At a Glance

The TEU Committee cleared 14 items in a brisk 24-minute session (9:30–9:54 AM) with no dissenting votes recorded on any action item. The highest-dollar move was a $12.6 million fund shift to begin eminent domain land acquisition for the Emerald Trail's Hogan's Creek-to-Riverwalk segment — covering 17 parcels and waiving standard settlement caps. The committee also fast-tracked an emergency ordinance authorizing a CSX railroad sidetrack agreement tied to the Cecil Commerce Center Mega-Site, citing imminent construction stoppage as the urgency. A comprehensive towing/storage overhaul (2026-0358, introduced by CM Gay) was deferred after getting stuck at NCSPHS. One public commenter, Mr. John Nooney, was twice ruled out of order by Chair Lahnen after CM Carlucci objected that his comments were off-topic.

Newsworthy Items

Item 3: 2026-0327 — Emerald Trail Eminent Domain / Land Acquisition ($12.6M)

• Recommended: NCSPHS Substitute/Approve 6-0; Rules Substitute/Approve 5-0
• Decided: PASSED — substitute approved, moving $12,599,258 from construction costs account to land acquisition account and authorizing eminent domain proceedings on 17 parcels near Hogan's Creek
• Vote: 5-0 (Lahnen, Johnson, Carlucci, Gaffney Jr., Amaro); Pittman and Clark-Murray excused
• Flags: surprise-amendment (substitute with new property listing exhibit and corrected account code)
• Confidence: High

Chair Lahnen confirmed with Nina Sickler, Director of Public Works, that the bill is part of a $30 million project for this section of the Emerald Trail and only moves funds from the construction account to the land acquisition account, with no change to the total cost of the project.¹ The substitute authorized the Real Estate Division chief to negotiate purchases for 17 parcels, allowing for offers up to 25% above appraised value and up to $100,000 in business damages, exclusive of legal and professional fees.² If talks fail, the Office of General Counsel is authorized to institute appropriate legal proceedings to acquire these properties by condemnation if negotiations are unsuccessful.³ The substitute also waives settlement limitations in Sections 112.307, 112.308 (Eminent domain), and 112.309 (Attorneys' fees) to allow for certain settlements in excess of $50,000 without further Council approval.⁴ A 2/3 full-Council vote will be required for final passage.

Item 12: 2026-0392 — CSX Sidetrack Agreement / Cecil Commerce Center (Emergency)

• Recommended: Introduced by CM White; no prior committee recommendation recorded
• Decided: PASSED — emergency/approve, authorizing Mayor to execute a private sidetrack agreement with CSX Transportation for a city-owned railroad sidetrack adjacent to the Cecil Commerce Center Mega-Site
• Vote: 5-0 (Lahnen, Johnson, Carlucci, Gaffney Jr., Amaro); Finance Committee also Emergency/Approve 8-0 same day
• Confidence: High

Chair Lahnen confirmed with Mr. Linsky that the bill is related to the previously approved Cosentino Group economic development agreement and that the City had previously agreed to do this work.⁵ The urgency is concrete: the City has commenced construction on the Project but will be unable to work in CSX right of way without the executed Agreement, and the City's contractor will likely have to cease construction and remobilize (at additional cost to the City) without one cycle emergency passage.⁶ Funding needed for the Project will be appropriated as part of the FY 26/27 budget.⁷ The item required a 2/3 Council vote and cleared both TEU and Finance on the same day; reporters should track full Council passage.

Item 7: 2026-0358 — Towing & Storage Code Overhaul (Deferred)

• Recommended: No committee or staff recommendation recorded (deferred from NCSPHS for further discussion)
• Decided: DEFERRED — not heard on merits; carried over
• Vote: No roll call recorded
• Flags: deferred-again
• Confidence: Medium

Chair Lahnen explained that the bill was listed on the agenda as a deferral because it had been deferred in the NCSPHS meeting for further discussion.⁸ The ordinance would repeal existing Parts 12 and 13 of Ch. 804 (Jacksonville Traffic Code) and create new parts to update and clarify provisions related to nonconsensual towing and storage of vehicles and vessels from both public and private property.⁹ The bill was introduced by CM Gay with CM Peluso as co-sponsor. No timeline for reconsideration was recorded in the minutes.

