Parks Task Force Committee
Minutes of November 23, 2004 Meeting

A. Date, Time, Place of Meeting

Date of Meeting: November 23, 2004

Place: City Hall, Mayor's Office

Time 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

B. Attendees

The group met at the offices of the Mayor for a special presentation from Terry Lorince of Downtown Vision, Inc. After a brief visit made to the Jacksonville and St. John's River area by Chan Krieger & Associates, the following impressions and observations were made:

• Consolidate efforts by identifying a particular area of the downtown riverfront as the centerpiece of urban river experience.
• Transform Bay Street into Jacksonville's Riverside Drive.
• Focus reinvestment on the downtown streets that run perpendicular to the river.
• Enhance the Riverwalk through more trees, etc.
• Add to the scale and variety of open spaces along portions of the river.
• Create a Hemming Plaza to Friendship Fountain Cultural Trail.
• Find a way to make the several pending Southbank development efforts work in concert with one another to establish an enhanced public domain for the portion of the river from the Main Street Bridge to the JEA parcel.
• Consider one more River crossing as part of long-range riverfront planning.
• 'Narrow' the River – Construct pier head, breakwater, small island, new fishing pier, moored barges converted to recreational use, etc. for visual effect.

There were six recommended policies/public actions to advance the above suggestions:

• Create a Riverfront Redevelopment Corporation, Business Improvement District, or Public/Private Task Force to focus on planning and developing implementation along the river.
• Organize and commit a group of prime river stakeholders to enhance their properties and form a lobby group on behalf of additional responsible river development.
• Identify and pursue three to five catalytic projects through which the public realm and place-making characteristics of the river will be enhanced.
• Expand the local mechanisms for increasing the programming of recreational, festival and visitor-oriented events along the river.
• Commission a 'Strategic Action Plan', rather than a 'Vision Plan', for the river.
• Use the action plan to produce design and develop guidelines for the River by district, rather than Citywide.

**A handout was given to the group with specific suggestions for each numbered item. A copy of the handout can be obtained by contacting Elizabeth Kohler at ekohler@coj.net.

Minutes Prepared by Laurel Beard