Sunset for TRUE Commission? Committee week for Jax City Council

Committee week for the Jacksonville City Council kicks off Monday, and a number of bills are ready for up or down votes.

Among the fun ones: a sunset date for a certain commission … an extension of the Florida/Georgia game … and clarification of builder guidelines for bicycle parking.

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Sunset for TRUE Commission: Councilman Tommy Hazouri has been unhappy with the Taxation, Revenue Utilization and Expenditures Committee for much of his term – and Hazouri filed a long awaited bill to reduce the membership of the commission from 18 to 11 before the commission’s sunset in June 2020.

In 2016, Hazouri – vexed over the TRUE Commission’s opposition to expanding the city’s Human Rights Ordinance – told Florida Politics that he didn’t see the point of the appointed body.

More recently, TRUE was in the news because of the bizarre behavior of a nominee, Mike Anania, who attempted to “bully” Rules Chair Garrett Dennis … according to Dennis.

Rules hears this bill Tuesday; Finance on Wednesday. If it clears committees, the full Council takes a whack at the piñata.

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Florida/Georgia extension: For those who like having the “World’s Largest Cocktail Party” in Jacksonville, take heart – the City Council is about to approve an extension of the agreement for the city to host the Florida/Georgia football game until 2021.

The two committees set to approve the legislation (2017-322): Neighborhoods, Community Investments, and Services on Monday morning, and Finance on Wednesday morning.

Each team gets a guarantee payment of $250,000 per year, plus a one-time signing bonus of $125,000 upon contract execution, and $60,000 annually for travel and lodging.

Jacksonville can recoup that money by programming events at the amphitheater and the flex field; the schools don’t get a piece of that action.

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Bicycle parking: Ordinance 2017-245 is intended to make Jacksonville more bicycle-friendly, by replacing “outdated … difficult” ordinance with clearer language directing commercial property developers to set aside parking for bicycles.

Dorms, convents, mobile home parks, and so on will have clarified parking set-asides for bicycles.

This bill will be heard by Transportation, Energy and Utilities Monday, and Land Use and Zoning Tuesday evening.

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