we've taken a lot of the things in the plan that were on the wrong course and put them on the right course," Shine said.

Julie Wraithmell, wildlife policy coordinator for the Audubon Society of Florida, said while she may differ with Shine, she agrees the plan needs revisions.

"I think the city is in the position of having to bring together stakeholders ... and pleasing regulatory agencies. It's a delicate dance and that's why we're seeing so many variations of the plan," said Wraithmell, who is also on the park's advisory board, as is Shine.

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313.

Read our story about a new buoy deployed about five miles offshore from Mayport. We have video with the story.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061808/nes_291551860.shtml 

Last modified 6/16/2008 - 10:05 pm
Originally created 061808
  
A Town Center crush has officials considering options.

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

NEPTUNE BEACH - Huge crowds flocking to the beach and increasing use of the Town Center has City Council members saying they're determined to charge for parking at the business hub.

During a workshop Monday, council members said fees will eventually have to be charged for parking in the lots surrounding Town Center due to soaring demand.

"We need to do something," said Councilman John Weldon. "We have to realize that this area has to be managed parking-wise and we have to take action to do that. We can't just wait for it to turn into a disaster."

Neptune Beach Police Chief David Sembach said last week the Town Center parking lots are overflowing with beachgoers. Many who park their vehicles for hours to go to the beach don't use the surrounding businesses, many of which have complained to the city, Sembach said.

In addition to beachgoers, City Manager Jim Jarboe said employees working on hotel renovations at Ocean One are also using the lots at Town Center, depleting parking availability.

Jarboe said he's already looking into possible options to control parking in the popular commerce center. He's reviewed possible parking signs limiting the amount of time someone can use a space. He's also looked into parking meters and the possibility of installing a kiosk where motorists can purchase a ticket and place it in their cars at corresponding spaces.

While council members are eager to address parking control, they directed Jarboe to begin discussions with the city of Atlantic Beach, which manages Town Center on the north side of Atlantic Boulevard.

"Whatever we decide to do, we need a uniform agreement with Atlantic Beach," said City Councilman Fred Lee. "It's not getting any better."

Jarboe said he will contact Atlantic Beach City Manager Jim Hanson to review possible options and will return to the Neptune Beach City Council with recommendations at their next workshop July 21.

Councilwoman Harriet Pruette said the parking demand is becoming urgent.

"There's so many people now coming to the beach and they really don't have any place to park to go to the beach," Pruette said.

While the crush on parking at Town Center is extreme, Councilman Eric Pardee said if beachgoers are forced out of that parking area, they'll only go elsewhere in the city.

"A lot of these parking spaces ... limiting them to two hours, a lot of people won't be going to the beach. But they'll be parking down on Cherry Street and Margaret Street and all these other streets to go to the beach now so you're adding extra traffic down there," Pardee said.

But Lee said Town Center parking has been a bane for the city for years. He added it will have to be addressed, as unpleasant as it may be for elected officials.

"Whatever the city decides to do on this, it's going to be unpopular for a percentage of the people," Lee said. "Everyone on this council's going to have to decide if they're going to take a hit on it. If they're not, then let's forget it."

Weldon said he's prepared to move forward.

"We can't sit with our heads in the sand much longer about this. This area's grown and there's a great deal of development pressure," Weldon said. "The beach is going to see increased pressure."

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313

Some residents want the walk that would start at Ponte Vedra Boulevard.

By CHRISTINA ABEL, Shorelines

PONTE VEDRA BEACH - A residents' movement to build sidewalks on Ponte Vedra Boulevard has gained even more traction and now a group of homeowners wants to extend the sidewalk to Mickler's Landing.

In a Municipal Service District meeting Monday, Jim Staman said he's trying to get his neighbors together to pay for a 4,500-foot sidewalk on the west side of the boulevard that would run from 1008 Ponte Vedra Blvd. south to Mickler's. That stretch of concrete is expected to cost about $73,000.

In the past, the sidewalks were funded by a combination of sources: The district typically paid about 20 percent, the county covered another 20 percent and the residents picked up the rest.

This time, since the project calls for a longer, more expensive sidewalk, Staman has asked the district to fund 25 to 30 percent of the costs.

Of the 44 homeowners who live in that stretch of the boulevard, about 30 percent of them have contributed, Staman said.

"I do have funds coming in, but I'm short," he said. "I think it's a great project, for the safety of the neighborhood, for the communal neighborhood values."

The trustees couldn't vote on the sidewalk funding because there wasn't a quorum, so they plan to discuss the issue at their next meeting in July.

Another Ponte Vedra Beach resident wants to add sidewalks on Florida A1A. Charles Nelson, who lives on A1A between Solana and Corona roads, said he has trouble walking on A1A because there are no sidewalks on the east side of the road. There's also no place to cross A1A to get to the west side where there are sidewalks, unless he walks south to Solana Road or north to Corona Road.

"Between Solana and Corona there is no sidewalk, but there also is no crosswalk," Nelson said. "We have to go down A1A without a sidewalk or a crosswalk, which sometimes gets to be a little bit harrowing."

Because A1A is a state road, the trustees said they will have to look into the issue of how to get sidewalks or crosswalks approved.

Christina Abel can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6319.

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

MAYPORT - The Jacksonville Port Authority has arranged for about a half-dozen active shrimp boats to stay in Mayport village, easing shrimpers' fears that they would be forced out of the area once the waterfront land where they docked was sold for a proposed cruise ship terminal.

On Wednesday, the JPA completed a $5 million deal for Mat Roland's 2 acres and his seafood operation, where shrimpers had tied up their boats for years. Also this week, several of the shrimpers who had used Roland's docks have moved their boats to the docks at Hornblower Marine Services, a few hundred feet to the north in Mayport village, said JPA spokeswoman Nancy Rubin.

The port authority, which owns Hornblower, will not charge the shrimpers for docking there, she said.

"This will be for the ones we know that are active," Rubin said.

A JPA structural engineering study showed the wooden docks at Roland's property, with their missing planks and warped walkways, were too unsafe to let shrimp boats remain moored there.

The Hornblower site is where the Blackbeard, a backup vessel for the Mayport ferry, used to dock. It has since been put in storage. The JPA took over the ferry service from Jacksonville in November after Mayor John Peyton said the city could no longer afford the operation.

When the JPA closed on the Roland property, some of the shrimpers who were still using Roland's docks were resigned to the fact that they would lose their livelihood if forced out of the village.

"If I bought this dock, I wouldn't let us tie up either," said Randy Thompson, captain of the shrimp boat Nancy Lee at Roland's dock. "But we really just don't have any place to go. That's our problem."

How long the shrimp boats may stay at the Hornblower site is "indefinite," Rubin said. That site is meant only for boats that make shrimp runs. The JPA will not be responsible for several other vessels moored at the Roland docks that are no longer actively going to sea, she said.

Meanwhile, the port authority will continue to look for a permanent relocation for all the shrimp boats.

"We're trying to help them so they can continue to work despite the transition," Rubin said.

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313