JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A bill to initiate the process to create a business improvement district along 103rd Street in West Jacksonville could be withdrawn from Jacksonville City Council consideration, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Council member Rahman Johnson requested the withdrawal of Ordinance 2025-0838, which he introduced to explore the establishment of the BID along what he called the Wonderland Corridor between Blanding Boulevard and Cecil Commerce Center.
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The ordinance calls for the city’s Legislative Services Division to distribute petitions asking commercial property owners in the corridor if they support or oppose a BID, which would collect fees for improvements and other uses. The petition does not specify what fees the BID would charge. It would ask if property owners would support the concept of using assessed fees to fund improvements rather than a specific plan.
Under Council rules, the ordinance cannot be withdrawn without a full Council vote. Assuming Council committees advance the request, Council is expected to vote on the withdrawal Jan. 13.
Johnson’s request comes after a disagreement with Council member Tyrona Clark-Murray, whose district is partially included in the planned business corridor.
During a Dec. 1 meeting of the Council Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee, Clark-Murray said she didn’t feel the corridor needed the BID. Rather, she said, the street needed increased safety measures.
Johnson argued that distributing a petition with Clark-Murray’s district included would allow for residents to voice their opinions on the BID without binding Clark-Murray to contribute funds or include her district.
The legislation says funding would likely go toward lighting and façade improvements, street beautification, branding, signage and grant leverage for bigger upgrades.
Johnson said he chose the Wonderland name as a companion to the Wonderwood area of Jacksonville, which is north of the Beaches near where the St. Johns River meets the Atlantic Ocean.
“If Wonderwood was the Atlantic whispering dreams into Jacksonville’s shoreline, Wonderland is the Westside whispering back – with pride, power, and a vision for prosperity,” Johnson wrote in a description of the name.
Johnson did not respond when asked if he would make another attempt on the BID.
The Five Points neighborhood BID, which Council approved in October, is expected to charge fees of 20 to 25 cents per heated square foot of commercial property.
Council member Jimmy Peluso, who introduced the Five Points legislation and represents the area, pledged $150,000 from his community benefits agreement share for the first year of the BID. The Five Points BID will fund security, landscaping and neighborhood promotion.
“The Wonderland Corridor would be a designated area where we invest in ourselves — by using assessments on commercial properties within the district to fund real transformation,” reads the petition, which would have been circulated to an estimated 267 property owners in the proposed district with Council approval of Johnson’s legislation.
Johnson envisioned the Wonderland Corridor BID receiving an initial infusion of $750,000 from its three Council district representatives. In addition to a portion of Clark-Murray’s District 9, the BID included parts of Randy White’s District 12 and Johnson’s District 14.
The three representatives would provide the cash from their share of $1 million provided to each district Council member through the city’s community benefits agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The $300 million community benefits agreement complemented the $1.4 billion deal between the city and the Jaguars to renovate EverBank Stadium into the team’s “Stadium of the Future.”