More self-storage facilities downtown sparks opposition

More self-storage facilities downtown sparks opposition
The site where an Atlanta firm hopes to build a new self-storage facility. View facing south to Home Street and the SOBA apartments

With city planning officials reviewing nearly 900 more apartment units proposed in the city’s downtown districts, an Atlanta company specializing in the development of commercial land for retail and self-storage units sees dollar signs.  More specifically the company is eyeing the Southbank in San Marco.

The company’s attorney, Steve Diebenow, told city council members on the Land Use and Zoning (LUZ) Committee in early May that there are already thousands of multi-family residential units approved or under construction in the vicinity and more on the way. He said self-storage facilities naturally follow such high-density residential development.

“It’s a ringing endorsement of what’s happening downtown,” he told the LUZ committee, whose chairman Councilman Rory Diamond indicated support for the plan generally.

Mr. Diebenow said current occupancy rates for self-storage facilities in the Jacksonville market are 94-95 percent.

“There is a demand for self-storage and it’s demand that’s growing and can be met with additional locations,” said the attorney.

There is stiff opposition, however, to the company’s plans from downtown and neighborhood advocates. The proposal would change zoning rules in most of downtown’s core neighborhoods — the Southbank, Cathedral, Central Core, Sports and Entertainment and Working Waterfront districts — to permit self-storage facilities by special exception after public hearings. They’re prohibited in those locations today.

Hendricks Nails parking lot east of the site where a self-storage facility is planned by an Atlanta company
Hendricks Nails parking lot east of the site where a self-storage facility is planned by an Atlanta company

They’re permitted in the Church, LaVilla and Brooklyn portions of the downtown overlay district, however.

The Atlanta company was identified as “the Simpson Organization” by Mr. Diebenow. Its plans were up for discussion before the LUZ panel in early May, when a related ordinance was tabled to mid-May, at which time it was tabled again.

The road to approval for a new self-storage facility is two-fold, Mr. Diebenow said. First, changes to the rules for the downtown overlay would need approval, and secondly, a plan for a specific property, perhaps a Southbank site north of Home Street, south of Prudential and west of Hendricks Avenue, used as a parking lot for nearby businesses and apartments. He said his client has exclusive development rights on the property.

He expected a vote on the matter on May 17 but at the request of ordinance sponsor, Councilman Reggie Gaffney, it was tabled, yet again.

Mr. Diebenow initially approached Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber last year about the proposal but negotiations broke down and he approached Councilman Gaffney to sponsor legislation, though the Southbank property is not in his district.

Councilwoman Cumber was put off by the tactic at the early May hearing.

She explained that a year-and-a-half ago, Mr. Diebenow inquired about a site-specific exception to zoning laws for a self-storage facility on the Southbank and her answer was no because her constituents were opposed.

That led the attorney to court Councilman Gaffney, whose district includes other parts of the overlay district, just not the Southbank, to sponsor an ordinance to allow by special exception self-storage facilities in the overlay.

“That’s why we’re doing all of downtown, for this one piece of property?” said Councilwoman Cumber, who is eyeing a run for mayor.

The attorney countered that the nearest self-storage facility on the Southbank is more than a mile away from the site close to where Vestcor has more apartments in the pipeline.

“’Do what you have to.’ That’s what you said,” the attorney quoted the councilwoman from their prior conversation.

Mr. Diebenow said he informed the councilwoman about the Southbank property in a gesture of transparency, but his client’s request for the LUZ Committee pertained to the downtown overlay, not the South Bank site only.

That capped about 45 minutes of discussion on the matter, after which Councilman Diamond said, “Let’s see if we can land this.”

It would not happen though.

The site where an Atlanta firm hopes to build a new self-storage facility next to residential property. View facing southwest from just north of Hendricks Nails parking lot
The site where an Atlanta firm hopes to build a new self-storage facility next to residential property. View facing southwest from just north of Hendricks Nails parking lot

Councilwoman Cumber suggested if the LUZ moves forward with the ordinance, she’d like a carve-out for her San Marco district.

Lori Boyer, CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority, and others spoke in opposition to the proposal.

Ms. Boyer said self-storage facilities were not permitted in most of the downtown zoning overlay because people do not generally actively use them for residing, shopping or dining.

Mr. Diebenow said his client would agree to set aside one-fifth of the floor space for such uses.

“It’s not bringing life to the area, even if you make the street front look good,” argued Ms. Boyer. “It’s not the same as more active use. That was the thinking on why initially they were not allowed.”

“We just don’t think it’s in the best interest of downtown development to have a lot of them in downtown where we’re trying to have this density of people …” she said.

Mr. Diebenow said his client was responsible for the development of the Publix in Amelia Island and a self-storage facility on Normandy Boulevard.

“We don’t think it will make the neighborhood better and that’s why we’re against it,” summed up Zimmermann Boulos, a long-time San Marco advocate of public art and green space.

The parking lot next to vacant site and across Hendricks Ave restaurant bb's
The parking lot next to vacant site and across Hendricks Ave restaurant bb’s

“I know storage units are needed but I would like to see something that serves the community there, so I do not support this,” said bb’s restaurant owner Barbara Bredehoeft. Her eatery is across Hendricks Avenue from the Southbank site.

By Joel Addington
Resident Community News

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