(PENSACOLA) --- Residents fought hard to keep out commercialized zoning where they live at a three-hour-long Escambia County Planning Board meeting.
Approved, denied, and postponed kept officials busy on Tuesday, April 7, with two cases standing out.
(Photo: Escambia County Planning Board Commission meeting April 7)
Applicant Dr. Jacqueline Clarke Jemmont's application to rezone a former church home from medium-density residential to high-density mixed-use for professional services did not fly with her neighbor, Ruth Elizabeth Hoffner.
While Clarke Jemmont used her time to break down compatibility and location criteria for her proposal, supporter Cythnia Wells spoke about exactly what would happen at the home.
(Photo: Cynthia Wells speaks on behalf of the applicant for a former church home transition to a counseling center)
"This facility that she recently purchased with the church property is not that we're not trying to open up a clinic," Well said. "We're just trying to do a private counseling service for our community."
The location is ideal, according to Wells.
"This property was adjacent to a church, which would be very conducive to having a mental health therapist's office there with the church," Wells said.
Hoffner does not agree.
After opening with "I certainly don't want to have any discontent with my neighbors," Hoffner argued against the proposal, starting with the purchase of Jemmont's property.
(Photo: 4707 Marcel Drive property proposed for medium-density residential to high-density mixed-use)
"First, when they bought the house, they had told us all they were turning it into an Airbnb," Hoffner said. "She never planned to have it as a residence for herself."
That plan fell through.
"Now we're at this point with having the therapy," Hoffner said, adding she has turned the four bedrooms into four offices.
Hoffner debated Wells' notion that only one client would be served at a time.
(Photo: Ruth Elizabeth Hoffner testimony against residential home becoming a professional building)
"There's going to be four therapists there, which means a minimum of four clients or patients," Hoffner said.
A brief discussion among officials after hearing testimony led to the denial, based on staff findings of incompatibility with the surrounding residential character and spot zoning concerns, demonstrating that there is no perceived community need to rezone.
Sections of Highway 29 and Nine Mile Road sparked opposition to the proposed commercial use. Sharon Colburn said rezoning the 1400 block of North Highway 29 indicated a change to heavy commercial and light industrial in the initial public notice, compared to the agenda listing just an amendment to commercial.
According to the OpGov.News platform report Colburn said she "felt this lack of clarity was 'sketchy' and 'slimy,' not providing homeowners enough time to prepare for the revised commercial request adequately."
Jane Harrington agrees.
"As a 25-year resident with 2.5 acres, she feared the commercial development would drastically reduce her quality of life and peace in her older residential area," according to the platform. "She felt the developer was prioritizing profit over residents' well-being and stated she was not informed of any plat changes when she called county staff a week after receiving her initial notice."
The matter was postponed until next month.
OpGov.News picked up other notable cases as seen in the Key Takeaways below.
(Photo: Key Takeaways from the April 7 Escambia County Planning Board meeting)
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