The proposed development for the former Kings Trail Elementary School property has passed another hurdle following the city council’s approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) rezoning application.
In an 18-0 vote, with District 6 City Council Member Michael Boylan excused, the Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 2026-0478 at its Aug. 11 meeting for an incoming development by Dream Finders Homes of up to 110 townhomes and cottages on the nearly 12.5-acre property, which the developer is under contract to purchase.
Kings Trail Elementary School closed in May 2025, and Duval County Public Schools still owns the property. The DCPS Board is awaiting a Castaldi report on the property, which it is expected to review in October before submitting it to the Florida Department of Education for approval of the school’s demolition, as required by the board-approved sales contract with Dream Finders Home for the deal to close.
The proposed development saw significant neighborhood opposition as the rezoning application advanced through the necessary commissions and committees before city council made its final decision.
City Council Vice President Joe Carlucci, representing District 5, introduced a floor amendment to the PUD at the Aug. 11 council meeting incorporating conditions from previous committee meetings. Among these conditions are a vinyl fence and landscaping behind the homes to act as a buffer between the residences and Old Kings Road, a reduction in the height restriction for the structures from 35 feet to 30 feet, a traffic study to be undertaken by the developer, and a revised written description of the PUD.
For some area residents, however, the conditions imposed on the PUD are not good enough.
“This whole process has been extremely overwhelming, and our entire city council let us all down bad, and I’m flabbergasted, to say the least,” said Chrissy Kinne, a San Jose resident and founder and government relations officer of the San Jose Neighborhood Association. “Nothing that we have asked for was reconciled.”
SJNA previously submitted a series of conditions they requested be added to the PUD, including ingress and egress from the development, wetlands preservation, a 35-foot-wide privacy buffer along Old Kings Road, height restrictions, and a provision in the PUD stating that the development is intended as a 55-and-up community.
Resident News later spoke with attorney Paul Harden, who represents the developers, asking if there is any future possibility for concerned neighbors to meet with the developer on this project.
“Every time they’ve called me, I’ve been glad to meet with them,” Harden said. “I’m still happy to do that. I’ll meet with them anytime.”