Post-meeting Discussions - Sans Souci Neighborhood Association Forum

SEPTEMBER MEETING SUMMARY

JenJ — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 01:34:09 +0000

Thank you to everyone who came out tonight!

-Mark gave everyone more info on the Christmas party that we're collaborating on with the Elks Lodge. The Elks have received a grant to provide gifts for children whose families may have been struggling to afford them this year. This Breakfast with Santa party will take place on Dec 5, 9am, at the Elks Lodge on West Road. All are welcome to join, and if any members of our community want to volunteer to help, please let us know!

-I've signed our Association up to participate in the city's current Litter League competition. This round's grand prize is a Jags game in the city's box at the stadium. There are 5 spots left- let me know if you're interested in signing up. If you've already signed up and need supplies, let me know, I have a bunch of gloves and garbage bags provided by the city. The official pick up date will be on Sunday Oct. 4, and we will meet again at Wurn Park at 5pm to drop off the bags for the city to pick up, and take a group photo. If you aren't able to pick up on that day, but want to take part, you can still do so. Trashed on Tuesdays and Adopt-a-Park pickups can also count. Just send me your before/after photos of the areas you clean up, including photos of the full bags, so I can submit them. Send to sanssoucineighborhood a t gmail.com
More info:
https://www.jacksonville.gov/mayor/initiatives/keep-jax-cute/jax-litter-league

-We are going to sign SSNA up to adopt Wurn and Drew parks. The requirement is 6 cleanups per year. I will update everyone with more specifics soon. For info on the program:
https://www.jacksonville.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/jaxparks/news/adopt-a-park-program

-Our Sans Souci Neighborhood Watch liason, John Paffe, had a lot of good info on crime statistics (Sans Souci's crime level is down), and ways to be vigilant in protecting property and looking out for neighbors. He also spoke about resources he's created to help get a better idea of what areas he can communicate to JSO that needs their focus. More info here:
https://www.sanssoucicommunitywatch.org/

-I reminded everyone that we now have a website, which includes a forum where any neighbor can read or join discussions:
https://sanssoucineighborhood.org/community/

-I also reminded everyone of the city's free tree program. We just got our second free tree, a chaste tree. There are many to pick from, of all sizes! Sans Souci's tree canopy is sorely lacking compared to a lot of Jacksonville. Here's the info from the city:
Do you like trees? Do you like FREE trees planted for you in front of your house? If you answered yes, the 630-CITY FREE tree planting program sounds like it could be for you.

All you have to do is call 630-CITY(2489) and request to participate. An urban forestry staff member takes you through the easy process of how to request a tree and how you are helping make Jacksonville a better place.

-We will be producing new SSNA yard signs soon. Let me or Karen know if you are interested in one!

-Our next meeting will be on Thursday, October 8, 7pm, at the Jacksonville Elks Lodge #221. We hope to see you then!

Keep Jax Cute, Don't Pollute - Litter Free Business Program

JenJ — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 23:21:34 +0000

At the latest CPAC meeting, Charles Griggs, Mayor Deegan's representative, spoke about some of the progress that the mayor's litter-fighting initiative has been making. One aspect that has just been added is the Litter Free Business Program, to encourage local businesses to be active participants in keeping our city looking nice. More info on that here:

https://www.jacksonville.gov/mayor/initiatives/keep-jax-cute/litter-free-business-program

June Meeting re-cap

JenJ — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 01:22:20 +0000

First of all, a huge thank you to JSO’s Officer Morrow and Officer Jackson, for taking time to talk with us and listen to concerns that neighbors had. They have taken notes and will address them. Auto burglaries have been on the rise. Remember to always lock your car doors, and don’t leave any valuables in there, especially guns. The JSO 2026 Town Halls will be happening next month. District 3’s will be on July 14 at 6:30pm, at the Church of Eleven22 Mandarin Campus. From JSO: “These free events are your chance to hear about the state of safety in your neighborhood, learn more about how our agency is improving the ways we protect your family, meet the men and women who patrol your area, and ask questions.”

