Councilman Clark to sponsor new 3-year Mobility Plan fee moratorium legislation

[peestandingup]

I have to ask again where Downtown Brown is on all of this? Hiding in his office again??

[fsujax]

I wonder where the Civic Council or DIA fall on this issue?

[Dog Walker]

Feel Free to correct or add to the list of local organizations and media who have opposed the moratorium.

The TU
Folio
MetroJacksonville.com
The Resident Community News
RAP
Spar
SMPS
Samba

I believe the list is longer.

Preservation SOS
Sustainable Springfield (I believe)
Urban Core CPAC

City Beautiful Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

He lost.

[JeffreyS]

Did he attend the last Council vote on the Moratorium? Perhaps he did not see the outpouring of disgust by the community.

[Ocklawaha]

I have to ask again where Downtown Brown is on all of this? Hiding in his office again??

I have been in touch with him and his response was both immediate and thoughtful, he would like to hear from more of us with reasons why there should be no moratorium.  He is without a doubt hearing loudly from the developers.

What I don't get is why our developers are even more brain dead then our Council has been.  All across the nation every rail project that has happened has boosted land values, and created a development frenzy. Why would any developer think Jacksonville would be any different?  The mobility plan plays into the wise developers hand and greatly increases his chances for profit.

[Ocklawaha]

MEANWHILE / TALKING POINT:

The LA Streetcar released the findings from its economic impact report, and the results are excellent.  The study by AECOM projects the 4.75 mile streetcar loop will induce $1.1 billion in economic development to Downtown LA by 2035, including 2,100 permanent jobs, 2,600 new housing units, $24.5 million in annual spending, $1.9 million in annual city revenue, and 7,200 construction jobs (versus a baseline growth alternative). 

Transit is:
A single powerful investment in the community that:
Reinforces healthy patterns
Revitalizes by-passed properties
Redirects new development patterns

TOD is not a fad
Increasing national acceptance
Improving access to capital
Changing development patterns
Enhancing mobility and quality of life
FLORIDA is one of the top 10 locations for new TOD
Transit offers a 'new' form of access to development
It is not limited to development around the stations
Development is sustainable, compact, mixed use, walkable
All transit modes do NOT create the same land use results
SOURCE: NCPPP Partnership in Transportation

Public Sector:
Invests in fixed route mass transit
Land assemblage
Mobility Plan, codes, incentives, streamlined permitting

Private Sector Positive Response:
Development follows the tracks
Development surrounds the stations
SOURCE: NCPPP Partnership in Transportation

"At least 1/4 of all households in the next 20 years, 14.6 million households will be looking for housing within one quarter mile of a mass transit station. There will be the potential to more then double the amount of housing in transit zones."
SOURCE: Hidden in Plain Sight/Reconnecting America

Modal Land Use and Development Characteristics:

Bus Rapid Transit:
Generally low land use effects
Station spacing 1/2 to 2 miles
Speed not to exceed 1.35x automobile trip time
Modest customer base for retail support
Nominal residential and office uses
Longer term development period

Commuter Rail:
Generally low land use effects
Station spacing 2 to 5 miles
Modest customer base for retail support
Nominal residential and office uses
Longer term development period

Light Rail Transit:
High land use effects
Frequency, type and scale of service is land use supportive
LRT serves as 'new' access to development
Principal impact 1/4 mile (125 acres) to 1/2 mile (500 acres) radius
Compact, mixed use, walkable results

Streetcar:
High to very high land use effects
Frequency, type and scale of service is highly land use supportive
Development follows streetcar lines
Redevelopment catalyst
Principal impact 3 blocks on either side of streetcar line
Compact, walkable, mixed use pedestrian results
SOURCE: NCPPP Partnership in Transportation

MORATORIUM:
Poor land use practices
3 more years of mediocrity
Low transit usage
Unsustainable development patterns
Autocentric development designs
Large surface parking lots and parking garages
Dangerous pedestrian and bicycle environment

[Charles Hunter]

isnt Clark Term limited?

Yes, from the Council webpage:

In 2005 Richard was elected to the City Council representing District 3.  He was re-elected in 2007, and was voted Council Vice-President for the 2008/2009 term. In June 2009 Richard's council responsibilities increased as he proudly served the City of Jacksonville as Council President for the 2009/2010 term.

[thelakelander]

Doug Skiles' presentation from last fall if full of basic talking points about the value in not having a mobility plan and fee moratorium:

slide show here: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-oct-the-mobility-plan-a-vision-for-jacksonville

Some basic talking points:

1. An avenue to create and fund safer streets and healthier neighborhoods.

2. The mobility fee fixes the broken concurrency system that had been in place since the 1980s.

3. It integrates land use policy with transportation infrastructure in a fiscally sustainable manner.

4. It encourages quality growth and redevelopment.

5. Provides viable funding for future transportation, key for jobs and downtown.

6. The Mobility Plan is not a fee increase.  It is actually a fee reduction in comparison with the decades old concurrency system it replaced.

7. Statistical data indicates there was no correlation between fees, building permits or jobs.

8. The mobility fee isn't intended to kill development.  Instead, when properly applied, it guides development in a pattern to where it is fiscally sustainable for the City of Jacksonville.

9.  The intention and purpose of the mobility fee aligns with the recent JAX 2025 survey results.

[spuwho]

Who is calling WLA?  They have a lot of energy and moxie!

[tufsu1]

note of caution - while the mobility plan/fee funds streetcar in the urban core, this is not an issue that most Council members care about....in fact, I would argue that using it as a talking point could do more harm than good

[sheclown]

note of caution - while the mobility plan/fee funds streetcar in the urban core, this is not an issue that most Council members care about....in fact, I would argue that using it as a talking point could do more harm than good

Sad, but true. 

[Ocklawaha]

note of caution - while the mobility plan/fee funds streetcar in the urban core, this is not an issue that most Council members care about....in fact, I would argue that using it as a talking point could do more harm than good

There is a twilight zone between culpable ignorance and blatant pandering to special interests.

I would argue that it's not just streetcar, it's all mobility, all urban growth, all TOD, all bus transit, all bicyclists, all pedestrians... take your pick and say something!

[JeffreyS]

Smart growth as a function of cost of infrastructure will resonate.

[thelakelander]

My advice would be if you're looking for talking points, stick with the basics (see quote below) but don't hesitate to also elaborate on parts of the plan you personally deem as most important to you and your community.  For Ock, that's obviously the fact that the mobility fee generates funds for mass transit.  For someone else, it could be that it generates funds for other forms of mobility or limits the proliferation of fiscally unsustainable and bad development.

Doug Skiles' presentation from last fall if full of basic talking points about the value in not having a mobility plan and fee moratorium:

slide show here: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-oct-the-mobility-plan-a-vision-for-jacksonville

Some basic talking points:

1. An avenue to create and fund safer streets and healthier neighborhoods.

2. The mobility fee fixes the broken concurrency system that had been in place since the 1980s.

3. It integrates land use policy with transportation infrastructure in a fiscally sustainable manner.

4. It encourages quality growth and redevelopment.

5. Provides viable funding for future transportation, key for jobs and downtown.

6. The Mobility Plan is not a fee increase.  It is actually a fee reduction in comparison with the decades old concurrency system it replaced.

7. Statistical data indicates there was no correlation between fees, building permits or jobs.

8. The mobility fee isn't intended to kill development.  Instead, when properly applied, it guides development in a pattern to where it is fiscally sustainable for the City of Jacksonville.

9.  The intention and purpose of the mobility fee aligns with the recent JAX 2025 survey results.