Four-year fight against Broward Point development goes to federal court

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville neighborhood’s four-year fight against a new development is now in federal court. A lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville claims it approved rezoning despite endangered species that call the area home.

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Action News Jax first reported in February 2022 when Jacksonville City Council approved rezoning more than 113 acres around the peninsula at Broward Point.

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It received growing pushback from neighbors on concerns of flooding and traffic in and out of the peninsula’s only road.

RELATED: Council approves development at Broward Point despite growing neighborhood complaints

Currently there’s more than 70 homes on Broward Point, but the approved development could bring another 243 homes built around the area.

“We’re going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Michael Celenza, a resident at Broward Point, told Action News Jax’s Robert Grant in Feb 2022.

He is now one of the plaintiffs on the federal lawsuit against the city which states council ignored the presence of “critical habitat” and “endangered species” within the project area including manatees.

“We’ve seen foxes, all sorts of stuff. Deer,” Leighton Johnson, whose mother lives nearby, said. “It’s really nice. It’s remote. It’s very peaceful...when you jam houses in — in 20 years, what could they look like.”

The suit, filed last month, asks the city to change course and protect the endangered species.

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