As always, a huge thank you to the Elks Lodge for letting us use their space for our meetings! They want to share with us that they’ll be having their 250th Celebration on July 4 at the Lodge at from 11am to 4pm. Anyone in Sans Souci who wants to join is more than welcome. And thank you to everyone who came to our meeting, we had some great discussions!

Neighbors had some concerns about the Dean/Terry development, and what changes may have been made after City Council initially approved the new zoning to accommodate the project. I emailed with them, and got a reply today, with all of the current paperwork. The biggest change to the current plan seems to be the relocation of the drainage pond. There will be 77 townhouses. Email us if you want me to forward all of the paperwork to you.

Speaking of email. We want to make sure our mailing list is up-to-date. Send us your email address if you want to be added to the SSNA mailing list, to get reminders about our meetings and other relevant information.

And speaking of our meetings. A couple of SSNA officers, as well as a few of our regular attendees, will be out of town for summer travels next month, so we are not going to hold a meeting in July. We will get together again in August, on the second Thursday, 7pm at the Elks Lodge, as always.

We spoke about Council member Rory Diamond’s latest introduction, Ordinance 2026-0367, which would allow the city’s Planning Department to grant applications for administrative zoning deviations without the currently required public hearing, and with eased requirements for approval. As did with his previous proposal to re-define low-density residential to allow some medium-density buildup without any public hearings, this too received a lot of immediate opposition from the community. After looking into it, saw an article in Jax Today that says this too has been withdrawn.

Karen has submitted our Association’s application for non-profit status, and it is currently being processed. Once approved, this will open up a lot of doors for us, in the ability to acquire grants and tax-deductible donations for communications, community projects, and events! Along with this, we plan to make memberships official, along with membership cards, and hopefully discounts from participating neighborhood businesses.

We have a new website, and new logo! We are putting the finishing touches on it over the next couple of weeks. I am excited about this for several reasons. We now have an official domain, which we’ll be able to include on the next round of SSNA lawn signs, and any other flyers we distribute. And as part of the website, we will have an open forum which is open to all neighbors, without the requirement of any particular social media membership. It will be much easier to share news and discussions with everyone.

The topic of the City’s free tree planting program came up. I’m always singing the praises of this program, and encouraging neighbors to request a free tree(s) for their right of way. You can call 904-630-CITY and request yours and they’ll send you a list of tree options to pick from, it’s super easy. They’ll also remove dead trees from your right-of-way. One neighbor asked if trees could also be planted through this program on city-owned land that is not a right-of-way on the road, specifically in this case, the ditch behind Elisa Drive. I wrote to the City Arborist, and unfortunately the answer there is no. She encourages anyone who wants free trees that they can plant themselves to take advantage of Greenscape’s annual tree giveaway, where they give up to 3 free trees.

After several neighbors expressed displeasure that the summer opening of the Wurn Park Pool is once again delayed, I contacted Daryl Joseph, the parks and rec director. The pool needs a major mechanical overhaul, but he spoke with the contractor and they changed the plan, to just do repairs needed to make the pool work to be open by July 4, and then do the major overhaul after this swimming season. Until that pool opens, he points out that Sans Souci residents are welcome to use the Englewood High School swimming pool for free.

Speed humps have been installed on Terry Road. The speed limit is also reduced to 25 MPH. I put in a Google maps update, letting them know, and requesting that they route traffic during peak periods through Barnes Road, as was planned in the original design. It’s currently in review. The topic of the shape of our roads continues to come up, and all I can really say is, keep putting those tickets in with the city. If enough of us complain enough, they do eventually do something about it, eventually. You can put in a ticket online, or by calling 904-630-CITY.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority, through the Safe Routes to School Federal Grant Program, is designing and preparing construction plans for new sidewalks on Nathan Drive, Renee Terrace, and Ryar Road to increase pedestrian connections to Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary School. This project will improve pedestrian safety and connectivity in the Sans Souci area.

We are currently looking to fill officer roles in our association for Secretary and Treasurer. If you or anyone you know may be interested in getting more involved, let us know.

See you in August!