Fernandina Survey Sounds Alarm Over Development and Preserving Neighborhood Character

By Mike Lednovich/Editor

FERNANDINA BEACH - Overdevelopment poses the greatest threat to the City’s community character, according to residents who participated in a six-month planning process that will help guide the city through 2050.

Seventy-three percent of survey respondents identified overdevelopment as the city’s greatest challenge, far outpacing rising housing costs at 13% and traffic congestion at 6%.

The findings were presented to the City Commission Wednesday as part of the city’s Evaluation and Appraisal Review, or EAR, of its Comprehensive Plan. The state-required review examines whether the plan must be revised to reflect changes in Florida law and the community’s priorities.

Jennifer Bryla, community development program manager for the Northeast Florida Regional Council, said the council worked with city staff for six months to update Fernandina Beach’s previous 2045 vision and prepare the EAR recommendations.

The planning team collected approximately 150 survey responses through neighborhood meetings and appearances at community events, including the opening of the beaches, the opening of Publix and the Sea Turtle Festival.

The survey results also reflected an older demographic. Most respondents were over age 65, owned their homes and had lived in Fernandina Beach for more than 20 years. Bryla said the Regional Council and city need to find ways to involve younger residents, renters and the city’s Youth Advisory Council in future discussions.

The survey revealed growing concerns about growth and the preservation of established city neighborhoods.

Bryla said residents repeatedly raised objections to older homes being demolished and replaced with structures that do not fit the surrounding neighborhood.

Jennifer Bryla

“Compatibility with redevelopment isn’t necessarily happening in a way that the city would call organic,” Bryla said. “They’re coming in and tearing down homes and then putting up something that is incompatible with the rest of the neighborhood.”

She said the city could address those concerns through new Comprehensive Plan policies followed by changes to its Land Development Code.

“Overdevelopment emerged as the biggest threat to the community character,” Bryla said. But she noted the term can encompass infill, redevelopment and construction on previously undeveloped property.

Preservation of community character was selected as the city’s most important planning theme by 42% of respondents. Environmental sustainability and resiliency followed at 21%, while livability and future-ready infrastructure each received 17%. Mobility and transportation ranked last at 4%.

When asked what type of investment the city should emphasize, 27% selected burying overhead utilities and hardening infrastructure. Land conservation and preservation followed at 22%, traffic and transportation improvements at 21%, walkable mixed-use development at 17% and affordable housing at 13%.

Half of respondents said they want their neighborhoods to remain low-density and suburban, with single-family homes, larger yards and quiet streets. Another 35% favored mixed-use neighborhoods combining housing, small businesses, restaurants and services within walking distance.

For redevelopment of large vacant or underused sites, 39% favored community amenities and public spaces. Another 38% wanted new development to fit surrounding neighborhoods. Industrial development or high-wage job creation received 14%, single-family housing 6%, entertainment and retail 2%, and multifamily housing 1%.

The survey also highlighted a conflict between residents’ desire for alternatives to driving and the city’s existing transportation network.

Cars are the primary means of transportation for 85% of respondents, compared with 9% who primarily bicycle and 4% who walk. However, 57% said they use another form of transportation at least once a week.

Distance was identified as the biggest impediment to replacing car trips with walking or bicycling, followed closely by the lack of sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

Thirty-six percent said adding or improving bicycle lanes should be the city’s top transportation priority. Improving sidewalks and pedestrian safety received 22%, followed by adding public transportation at 16% and improving road maintenance at 13%. Only 5% favored building new roads to reduce congestion.

“We heard a lot of people saying safe routes to school,” Bryla said. “You can go a block and it takes you five minutes on a golf cart, but it may take you 20 minutes in a car based on the traffic and the transportation circulation.”

She said residents expressed a preference for dedicated multi-use paths separated from roadways and available to pedestrians, bicyclists and golf carts.

Environmental protection also ranked prominently. Thirty-nine percent selected forests and the city’s tree canopy as the environmental resource most in need of protection. Beaches ranked second at 32%, followed by wetlands and floodplains at 23% and rivers and streams at 6%.

“I thought this question was extremely interesting that they didn’t put the beaches as the most important,” Bryla said. “They put the tree canopy and preserving the green spaces within the city.”

For resiliency investments, 28% favored hardening utilities by burying power lines and strengthening substations. Tree canopy expansion and heat mitigation received 24%, while stormwater and flood-control improvements received 20%.

The community engagement process resulted in six themes that will guide the Comprehensive Plan update:

• Preservation of community character

• Managed growth, redevelopment and compatibility

• Environmental stewardship and conservation

• Walkability and connectivity

• Resiliency and infrastructure

• Affordable housing and community livability

The EAR is required under Chapter 163 of Florida law. Bryla said the city must update goals, objectives, policies and maps identified in the review and adopt the required amendments within one year.

Those amendments are expected to address neighborhood character, resiliency, affordable housing, water-supply planning, infrastructure and future land use. The proposed policies will return to the City Commission for public hearings, transmittal to the state and final adoption.

“The EAR establishes the framework for the comp plan,” Bryla said.

The review will help shape how the city regulates growth, redevelopment, transportation, housing and environmental protection as Fernandina Beach prepares its long-range vision through 2050.