OP Land Use Change Request

The agenda for Tuesday night's meeting of the Orange Park Town Council has one interesting, and potentially far-reaching issue, cloaked in the innocuous title of:

Public Hearing and Second Reading of an Ordinance creating a new permissable use by exception for "facilities for assistance to the needy" in the "Residential, General" zoning district.

On the surface, the request for a land use change sounds nice, even commendable. Waste Not, Want Not, an organization that collects food from grocery stores and then redistributes it to other groups, has asked for an exception to the town's zoning law to allow it to set up in an area designated for general residential use. Who doesn't support getting leftover groceries into the hands of hungry people throughout Northeast Florida? To say no to such a request by a "facility for assistance to the needy" must sound uncaring.

But here's some reality for the people of Orange Park. If this ordinance is passed, Waste Not, Want Not won't be the only charitable organization that's able to purchase the house next door and set up shop. How'd you like a Clothes Closet, or homeless shelter in the middle of your neighborhood? There are a lot of needy people and a variety of organziations which can claim to assist them.

This is an example of good intentions opening the door to a terrible outcome - one that can erode the quality of Orange Park's neighborhoods. Tuesday night is an opportunity to speak out against this short-sighted land use change request.