Sparks flew Monday night at a town hall meeting in Mandarin over a request that would allow two restaurants be built at the corner of San Jose Blvd. and Oak Bluff Lane.About 150 area residents attended the meeting, nearly all in opposition to the project.
They said the proposal would increase traffic in an area already subject to gridlock during rush hour.
Nearby resident Julian Benjamin said the project will also be detrimental to the neighborhood by leading to more unattractive construction projects.
"If they make this change, there are going to be a lot of other developers who have had to have their properties lower intense to comply with the existing rules, they're going to up their properties to higher grades everywhere they possibly can," he said.
City Council member Stephen Joost said he’ll ask that the bills be sent back to committee for further discussion.
But Councilman Matt Schellenberg, who represents Mandarin, said the project as it stands is fair and in line with what the city’s planning department allows,
The City Council will debate and possibly vote on the legislation at tonight's regular meeting.
You can follow Kevin Meerschaert on Twitter @KMeerschaertJax.
CORRECTION: A previously published version of this story incorrectly identified the cross streets of the proposed development location.
