In January of this year, we reported to you that the City of Jacksonville Planning and Development Department had prepared a draft Mobility Plan in December, 2009, as required by the Community Renewal Act (Senate Bill 360) adopted by the Florida Legislature. This Mobility Plan, and an accompanying mobility fee, will replace traffic concurrency in Jacksonville by July, 2011.
Originally, the Planning Department’s intention was to introduce the draft Mobility Plan and mobility fee to the City Council as a Comprehensive Plan amendment in January, 2010. However, following some initial feedback, the Mayor’s Administration and the Planning Department decided to refer the draft Mobility Plan and mobility fee to a committee appointed by the Mayor and City Council for further review and input. That committee should begin its review this month and should be in a position to report back to the Administration and the Planning Department by the proposed cycle of Comprehensive Plan amendments set for initial hearings in November/December, 2010.
As drafted, the Mobility Plan begins with a projection of $985 million in transportation improvement needs between now and 2030 (not including improvements to cure existing deficiencies). It then divides the City into five Development Areas, each with varying average “trip lengths” of vehicles within the particular Development Area. The Mobility Plan then calculates a mobility fee per mile traveled, which, when applied to the varying average trip lengths for each development area, yields a different mobility fee per daily trip for each Development Area. (Note that daily trips are the new measure; under concurrency, we are accustomed to dealing in peak hour trips.) These fees per daily trip range from about $470 in the Urban Redevelopment Area to $630 in the Rural Area. The Mobility Plan also provides for various trip generation adjustments and credits. If we assume that an average detached single family home generates about 9.5 average daily trips, then the mobility fee for such a home would range between $4,465 and $5,985.
The committee reviewing the draft Mobility Plan is expected to start meeting soon to review the draft, comment, and participate in the preparation of Comprehensive Plan amendments and ordinances to establish and implement the Mobility Plan and mobility fees. The tentative schedule for transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan amendments is January, 2011 (with hearings occurring in November/December, 2010). The tentative schedule for adoption of these amendments and the implementing ordinances is late May, 2011.
One part of the draft Mobility Plan, however, already has been reviewed by the City Council and transmitted to the State reviewing agencies: a series of changes to the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Element, including changes to the land use categories which apply to every piece of property in Jacksonville. These are far-reaching amendments, which escaped the usual scrutiny by landowners and development interests given to such amendments. There is much that is good in these amendments–including mechanisms that give flexibility to current land use categories (which will be needed if Amendment 4 is adopted). However, there are also new concepts–including minimum densities in some areas–which deserve further scrutiny. These amendments will be back before the City Council for adoption in late July and early August, 2010.
We will keep you informed as these important regulatory changes make their way through the review processes.