Item 8A USPSCITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM# SA
JULY 27,2015
AGENDA ITEM: Discussion regarding postal service issues and potential adoption of a resolution
requesting the United States Postal Service to change the last line of the addresses
from Atlantic Beach to Jacksonville for those properties which are not within the
City limits of Atlantic Beach.
SUBMITTED BY: Nelson VanLiere, City Manager
DATE: July 15, 2015
BACKGROUND: Since the 1960s, when Zip Codes were first used, citizens have been pleading with
the government to align municipal boundaries with the postal codes. The United
States Postal Service (USPS) has over the years resisted these changes for any
reason because the mailing address is for the delivery of mail and the Zip Codes are
the cornerstone of that system. Citizens frequently turned to members of Congress
for their respective jurisdictions trying to get changes to Zip Code boundaries.
More recently, the USPS has developed a "Zip Code Boundary Review Process"
that promises "every reasonable effort" to consider and, if possible, modify the last
lines of an acceptable address or modify Zip Code Boundaries. The process places
the responsibility on the District Managers rather than local postmasters, to review
requests for boundary adjustments. If a District Manager rejects a request, the
process provides for an appeal to the Manager of Delivery at USPS Headquarters.
This boundary review process enhances the possibility of accommodating
communities such as Atlantic Beach that desire a modification. The solution that
seems feasible would be to allow the use of more than one City name on the last
line of the address while retaining the Zip Code number of the delivery post office.
It is possible now for the USPS to change the name of the City and keep the Zip
Code the same due to the modem postal equipment sorting functions. There are
places nearby such as Nocatee and Ponte Vedra that are already doing this.
The City of Atlantic Beach shares the Zip Code 32233 with the portion of
Jacksonville north of Atlantic Beach all the way to Mayport. This has been a
source of frustration for many years. This has caused confusion with Jacksonville
residents seeking services such as police, utility, code enforcement, animal control,
business taxes and building permits from Atlantic Beach when they should be
contacting the City of Jacksonville.
Many property owners assume that they live in the City designated by their mailing
address and are confused and sometimes shocked or even angry when they learn
the truth. We are asked many times to fill out forms with a mailing address and a
physical address. Most people in this situation do not know there is a difference.
One aspect of this request that makes it unusual is that the City of Atlantic Beach is
proposing that Jacksonville residents change their address to match their
jurisdiction. The USPS has indicated that this is very easy to do because
Jacksonville is the default address for those locations anyway, but that it is
overwritten with Atlantic Beach. The postal service indicated we would need a
BUDGET:
AGENDA ITEM# SA
JULY 27, 2015
resolution from our governing body showing support to initiate this review process.
The process may entail a survey of affected residences and it is possible they may
not want this.
No budget impact
RECOMMENDATION: Direct staff to finalize a resolution to be forwarded with a letter to the
District Manager of the United States Postal Service requesting that the
"City Name" portion of the addresses for those properties within Zip Code
32233, but not located within the City limits of Atlantic Beach be changed
to Jacksonville.
ATTACHED: (1) Draft Resolution
(2) Example of a letter to citizens from the postal service as a result of a similar request.
