ORANGE

Mayor Joanne Coontz said Wednesday that she is open to having members of the Orange Park Acres Assn. board of directors continue making recommendations for seats on a planning committee that advises on land use for the area. About 20 members of the association voiced concern at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that recent mayoral appointments to the Orange Park Acres Planning Committee have been made without their input. “All we want is the mayor to honor the way it has been done in the past,” longtime Orange Park Acres resident Richard Siebert said Thursday. “Our recommendations [to previous mayors] have never been denied” in the association’s 30-year relationship with the committee, he said.

The association represents 1,300 homes in the equestrian community, on the eastern edge of the city, and considers it vital to have a voice on concerns in the area. Currently, significant issues include the possibility of redeveloping the area’s golf course into single-family homes. City Atty. David A. De Berry is evaluating committee procedures but said that the mayor’s ability to appoint members--a state mandate--is not in question.