{"id":499979,"date":"2026-01-07T23:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T23:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/499979\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T23:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T23:09:10","slug":"jacksonville-city-council-member-leads-push-to-address-demolition-by-neglect-in-historic-districts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/499979\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville city council member leads push to address \u2018Demolition by Neglect\u2019 in historic districts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Jacksonville City Council Member Jimmy Peluso spearheaded a new initiative to combat \u201cdemolition by neglect\u201d in the city\u2019s historic districts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Peluso hosted a meeting on Wednesday that brought together key stakeholders to revive a previous task force\u2019s recommendations and discuss how to move forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThere\u2019s a ton of property owners that have held onto a property for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years, and the property is just deteriorating to such a degree that it\u2019s ready to fall apart,\u201d Peluso said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">And Peluso said it is a significant issue across the city. While Jacksonville has several large historic properties sitting neglected, Peluso\u2019s initiative will focus on what he said is a more manageable scale. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cObviously, I want to see Laura Street Trio get done, but that\u2019s a multi, multi, multimillion dollar deal,\u201d Peluso said. \u201cThis is a way to make sure that communities and neighbors are able to help fix up their own neighborhoods with the help of the historic center. If we could do something that\u2019s not going to cost $85 million to fix and it means the world to a neighborhood, let\u2019s do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The emphasis, according to Peluso, would be in historic neighborhoods. He said these areas have individual properties that need to be fixed up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019re seeing it in some of our oldest neighborhoods,\u201d Peluso said. \u201cIt becomes a public nuisance, becomes a public health issue, becomes a public safety issue.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The initiative builds on recommendations from an original task force that operated from August 2025 to April 2025, which included:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Creating and maintaining a list of properties with neglect-related fines<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Establishing criteria to identify properties at risk of demolition by neglect<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Regular meetings to discuss at-risk properties and develop action plans<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Expanding the city\u2019s use of foreclosure authority<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Partnering with nonprofits to rehabilitate properties<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Peluso envisions a sustainable solution through public-private partnerships. The Jacksonville History Center, represented at the meeting by Alan Bliss, had expressed interest in participating in the initiative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is make neighborhoods better,\u201d Peluso said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He outlined a revolving fund model where initial city seed funding would be combined with private sector donations to rehabilitate homes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Peluso emphasized that while historic preservation is the primary goal, the initiative also supports housing accessibility and neighborhood improvement while bringing more families into these previously neglected homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe fix up one home, it sells, a couple bucks are made, then we go to two homes&#8230; then we go to five. That\u2019s how we really make this process work in the best way possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The initiative faces several hurdles, primarily securing funding and establishing an organizational structure. Peluso plans to meet with administration and code enforcement officials, consult with auditors about available funding, and present the initiative at Councilmember Matt Carlucci\u2019s meeting on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe real hurdle is funding,\u201d Peluso acknowledged. \u201cWe need to make sure we have those dollars available for seed funding so that this new entity could take those properties and have some public dollars to use while leveraging private donations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville City Council Member Jimmy Peluso spearheaded a new initiative to combat \u201cdemolition by neglect\u201d&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":151334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,76111,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-499979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-historic-preservation","12":"tag-jacksonville","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}