JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council voted Tuesday night to send a request to expand a Southside halal grocery store back through its hearing process before the Jacksonville Planning Commission and the Land Use and Zoning Committee.
The controversial rezoning request from Apna Bazar to expand its Beach Boulevard property faced continued opposition at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, resulting in the proposal being returned to the committee for further review.
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Apna Bazar, which originally proposed a slaughterhouse as part of its expansion, withdrew that request earlier this month after pushback from neighbors and animal rights activists.
However, despite the slaughterhouse proposal being withdrawn, about 30 community members attended Tuesday’s meeting to voice their opposition to the ordinances that are still moving forward.
“These tractor-trailers will have to drive through the parking lot where the warehouse is located,” one resident told the council.
Ordinance 2025-0487 would grant a small-scale land use amendment from Community/General Commercial and Low Density Residential to Light Industrial on a 0.91-acre portion of the property, and from Low Density Residential to Community/General Commercial on a 1.38-acre portion.
Ordinance 2025-0488 would change the zoning to Planned Unit Development from Residential Low Density and Community/General Commercial. This rezoning ordinance had initially contained the request to add the slaughterhouse.
According to the Jacksonville Daily Record, the motion to rerefer the legislation came after the store developer agreed on a further change, which would amend the land use proposal on the property from Light Industrial to Community/General Commercial.
During Tuesday’s meeting, City Council President Kevin Carrico apologized for causing some confusion among community members after he posted on X that Apna Bazar had removed the slaughterhouse from its proposal — leading some people to believe that the legislation had been scrapped altogether.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Jacksonville halal grocery store attempting to add meat processing facility on its Beach Boulevard property|‘Going to fight every inch of the way’: Southside residents voice concerns over potential slaughterhouse expansion
Residents primarily voiced concerns over transparency, traffic, and safety.
“I don’t like what it’s going to do to the residents on that road. I think all of this should be pulled,” a resident said.
The city council voted to return the proposal to the Land Use and Zoning Committee, allowing the applicant to make adjustments to the plan.
Ordinances 2025-0487 and 2025-0488 are expected to be taken up in public hearings again in 2026.