Report from Police Chief- Habitat Project on Mayport Road AMENDED AGENDA ITEM#7A
MARCH 10,2014
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM: Habitat Project—Mayport Road
SUBMITTED BY: Michael D. Classey, Chief of Police
DATE: February 27, 2014
STRATEGIC PLAN LINK: N/A
BACKGROUND:
Following the ongoing Commission discussions on the above, the Mayor requested the Police
Department provide a Public Safety review of the project.
This is a newly proposed development consisting of a maximum of 80 total single family units
constructed as a series of duplex, triplex and quadplex buildings. This property has been uninhabited
since 2004. Prior to that,the property was an apartment complex with approximately 100 units. The
review consists of three parts: traffic safety, crime and fire/medical services. The traffic and crime
sections contain historical data from the early 2000's when the property was last occupied.
As the site plan indicates,the furthest most western units have a setback of 22 feet from roadway.
Within that setback, there will be a fence and a landscape buffer including shrubs and trees. Mayport
Road is a 6 lane divided highway traveling North/South with a 45 mph speed limit and a high volume
of traffic. There has been some safety concerns expressed about the development being located right
off Mayport Road due to the anticipated number of children that may live there.
Staff reviewed all pedestrian accidents that occurred between 2000 and 2004, when the apartments
were occupied. The location range was from Atlantic Blvd to the 500 block of Mayport Road. There
were a total of 4 pedestrian accidents in the stated location during the specified years. None of the
accidents involved a juvenile and none of the accidents resulted in a fatality. Three of the accidents
were the fault of the pedestrian and one was the driver's fault.
Staff also reviewed the crime reports from 2002 through 2004. There were 43 Part I crimes (Larceny-
19,Burglary-17 Vehicle Theft-4 and Robbery-3). In addition, there were 32 Assault/Battery crimes
which are not Part I crimes. As a comparison,the prior Atlantic Arms apartments on Cornell lane had
100 units and a total of 85 Part I crimes during the same time period. This is almost double the number
of crimes that occurred at the Palms Apartments. Historical knowledge indicates that both complexes
had some amount of subsidized housing.
One limitation of the crime analysis is that it does not reflect crimes that may have occurred in close
proximity to the apartments and that may have been committed by or because of apartment residents.
Staff has presented in two recent annual reports that the apartments on Cornell Lane were purchased
AMENDED AGENDA ITEM#7A
MARCH 10,2014
over a year ago and are under new management. They vacated the complex so they could remodel the
apartments. A substantial drop in crime occurred during that period. When the apartments re-opened
management adopted a higher standard for resident approvals. While the apartments are near full
occupancy,the higher application standards has contributed to a much lower crime rate than when it
was under the previous ownership.
Staff also reviewed the project with Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department. JFRD will have to review
and approve the final set of plans prior to the project moving forward. JFRD staff advised that they
need 20 feet of unobstructed roadway for emergency equipment. This assumes no parking would be
permitted on the roadway. If parking were allowed, the roadway width would need to be increased to
compensate for that. Fire Department staff advised that they need to be able to get within 50 feet of the
structure. This could be accomplished from the alley behind the buildings although this would not be
the ideal scenario.
In conclusion, the traffic data indicated that there were no juvenile pedestrian accidents that occurred
during the period reviewed. When reviewing a roadway for pedestrian crossing, one consideration is
the presence of attractors or generators. Specifically as it relates to this project, the question would be
why would a juvenile be crossing Mayport Road? With the exception of Veteran's Park,there really is
no substantial area of interest or attractor for a child to cross the roadway. If the project has a
playground or park facility, that further reduces a reason to cross. Based upon the data, staff has
nothing factual to substantiate that this would be a problem.
Second,the crime reports while the property was occupied with apartments indicated that there was
roughly half the number of Part I crimes as the apartments on Cornell Lane. Further, when the Avesta
Seaside apartments were opened, the crime rate was significantly reduced from the prior ownership,
due in large part to a better applicant screening process.
Crime rates are very difficult to predict as they are influenced by many factors. It is generally accepted
that owner occupied residences result in overall less problems than multi-family housing units. It is
also noted that the Habitat project is limited to a maximum of 80 units whereas there were 100
apartments there previously. Staff would anticipate that the application process for home ownership
would be more stringent than it was for the prior apartments. Based upon that assumption, it would be
reasonable to infer that crime rates would be lower than under the prior use.
As far as Fire/EMS concerns and according to JFRD staff, the 20 foot alley access is acceptable for
emergency vehicle ingress/egress. They can access the structures from behind although that is not the
preferred method. JFRD will need to approve the final plans prior to the project moving forward.
BUDGET: N/A
RECOMMENDATION: For information purposes only
ATTACHMENTS: None
REVIEWED BY CITY
MANAGER: ���