JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Oceanway residents are once again organizing against new development, this time over a proposal to build more than 500 self-storage units at the intersection of Yellow Bluff Road and Starratt Road.
Neighbors say the intersection is already congested, lacks turn lanes, and has long-standing drainage issues. Opponents have placed protest signs along the roadway, and more than 500 people have signed an online petition opposing the project.
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-development-of-self-storage-units-in-our-rural-community
“We got them to change it, to drop and withdraw,” Oceanway resident Jason Rife said, referring to a different proposed housing development last year that was halted after public pushback.
Rife said residents are worried about traffic and what a large storage facility would bring to the rural area.
“The biggest concern for us is the traffic, heavy, large vehicles, semi trucks, moving trucks,” he said. “And the obvious blight that a storage unit brings to a rural community.”
City records show the land is owned by James Duke, with the current application handled by attorney Michael Herzberg. Action News Jax reached out to Herzberg for comment and has not heard back.
District representative Councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr. said he is aware of the opposition, but told Action News Jax the storage project was already approved in 2007. A public hearing notice lists the current request as an “application for minor modification.”
The Jacksonville Planning Commission is scheduled to take up the item at a meeting on Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Ed Ball Building. Rife said he hopes residents will turn out.
“I would urge anyone that’s listening to please show up,” he said.
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