JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A group of Brentwood residents is suing the City of Jacksonville over the new medical examiner’s office that’s near a school.
The Metro Gardens Neighborhood Association, led by Lydia Bell, has long said the facility doesn’t belong in the neighborhood. It’s being built near the KIPP V.O.I.C.E. Academy.
The group also alleges that the city didn’t tell the community that it intended to build the facility and that it violated city ordinances.
The group said that homes near morgues typically lose property value due to stigma and environmental risks. The injunction seeks that the facility be repurposed into something that “benefits, rather than harms and irreparably harms the Brentwood community.”
Back in April, residents protested at city hall, asking that the facility be turned into a pharmacy, urgent care, or a tutoring center.
Read the full lawsuit below.
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