Item 1: 2026-0317 — Honorary Street Designation for Pastor Ernie L. Murray, Sr.

• Recommended: NCSPHS Amend/Approve 7-0; Rules Amend/Approve 5-0; introduced by CM Pittman
• Decided: PASSED — amended and approved, designating an honorary street on Moncrief Rd between Edgewood Ave W and Rowe Ave in District 10
• Vote: 4-0 (Lahnen, Carlucci, Gaffney Jr., Amaro); Johnson not yet present; Pittman and Clark-Murray excused
• Flags: surprise-amendment
• Confidence: High

The amendment removed a waiver originally needed because the honoree lived within 5 miles of the designated roadway for at least ten years¹⁰ — making the waiver unnecessary. The ordinance still waives the requirement that the honoree be deceased for at least five years. CM Amaro praised Pastor Ernie L. Murray Sr. for more than 30 years of service to the Moncrief Corridor.¹¹ Chair Lahnen and CM Gaffney, Jr. requested to be added as co-sponsors to the bill.¹² No public hearing cards were submitted.¹³

Item 4: 2026-0328 — Alley Closure, Jacksonville Heights (Dist. 9) — Restaurant Development

• Recommended: No prior committee recommendation recorded (TEU-only referral)
• Decided: PASSED — public hearing approved, closing an unnamed improved alley at the request of Maechel Safar
• Vote: 5-0
• Flags: public-comment-heavy
• Confidence: Medium

Closure was requested to construct a family style restaurant.¹⁴ The public hearing drew notable procedural friction: Mr. John Nooney spoke on the bill, but CM Carlucci stated that Nooney was not speaking on the bill and requested that he be ruled out of order; Chair Lahnen ended Nooney's speaking time.¹⁵ Two cards in support of the bill were submitted by Mr. Maechel Safar and Ms. Callie Safar without a request to speak.¹⁶

Item 9: 2026-0389 — Dockless Mobility / Micromobility Program Expansion (Read & Rerefer)

• Recommended: Rules Read 2nd & Rerefer 5/18/26; introduced by CM Amaro, co-sponsored by CM Peluso
• Decided: READ 2ND/REREFER — not voted on; public hearing set for 5/26/26
• Vote: No roll call recorded
• Confidence: Low (minutes record no substantive discussion)

The ordinance would amend Sec. 55.116 and Ch. 235 of the Ordinance Code to expand the role of the Office of Public Parking to include management of the Micromobility Program, modify department oversight, expand the jurisdictional operation, provide for customer and operator requirements, modify fees and penalties, and create a new program administrator position and provision for future expansion outside the current dockless mobility boundary.¹⁷ Mr. John Nooney spoke on 2026-0389 during public comment.¹⁸ Watch for public hearing action at the June 2 meeting.

Item 5: 2026-0329 — Road R/W Closure, Dinsmore (Dist. 8) — Fairview Estates (50 homes)

• Recommended: No prior committee recommendation recorded
• Decided: PASSED — public hearing approved, closing an unnamed unimproved road R/W at the request of Coastland Group, LLC
• Vote: 5-0
• Confidence: Medium

Closure was requested to develop a community that will be known as Fairview Estates and will have 50 single family homes on 70-foot lots.¹⁹ No public hearing cards were submitted.²⁰ The item had no substantive floor debate recorded in the minutes.

Consent Agenda

No consent block was structured for this meeting. All items were individually calendared.

Skipped

Standard procedural items omitted: call to order, Council Rule 4.505 disruption-of-meeting notice (boilerplate, pp. 1–2 of both agenda and minutes), ADA accommodations notice, and the clerk's posting notation. Items 2 (2026-0325, easement closure for residential development), 6 (2026-0330, drainage easement closure for homestead garage), 8 (2026-0379, Ionic Ave R/W closure for St. Marks Episcopal Church — read/rerefer only), 10 (2026-0390, $1.34M traffic signal rebuild fund transfer — read/rerefer), 11 (2026-0391, FDEP domestic wastewater delegation agreement — read/rerefer), 13 (2026-0393, $23,417 mosquito control grant — read/rerefer), and 14 (2026-0394, $350K FDOT signal rebuild grant — read/rerefer) were either routine closures with no debate recorded or second-reading rereferrals awaiting public hearings on 5/26/26 or 6/2/26.

References