Dancin In The Streets of Avondale

4th Annual Dancing in the Streets of Avondale

~ to benefit Special Olympics ~

Music ~ Fun ~ Vintage Cars and Motorcycles ~
Silent Art Auction ~ and of course plenty of Dancing!

Friday, June 1st from 6-10pm
For more information call 338-3194 or visit their site.

Caring For the Skin of Your House

This informative article about the exterior of your house, or "skin", is part of a long distance learning program and is provided by National Park Service. In it you will find the answers to the following topics:

What does the "Skin" Do?
How Your House is Connected?
What & When to Repair
Beyond Maintenance
Take our Quiz

Cocktails and Creatives

Take the edge off your day in a relaxed, social setting, with like-minded
designers. Your chance to meet and interact with the local design community. If you are interested in great design or meeting people who are, stop by West End Cantina this Thursday for Cocktails and Creatives.

West Inn Cantina
3644 St. Johns Ave.
They'll be there from 6:00pm till 8:30pm

This event is sponsored by AIGA Jacksonville and moves to a different venue each month.

ShAdCo Meeting Tonight

This month's meeting is May 22 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm. This event repeats on the fourth Tuesday of every month. the substation is located in the old Cedar Hills Shopping Center at 3726 Blanding Blvd.

The police have their hands full in our city this year. If you have any complaints the best way to be heard is in person. There seems to be a small crime wave hitting the district and we still have a graffiti problem. The police need your help. If you don't report the crimes, they can't do anything about it.

Call the Zone 4 Substation at 573-3165 if you have any questions.

RADO Open Houses

If you know of anyone looking for a great house, RADO may be able to help. They are holding two open houses this weekend. Don’t forget there’s a 3% co-op for realtors. Please call RADO at 381-0950, if you have any questions.

2630 Gilmore Street and 2628 Gilmore Street
Both are from 1-3pm

Zoning Overlay Community Meeting

Tonight is the last of the community meetings. There will be a report by Glatting Jackson, the Riverside Avondale Overlay consultants, on the community concerns and suggestions gathered from the three meetings last week. There will also be time for discussion of the issues.

Robert E. Lee High School
Media Center
Wednesday, May 9, 207
6:30 p.m.

Please try to attend.

May 16 RAP Board Meeting

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 – 7:30pm – RAP House

The Board of Directors meet tonight at the RAP house located at 2623 Herschel Street. This month's major focus will be the Zoning Overlay. Get the word out. Discussions will also include reports on Quality of Life as well as Marketing and Fundraising issues for RAP. The ongoing restoration of the Buckland House, zoning and transportation issues, the financial report and the need for marketing assistance will also be among the topics discussed.

This meeting is open to all RAP members.

CSX Quiet Zone

The Board of Directors of Riverside Avondale Development Organization (RADO) passed a resolution on March 17th 2007 in support of the city pursuing a CSX “quiet zone” from San Juan through the Edison Street crossing. Our organization is concerned that these neighborhoods are being overlooked and it is crucial for our future developments in Riverside and North Riverside that the noise is reduced for our homebuyers. New state subsidies including HOP (State Homeownership Pool Funds) require that homeowners be located at least 3000 feet away from a rail line or have a noise mitigation program in place. In order to continue to provide quality affordable housing, these programs are essential for our future. We appreciate your support and on behalf of RADO’s Board of directors, we look forward to talking to all parties involved in the near future.

For more information or to lend some support, please contact:
Matthew Bowler
Executive Director
Riverside Avondale Development Organization
Phone: (904)381-0950
Fax: (904)381-0951

Chalk the Walk

Sidewalk Art Show and Competition
Saturday, May 12, 2007
9am – 2pm

Calling all artists! So, ya think you've got chalk dust in your veins? Do you think you can show Picasso a thing or two? Perhaps, you would like to win a "Chalkie" and some bragging rights. Or maybe, you would just like to leave your mark on the district. Whatever the reason, head on out to St. Paul's Catholic School and help them raise money for their arts program.

Registration begins at 9am. The drawing starts at 10 and the awards presentation is at 1:30 for the winners. Artists can buy either a small or large square to show off their art. Children and adults are encouraged to attend.

St. Paul's is located at 2609 Park Street, one block east of Park and King. For more information, call 387-2554 or txgeary[at]bellsouth.net.

Dynamic Dolphin Chorus

Cathedral Arts Project’s annual “Showcase of the Stars!” will be held May 5-6 at the Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum. More than 900 elementary school children will perform during the two-day recital. Our own Dynamic Dolphin Chorus, from Central Riverside Elementary will be performing on Sunday, May 6. This performance will be the final one of the year for our chorus. The performances and awards presentations are open to the public. Tickets are $4 each and can be purchased at the door.

Cathedral Arts Project was founded in 1993 by St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral and has since grown to become the largest provider of free standards-based instruction in the visual and performing arts for public school students in Duval County. For information and show times, call 291-5599, ext. 12.

Come out and support Ms. David and her Dynamic Dolphin Chorus!

Things to Consider for the Zoning Overly Worksops

Participate and be prepared!

Here's how to be more effective: first, you'll be asked to write down three words which describe the 3 things you most love about your neighborhood, so have that ready.

Second, you'll move to tables for 6 or8 persons and will be asked to list the problems in the neighborhood related in any way to zoning; e.g., expansion of St. Vincents, JEA cutting/trimming trees, homeowner encroachment on river access on those streets ending at the river, signage on businesses, buffering I-10 and US 17, proposed roundabout at McDuff, too much commercial zoning, etc. Get your list ready and make your case.

Then, VERY IMPORTANT, each person is given 6 red adhesive dots with which to vote. All the "issues" from each table are written and posted on the wall. You walk along and "vote" by placing a dot by the issue. You can vote all 6 on one issue if you like. It would make sense that the group managing the zoning overlay will toss out issues that receive no or few votes but will address those that receive more votes. With a small group, your six votes can really emphasize one or two issues.

So, if each of you has issues of concern in your neighborhood, come to the meeting tonight or tomorrow night, or both (and double your vote!).

See you there!

Zoning Overlay Meeting

Two weeks ago a letter was mailed out to all residents in zip codes 32204 and 32205 to alert residents to the workshops for the Riverside Avondale Zoning Overlay.

The purpose of the workshop meeting is to get your input for what you want for the neighborhood. The workshop meetings will consist of a presentation by the consultants to give an overview of the work underway and small group breakout sessions to help identify the issues within the area. There will be an aerial map exercise that will be used to identify what you like and don’t like in the neighborhood.

The current zoning code was developed for a suburban scale development and does not reflect our neighborhood as it exists.. Riverside Avondale could not be built today without significant deviations from the current zoning code. A zoning overlay offers an alternative to the PUD (Planned Unit Development) that can be applied to a larger area. A zoning overlay district is adopted by ordinance into the City of Jacksonville Zoning Code. To date, four (4) zoning overlay districts have been adopted into the City of Jacksonville Zoning Code: Downtown, Springfield, Mayport and Lake Marco.

WORKSHOPS
Tuesday, May 1, 6:30-8:30pm
Riverside Avenue Christian Church, 2781 Riverside Avenue, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, May 2 6:30-8:30pm
Fishweir Elementary School Auditorium, 3977 Herschel Street

WRAP UP MEETING
Wednesday, May 9, 6:30-8:30pm
Robert E. Lee High School Media Center, 1200 S. McDuff Ave.

We need your input! There are two more workshops and a wrap up meeting in the coming week. Do your part and attend!