Right Size San Marco. Let's Get It Right!

Right Size San Marco is a growing coalition of over 750 residents, families, and local business owners fighting for responsible, smart, growth in San Marco. We need your help to make San Marco the best it can be!

Up until now, we have not asked for any donations. With time being critical, we need your help.

What's this all about?
Our focus right now: South Jax Presbyterian church is trying to change its land-use designation and zoning so they can increase their density and sell a majority of their property to Alabama's Harbert Realty. Harbert Realty desires to tear down church-owned buildings and build a 4-story apartment complex next to the newly approved Publix, plus a 3-level parking garage the abuts a single-family residential neighborhood.

View of apartments (green) and parking garage (red) abutting low-density, single-family homes. The structures will block daylight to many homes due to its mass and size.
 
Is Right Size San Marco completely against development?

Definitely NOT! That being said, we are against this:

You can drop this in the middle of the Town Center and this design would fit. If we want to keep the character of San Marco, this has to change. Some say it even looks like a cruise ship! The "Carnival San Marco" design needs to set sail to the Town Center.

Besides the apartments not matching or strengthening the character of San Marco, we are against the following:

- Planned Unit Development (PUD) is asking for a land-use AND zoning change to increase # of apartments allowed from 20 units per acre to over 60 units.

- Apartments are way too high next to single-family, low-density housing. The sun will set a lot sooner for many homes due to how high and close this is to single-story homes.

- Lack of transition to the residential neighborhood. The development is a stark contrast to low-density, single-family homes. Plus there's very limited space for a tree and landscape buffer.

- PUD allows the church sanctuary to be destroyed without going through rezoning!!!

- Deviation in PUD reduces parking (1.3 spaces for a 2 bedroom apartment). Where is everyone going to park?

- Deviation in PUD reduces City’s code for greenspace.

- 50% of project setbacks are 0 feet!!!

- Increased traffic. Publix will bring 5,180 new daily trips and this project projects up to 1,000 additional trips a day. Publix will put Hendricks over 100% capacity. This doesn’t even count for the 1,000 plus new apartments in the area going up now.

Why are we doing this?     
We believe that this proposed project is way too dense and intense for this lot and this area. The church/developer has to change the land use of their property, as well as the zoning, to get what they want. In addition, they are trying to make the property a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with deviations that do not align with city code and San Marco by Design (San Marco Preservation Society’s and Jacksonville Planning and Development Department’s Neighborhood Action Plan for Smart Growth).

San Marco is special! Let's keep it that way. Your support will greatly help us in this fight. If apartments do go in, let us do everything we can to make this the best development it can be. We don't want to look back and regret not holding the developer accountable for cheapening the character of San Marco. And do you think the developer is going to be around long term? Not at all. This game is all about money and profit, build and flip. San Marco will be left with a massive mistake. To put this in context, this is the largest development in the history of San Marco!!! Let’s get it right!

What are our goals?                                
Make you and the community aware of the significant detriment to the community that would be caused by a big apartment complex and rezoning.  And give you an opportunity to help us convince our City Council Representative LeAnna Cumber and other city council members that this is not the right size for the area.

This is not a done deal! Zoning has to be changed before the contract is finalized.

Where will my donations go? 
Currently, we have paid for three-hundred yard signs, marketing material, a website, and Facebook ads. Thousands have been spent. This does not include hundreds of volunteer hours that have already been donated. Due to the demand, we would like to purchase more yard signs, more marketing material and increase our advertising so more and more can learn about this project.

Please note, individual volunteers will not be receiving payment.

Will my name appear as a donor online?
You will have the option of not showing your name to the general public when making a donation. Just check the box on the donation page, as seen below:


Other Ways You Can Help
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1) SUPPORT FINANCIALLY to help us raise awareness.  You giving to this cause will help us tremendously. The yellow donate button is located on the top right side of this page as well as below.

2) VOLUNTEER to help us get more signs out by walking door to door.

3) CANVAS SAN MARCO and collect email addresses that are in favor of our efforts.

3) JOIN Right Size San Marco's Facebook page and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE with friends.

4) ASK FOR A SIGN and we will deliver one to you for free. Just sign up for our newsletter and add your address.

5) WRITE A LETTER to the editor of Times Union or the Resident.

6) STAND READY to attend the upcoming city meetings where this will be discussed and ultimately voted on.

4) RECEIVE EMAIL UPDATES by signing up at our website, RightSizeSanMarco.com.

5) PLEASE SHARE all of this with your friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  See “Share” button on this page. This is extremely important to get the word out.

If you decide to support our cause, thank you, thank you, thank you! 

It has been wonderful seeing how passionate everyone is, from San Marco to miles away! San Marco is a special place and your support will help us fight to make sure it doesn't become just another neighborhood.

Thank you!
Right Size San Marco

#rightsizesanmarco
#letsgetitright