JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2014 A local father is speaking out before the Jacksonville Beach City Council tonight about his demands for transparency regarding a planned expansion of a private school.<\/p>\n
Action News Jax first spoke with Donnie Brzuska back in December<\/a> after he says his then 12-year-old son was almost hit by a car in front of the school in August.<\/p>\n He says that while he was digging into why the school didn\u2019t have crossing guards on the day his son was almost hit, he realized that the school has extensive plans to expand. He says he\u2019s been requesting those plans for more than eight months and received them just two hours before Action News Jax went live on air.<\/p>\n Per a document received in 2014 from the Planning Committee, because Discovery School is located in a \u201cResidential, Single Family: RS-1 zoning district,\u201d any modifications or changes to the site plan require approval by the Jacksonville Beach Planning Commission.<\/p>\n Brzuska claims that the school has not obtained its approval, and therefore has left the residents\u2019 voices out of the equation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you don\u2019t follow the conditions of operations, you put everybody in the community at risk,\u201d Brzuska said. \u201cYou impact their quality of life, you impact their safety, and you impact their property values.\u201d<\/p>\n Brzuska says residents have raised many safety concerns about the school\u2019s expansion, specifically about traffic congestion on a narrow road, which he says almost caused him to get hit by a car back in August.<\/p>\n One of the community\u2019s primary concerns is the athletic field located directly behind the school.<\/p>\n He says heavier traffic on that road not only poses a safety risk to residents and students but could also delay emergency response times to the senior living facility right behind it. He says that Shetter Ave, where the field\u2019s entrance would be, is a primary route for JFRD Station 71, so blockages could have a significant impact on operations.<\/p>\n Brzuska says that for months, community residents and HOA committees from across the community, like Jardon de Mer, Marsh Inlet, Marshside, Plantation Oaks, and Fairway Lane, have been working to get the Jax Beach Planning Committee to review the school\u2019s site plans, but they keep getting met with silence. Brzuska says he believes this is out of fear of being sued by the school.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re afraid to take this back to the planning commission,\u201d Brzuska said. \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re afraid to have a public hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jacksonville Beach City Council meeting will start today at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n