JaxPride: A Coalition for Visual Enhancement, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that advocates for a heightened awareness of Jacksonville’s visual environment by increasing the public’s awareness of the needs and opportunities to improve our city's visual appearance.  We channel the community's demand for visual improvements into specific projects and programs within the organization through partnerships with the public and private sectors.  JaxPride advocates vigorous enforcement of ordinances pertaining to visual enhancement such as sign, property maintenance, and landscape and zoning ordinances.  While JaxPride promotes beautification throughout Jacksonville, we focus on promoting the importance of the revitalization of downtown’s aesthetics due to its connection to the vitality of the entire City as its employment, cultural and entertainment center.

Seven Principles for Scenic Conservation

We envision a future in which we, as American citizens...

I. ...retain the distinctive character of our communities and countryside by rebuilding older cities, towns and suburbs as beautiful places in which to live and work; and conserve agricultural land and open space.

• Set aside open space for greenways, parks, trails and river corridors;
• Protect farms and ranches from subdivision through agricultural zoning, conservation land trusts, agricultural land banking, and tax abatement; and 
• Create incentives for growth to help rebuild older cities and towns, and to create compact, transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use communities.

II.  ...foster new development that respects the special character of places as defined by their distinctive geographical features, cultures, climate and natural systems.

• Encourage communities to identify and map the visual qualities they most value, and then adopt strategies to conserve them;
• Incorporate aesthetics into performance measures for planning, siting and construction of all new development and redevelopment (including franchise development and other commercial and industrial development); and
• Establish comprehensive community tree policies that preserve existing trees, control tree cutting and tree damage during construction, and add new trees to replace those lost over the years to development.

III.  ...encourage a balance of regulatory and market approaches to protect scenic resources including rewarding land stewardship by property owners, local governments and corporations; and providing disincentives for practices that destroy scenic values.

• Provide tax incentives and property tax relief for scenic conservation and good land stewardship; and
• Make visual polluters pay by fining those who break the law; taxing those who use the visual environment for commercial advertising based on the true value of their asset; and levying fees for uncompensated use of the roadways to cover the cost of services and access to the public right-of-way.

IV.  ...design a national transportation system that respects aesthetic values as well as economic and energy efficiency, social equity, and environmental qualities.

• Encourage excellence in road design and in bridge construction and reconstruction; and allow flexibility in design standards to respect scenic, historic, natural and community values; and
• Landscape our highways and community gateways to incorporate native vegetation and to reflect themes of local history and culture.

V.  ...prevent mass marketing and outdoor advertising from intruding on the landscape or community appearance.

• Produce dramatic and immediate results in the scenic character of our landscape by banning the construction of new billboards and strictly regulating existing billboards; using any constitutional means to remove existing billboards within a reasonable period of time; and halting all cutting of trees and vegetation on public land to improve the visibility of billboards;
• Set height and size standards for on-premise signs;
• Promote well-designed logo and tourist-oriented directional signage systems, along with other information technologies to help travelers find the services they need;
• Regulate other forms of outdoor advertising including the exterior of public buses, floating or flying messages, posters on bus shelters, street furniture, and store windows, corporate sponsorship of public service events so as to minimize intrusiveness on our enjoyment of the built and natural environments; and 
• Minimize the visibility of cellular communication, utility and energy generation technologies.

VI.  ...teach young people to value the visual environment and to create and respect places of beauty.

• Incorporate scenic conservation into all elementary and secondary environmental and geography education curricula;
• Incorporate the values of scenic conservation into graduate courses in economics, planning, design, and public policy; and
• Integrate scenic conservation projects into scouting and school service learning programs.

VII.  ...actively engage business, industry, civic and professional organizations in the movement for a more scenic America.

• Promote the link between business and tourism development and conservation of natural, cultural, recreational, heritage and scenic resources; and   
• Enlist retired professionals whose skills and political clout can benefit scenic conservation.

News

• Ribault High School Junior Charrette

• JaxPride's Position on Ordinance 2009-401 & -402

• New Executive Director

• Great Streets Southbank Beautification Project

• JaxPride Board Member Community Involvement

• NIVP & NIVP, Jr. Update

To read the full articles and more, please go to our Summer 2009 Newsletter.  Click here to read Past Newsletters.

Ribault High School Junior Charrette

JaxPride is working with Ribault High School National Honor Society students to design a beautification project at a focal area in the neighborhood near the school grounds, which will be known a Trojan Plaza.  At the discretion of the students, the project is being designed in phases so that each class can leave behind a legacy at their school. (read full article on page 1)

JaxPride’s Position on 2009-401 & 2009-402

In 2005, Councilmember Shad introduced Ordinance 2005-718 to allow a special exemption for JTA to allow bus shelter advertising. After attempts by JaxPride and JTA to find an alternative solution for generating funds other than by advertising, such as starting an Adopt-A-Shelter program, the bill was administratively withdrawn earlier this year. (read full article at the top of page 3)

New Executive Director

We are pleased to announce the addition of Lou Gena Smith as our new Executive Director. Lou Gena previously served as a planner with the City of Jacksonville and Arcadis, as well as a legal assistant with Rogers Towers for Bill Brinton, whose practice focuses on the areas of complex First Amendment and land use litigation involving billboards and other signage. (read full article on page 1)

Great Streets Southbank Beautification Project

JaxPride’s Executive Director, Lou Gena Smith met with DVI’s Executive Director Terry Lorince and Director of Improvement District Services Amy Harrell to discuss opportunities to partner with JaxPride within Downtown. (read full article on page 2)

JaxPride Board Member Community Involvement

On May 26, 2009, City Council members appointed fifteen people to the 2009 Charter Revision Commission, including former Mayor Ed Austin and former School Board member Martha Barrett. JaxPride Board member and attorney Wyman Duggan was chosen to serve as chairman of the commission. (read full article on page 2)

NIVP & NIVP, Jr. Update

NIVP

JaxPride was asked to make an NIVP presentation to the Norwood Business Association on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at Bono’s on Norwood Avenue. JSO ShadCo District 1 Officer Wally Butler was also in attendance to speak about their program and how they could help the business community regarding criminal violations. It was a good transition to JaxPride’s presentation about violations related to the sign, property safety & maintenance, and zoning codes. (read full article at the bottom of page 3)

NIVP, Jr.

As it has for the past few years, JaxPride participated in the Back-To-School Giveaway at the Teacher Supply Depot in August 14, 2009 that was held at Lackawanna School. JaxPride provided interested teachers with goodie bags filled with a program narrative of the NIVP, Jr. program, a pen and pencil, and a teacher discount card generously provided by the UPS Store in Riverside. (read full article at the bottom of page 3)

Click on link below for the entire newsletter.

• Winter 2007