RESOLU TION NO: __ _
AGEN DA ITEM li SA
.JU LY 27,201 5
A RESOLUTION OF THE CJTY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, SUPPORTING A
ZIP CODE BOUNDARY REVIE W BY TilE UNITED STATES PO STAL SERVICE T O
CHANGE THE LAST LlN E OF TilE ADDRESS FROM ATLANTIC BEACH TO
.JACKS ONVIL LE FOR PROPERTmS WIDCH ARE NOT WITH1N THE CITY OF
ATLANTIC BEACH
WHEREAS, t he Zip Code syste m for id entifying address lo ca ti ons was created in th e 1960s and is o ft en
found to be mi sali gne d w ith muni c ipal bo un daries; and
WHERE AS, Zip Codes are based o n the locat ion of de live ry pos t offi ces a nd ofl:e n do not cones po nd to
muni c ip al jurisdi c ti on bo und aries . C urrently , so me citize ns in Jackso nv ill e, Florida receiv e their 111 a il fro rn a post
o ffi ce in Atlantic Beach, and th e ir ma ilin g address refl ect s th e nam e and Z ip Co de of thi s post offi ce ra ther th a n th e
jurisdicti o n where th ey ac tu a lly liv e; and
WREU EAS, muni cip a li ties s haring a Z ip Code has c reated some uniqu e probl ems a nd a great d eal of
confu s ion and fr ustration for c iti ze ns, vend ors and bu s in esses; and
WHE R EAS; c it ize ns beco me fru strated when th ey cont act th e C ity of Atl a nt ic Be ach to requ est po li ce
serv ices in a tim e o f cr isis onl y to fi nd o ut they are ca llin g th e wrong C ity. T here is a lso co nfu s io n wh en c iti ze ns
try to re port co de enforceme nt vio lati ons within their ne ighbol'ho ods a nd are to ld tha t th ey are not in Atlantic
Beac h 'sjuri sdi cti o n a nd mu st contact the C ity of J ackso nvi ll e to fil e a co mpl aint; and
WHEREAS, it is o ften ve ry difficult fo r Atl an ti c Beach staff me mb ers to expl ain to co nt racto rs subm ittin g
a ppli ca ti o ns fo r build ing perm its that althou gh th e pro perty has an Atl a nti c Be ac h address a nd Zip Cod e, th e
a pprova l auth o rity is the City of Ja ckso nv ille. In so me in sta nces, t he C ity of J ac kso nvill e e rred in issuin g buildin g
permi ts that should ha ve bee n issta ed by the City o f At lanti c Beach ; and
WHE REAS , municipalities us in g th e sa me Zip Code for non -pos tal purposes has exacerb ated pro bl ems for
c iti zens who hav e a ma ilin g ad d ress tha t does not match th eir ac tu al C ity of resid ence.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RE SO LVED that th e C ity Commi ss io n of th e C ity of Atlanti c Beach,
Fl orid a he reby supp o rts and requ ests a Z ip Co de Bo unda ry Revi e w by th e Unit ed States Pos tal Service to change
th e la st lin e of th e address from Atl antic Beac h to Ja cksonvill e fo r pro perti es whi c h are not within th e C ity limi ts o f
Atlantic Beach.
PASSED AND A DOPTED by th e C ity Co mmi ss ion of Atl a nti c Beach, Florida, thi s ___ da y o f
__ 201 5.
ATTEST:
DONNA L. BA RTLE, CMC
City Clerk
Appro v ed as to fortn and correc tness:
RI C HARD KOMA NDO, ESQ UIR E
C i ty A norn ey
CA ROLYN WOO DS
Mayo r
ADDRESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
FORT WORTH DISTRICT
~ UNITED STLITES ~ POSTLIL SERVICE
May 22,2009
Postal Customer
AGENDA ITEM #SA
JULY 27,2015
The City of Keller made an official request to the Fort Worth District Manager of the United
States Postal Service to realign the ZIP Code boundary between N. Richland Hills (76180)
and Keller (76248) to coincide with the Keller municipal boundary. After reviewing the
request, the District Manager granted approval for a survey. In January of this year each
residenVbusiness residing within the affected territory received a survey and was provided
an opportunity to vote in favor of or against changing the last line of their address from
N. Richland Hills TX 76180 to Keller TX 76248.
A final tally of the survey has been made. There were a total of 196 responses of which 55
of the respondents (28%) voted against changing the last line of their address to Keller X
76248, while 141 respondents (72%) voted in favor of the change. A simple majority of the
respondents surveyed (50.1 %) was required. Due to the outcome of the survey, the US
Postal Service will honor the request to realign the proposed ZIP Code boundaries.
Effective July 1, 2009, you will begin using Keller TX 76248 as the last line of information for
your address. Also on this date, your mail will be delivered by the Keller Post Office.
Parcels and accountable mail requiring a signature (i.e., certified and registered) will be
picked up at the Keller Post Office located at:
520 E. Vine St
Keller TX 76248-9998
817-431-6231
Hours of operation are:
(Monday-Friday) 9am-6:30pm and (Saturday) 9:00am-12:00pm
When these changes occur, the Postal Service will continue to honor the delivery of the mail
with either the old or new city name and ZIP Code information for a period of one year. This
will allow time for you to notify correspondents of the new last line of information as well as
exhaust stationary on hand. Do not complete a Change of Address card; doing so will
delay delivery of your mail. Please ensure all mail sent to you displays Keller TX 76248
as the last line of information and use this in your return address as well.
Any questions should be directed to David Hawkins, Senior Planner for the City of Keller at
817-7 43-4130.
Sincerely,
Christeen Phipps
Manager, Address Management Systems
4600 MARK IV PKWY
FORT WORTH TX 76161-9321
FAX: (817)317-3674