Jacksonville Beach City Council votes against rezoning for new bar

Surfer The Bar would have replaced Mango's on 1st Street

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – The Jacksonville Beach City Council rejected a rezoning plan Monday night that would have allowed a nearly 8,000-square foot bar to replace Mango's Bar and Grille on North First Street.

The proposal, voted down 4-2 with one abstention, would have put "Surfer The Bar" in Mango's place.

In June, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency voted 3-1 to recommend approving the plans.

"My biggest concern is the mixed use was really, really a stretch," said Mayor Charlie Latham, who voted against the project. "If you looked at the parking requirements for the bar, if it wasn't listed as mixed use, it's substantially more. I've got to be honest with you, that was one of our original platforms as a council and it's one that I still stand behind because we have a parking problem."

Supporters told News4Jax they believed the project would have helped to boost the local economy.

But others said there are just too many bars in Jacksonville Beach and that leads to maxed out police officers and parking issues.

One woman even called the plan "a joke."

"They've got 6,289 square feet of bar and 3,000 square feet of retail. That's a joke," Silvia Oswald said. "That is not mixed use. It's a bar."

Oswald was one of nearly 100 people with some fairly spirited comments at Monday's nearly three-hour city council meeting.

Many told council the plan was for a "mega bar" and didn't think it created the family friendly environment the council has been vocal about developing over the last couple of years.

Developers presented some proposal revisions to the council to increase parking spaces from 22 to 34, to have on-site security on Thursday-Saturday nights and to scale down the size of the outdoor bar area.

Supporters said the project would have been one of only 12 "Surfer The Bar" facilities in the country and should have set the stage for future growth.

"My businesses and my life is built in Jacksonville Beach, and I want to see this community compete on all levels with the surrounding communities," said Rudy Theale, owner of Nippers Beach Grille.

After Monday's vote, the developer told News4Jax he did not want to comment and wouldn't say if he would try to take this project to another location in the area.