Last modified 7/16/2008 - 12:11 am
Originally created 071608
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Idea is on the table for a terminal to be built in the fishing village.
By DREW DIXON, The Times-Union
If they want to bring a cruise ship terminal to the village, let's move the village elsewhere.
That's a conclusion some members of a Mayport advisory board arrived at Tuesday while discussing the possibility of a Jacksonville Port Authority terminal being built in the historic fishing village.
"Move the residents and everybody," said Carroll Huffines, secretary-treasurer of the Mayport Waterfront Partnership, which advises Jacksonville City Hall on Mayport issues. "It's something to think about. It's very progressive. It may be controversial. I don't think we should close our minds to that."
Huffines and Partnership Chairman David Fisher said increasing numbers of Mayport village residents are interested in moving the enclave - about 70 homes on 80 acres - to an area known as Buck's Island. The area has been suggested because it's near the ocean and Mayport, it's vacant and it has no environmental concerns.
The 126-acre spit of land is about 3 miles west of Mayport village on the south side of the St. Johns River, accessible via Fort Caroline Road. The area is used as a dump site for spoils from Jaxport and Army Corps of Engineers dredge projects. Those agencies lease the land from the state.
The Waterfront Partnership and the Mayport Village Civic Association have both passed resolutions opposing the port proposal to build a $60 million cruise ship terminal in the historic village established in 1562. Many residents fear the terminal, which has not been approved yet, would wreck Mayport's traditional fishing industry.
Instead of fighting the terminal, Fisher said, it's time to at least consider moving the community.
"What if you could move the working waterfront from here to there?" Fisher asked. "The idea would be that you would get a house and a piece of property of equal value or larger or better. This is just a what-if thing, now."
Fisher said homes could be rebuilt on Buck's Island, fishing boats could dock there and some historic buildings could be hauled there.
Fisher and Huffines said negotiations should begin with Jaxport, which closed on ownership last month of about 4 acres on the Mayport waterfront in preparation for a potential cruise ship terminal. The port authority paid about $9 million for the property.
Port spokeswoman Nancy Rubin said Tuesday that because the agency doesn't own Buck's Island, the authority is in no position to negotiate any possible relocation of the historic village.
But Rubin said Jaxport is considering using Mayport village for a cruise ship terminal because of the fishing history.
"A lot of what makes Mayport attractive as a service destination is the village. That [relocation] would be removing a crucial piece of what the attractiveness is in Mayport," she said.
drew.dixon@jacksonville.com
(904) 249-4947, ext. 6313