A controversial Chick-fil-A would be built on this land on Bradley Cove Road and Lady Lake Road. The site is next to the North Creek subdivision and across the street from First Coast High School. | News4Jax
Published on June 5, 2024 at 4:19 pm
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A controversial plan to build a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Jacksonville’s Oceanway community cleared another hurdle this week.
City Council’s Land Use & Zoning committee voted 6-1 on Tuesday to approve the restaurant on Bradley Cove Road and Lady Lake Road, next to the North Creek subdivision and across the street from First Coast High School.
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Residents in the area have been voicing their concerns for months, mainly over traffic. If approved by the full City Council, the North Creek neighborhood entranceway would be used to get to the restaurant.
The current plan calls for the restaurant’s entrance and exit points to be placed on the two-lane Lady Lake Road. Chick-fil-A would pay for a new traffic light at Bradley Cove and Duval Station roads, and the city is requiring a right-turn lane into the restaurant.
Resident Christine Brundage told News 4 Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner, that she is disappointed in Tuesday’s vote.
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“I actually had faith in the system and that it could work for the residents. I’ve had lots of neighbors say to me, ‘Christine we’re fighting a losing fight. This was a done deal.’ The city of Jacksonville has a reputation that the developers always win. So it’s wasted breath,” Brundage said.
Despite the opposition, the land is already zoned to have a fast-food restaurant there.
Tom Ingram, an attorney representing the project developer, said something will be built on that land even if City Council rejects the proposal for Chick-fil-A.
“It will be developed as something. It will be a type of commercial; it will be a type of restaurant; it’ll be a type of retail; it could very well be a Chick-fil-A,” Ingram said.
The area lies in Councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr.’s district. He was the lone “no” vote during Tuesday’s meeting. He said his biggest concern is the traffic headaches he thinks it would cause for homeowners in the North Creek neighborhood.
“I think it’s a disservice and a disrespect to the community that they’re gonna have to come home to long lines of people waiting in line for Chick-fil-A,” Gaffney said.
The full City Council is expected to vote on the proposal June 11.
