Private firms will be able to review site plans for Jacksonville developments under a bill approved by City Council on June 23 to align city policy with state law.<\/p>\n
Council approved Ordinance 2026-0363 with a 16-0 vote, with President Kevin Carrico and members Ken Amaro and Raul Arias absent.<\/p>\n
The ordinance allows professionally licensed individuals in the private sector to review site plans for the city, aligning Jacksonville\u2019s ordinance code with Florida Statute Section 553.791.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, a private firm could not review a site plan for a property it owns or for which it provided any professional development services. Firms would submit their findings to the Planning Department, which would have 10 days to identify deficiencies in the submission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the department does not notify the applicant within 10 days, the submission would be automatically approved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very, very good bill,\u201d Council member Tyrona Clark-Murray said, calling it \u201can example of great collaboration between the executive branch and the legislative branch\u201d and adding that the bill does \u201cthe thing that I look for the most for us to do, which is to solve problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council member Rory Diamond introduced the legislation. He argued that compared to the city\u2019s Planning Department, private firms take on more risk in approving site plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs opposed to the review by public entities, which are protected from lawsuits by sovereign immunity, private entities, in undertaking review of permits, expose their license, their professional reputation, their insurance coverage and their livelihood,\u201d the legislation reads.<\/p>\n
Council approved multiple changes to the legislation, including:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Private reviewers would have to certify to the city, under penalty of perjury, that they are familiar with all applicable state and local statutes related to their work. Reviewers would also have to take a course regarding applicable laws.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Should a developer\u2019s project include at least 1,000 feet of roadway that would become city-managed right-of-way, the reviewer would have to submit a draft of the site plan to the city 10 business days before filing the final affidavit and site plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Developers told the Land Use and Zoning Committee on June 2 that the bill would reduce overhead costs, savings they said could be passed on to buyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese delays cost us $3,000, average, because every day is a missed opportunity to close for an affordable house,\u201d said Jean Yoder, who works for Landon Homes. \u201cThey miss opportunities, we miss opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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