Fernandina CRA Advisory Board weighs strategies for success
On November 14, 2013, the second floor conference room at Fernandina Beach City Hall was the setting for the first post-election meeting of the CRA Advisory Board. Members briefly discussed the resounding defeat in the November 5 election of the referendum to remove a 2% arbitrary size restriction on CRAs within the city, attributing the defeat in part to lack of visible improvement in the existing CRA during the 8 years following its creation. Committee members devoted most of their discussion to identifying strategies to overcome the perception among potential developers that the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) obstructs, rather than facilitates, development within the riverfront Community Redevelopment Area (CRA).