The Agenda for the January 17 Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Meeting has some interesting topics included. It could be a very long day!
Why?
The items at the beginning of every BOCC meeting are generally benign and, with one exception, Tuesday is no different.
The meetings always begin with Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the Clerk of Court’s Report, Deletions and Additions to the Consent Agenda and Regular Agenda and Approval of the Regular Agenda.
One item in the beginning of the agenda for Tuesday that may have some interest during public comment is the “Ceremonial Oath of Office” for our newest Commissioner, Roy Alaimo, who was appointed by Governor DeSantis in December.
Why is this of particular interest? Word is, he was formally sworn in in December and has already been speaking with constituents. That may be cause for some of our County Activists who were concerned about this appointment to speak out about that during Public Comment.
There is 30 minutes at a Time Certain from 11:30 – 12:00 PM for Public Comments.
There are two items up for discussion at Tuesday’s Meeting that could take up a good portion of the meeting. Agenda Items 1 and 2 are about the Colonel Hinman Intermodal Exchange Facility (CHIEF) being proposed in District 3. This topic was the only item covered in the 4-hour Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meeting last week. Video and transcript of the meeting can be found here:
What is CHIEF?
The Background Information in Tuesday’s Agenda says this is a “Request for a Large-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use Map designation of approximately 214.13 acres of land, located at 2775 County Road 214, from Residential-B (Res-B) to Industrial (I) with a text amendment prohibiting Heavy Industrial uses on the subject property.”
After the 4-hour discussion at the PZA, there was not a majority vote obtained so this was considered a denial of the application that now comes to the BOCC for approval to transmit to the State.
You can read more about CHIEF in this article from the Jacksonville Business Journal (warning – paywall.)
The intent of “Transmittal to the state” is for the state agencies to review and send back their comments and concerns, or approval. We have seen in the past that there is seldom much feedback from the State.
What is included in this proposal?
“This is a request to amend the Future Land Use Map from Residential-B (Res-B) to Industrial (I) for approximately 214.13 acres of land to allow for an Intermodal Distribution Facility with rail access to the adjoining Florida East Coast railway. The facility is proposed to contain up to 900,000 square feet of warehouse, intermodal terminal uses, and a commuter rail service. A text amendment has been provided by the applicant that prohibits Heavy Industrial uses on the subject property, which would be a permitted use within the Industrial Future Land Use Map designation.”
Full document with details can be found here:
Concerns about the proposal
There are several concerns raised about this proposal, not least of them being that the property is bounded by residential areas and would have impact on existing longtime and future residents of this part of the county.
Some interesting details were brought out in the PZA meeting about the proposal last week. The applicant states that the potential Commuter Rail system was discussed with Jacksonville Transit Authority (JTA)and that JTA is in favor of the proposed Commuter Rail Station at this location. They also indicate that the Florida East Coast (FEC) railway supports the proposed project that would be utilizing their rail lines. It does not appear that any documentation was provided to back up the verbal assertions by the applicant.
The applicant provided an Economic Impact Study indicating the proposed project would “support over 3,000 jobs, generating $137 million in annual earnings and contribute $374 million to GDP.” This would be generated by building 850,000 sq. ft of warehousing space and a 50,000 sq. ft. intermodal truck terminal.
At the time of review with the PZA, there were still several outstanding staff comments from the county zoning division. Included in the comments are concerns from the Environmental Division because this property is surrounded by residential land and is also adjacent to Moultrie Creek and to Conservation Easements. Even with the prohibition on heavy industrial uses, the Industrial category permits high intensity use that is “potentially inconsistent with surrounding environmentally sensitive areas.” Notably part of the wetlands included in this property are part of the floodway headwaters to Moultrie Creek.
Also, during the PZA meeting there was lively discussion about clearing that has taken place on the property that may not have been approved through the appropriate state agencies. While the applicant asserted they were in compliance with Florida Statutes, there was little to no documentation provided supporting that assertion and one member of the PZA pushed back that this clearing was not in line with accepted Best Practices.
With the many concerns raised during the PZA meeting and the numerous concerns from neighboring residents, this discussion at Tuesday’s BOCC meeting promises to be lively!
Roadway Priority Projects
Also on the Agenda for Tuesday is Item 8, the 2023 Roadway and Transportation List of Priority Projects. This is the list of project priorities that the county is asking to be prioritized for potential funding in the new fiscal year of FDOT’s Work Program.
The full list of proposed projects can be found in the Agenda item here:
St. Johns County Priority Projects Agenda
Some highlights include continued work on CR 2209, the CR 210 and US1 Interchange, a Planning study for an Intermodal Transportation Center (Not the CHIEF project being proposed in Tuesday’s meeting), and a study for a Southeast Commuter Rail Service from Downton Jacksonville to St. Augustine (also not the CHIEF proposal of Tuesday’s meeting.)
Public Housing Authority
Item #9 on the agenda is an Information presentation on a Public Housing Authority (PHA) for St. Johns County. This presentation will share the objectives of a PHA and the process for creating a PHA should the BOCC decide to act on the request from concerned St. Johns County residents to implement a PHA.
As I have written previously, St. Johns County has an affordable housing problem and a PHA could potentially be one tool to help address that problem. I have heard from residents both for and against the creation of a PHA so this should be an interesting topic on Tuesday.
State of the County
The last big item on the agenda Tuesday (Item 14) will be the State of the County presented by our County Administrator, Hunter Conrad.
Tuesday promises to be a long and interesting day for the BOCC meeting! Pack a lunch!
I’ll be reporting back on the highlights later in the week.
Beth Tate 