What’s on the Agenda for the April 18 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting?
A key theme for Tuesday’s meeting is addressing Affordable Housing in St. Johns County. That term can have a negative connotation to some of our residents. Considering the median price of a home in St. Johns County last month was $555,000, and the median income in St. Johns County is $110,000; it really means providing housing for people who can’t afford the median priced home but provide many of our daily services that contribute to our quality of life in St. Johns County.
After the usual opening activities, the Commissioners will approve the Consent Agenda.
The Consent Agenda for Tuesday includes an important item for Affordable Housing in St. Johns County. One of the impediments for building affordable housing in the County is the high Impact Fees charged to builders. A request had been made to utilize State Housing Initiative (SHIP) grant funds to assist in lowering the cost of the Impact fees non-profit developers who are building homes for the low and very-low income population. This would affect ONLY homes under $260,000.
Read more about the proposed amendment here: Consent Agenda Item 20
Moving on to the Regular Agenda, Public Comment will be heard at Time Certain of 11:30.
Regular Agenda:
Puerta Del Sol
On the Regular Agenda Tuesday is a Public Hearing for Puerta Del Sol in District 3 on State Road 206 near US 1. This could be a lengthy presentation and discussion based on the presentation at the Planning and Zoning Agency March 2. The PZA decision was a “technical denial” as it was tied, 3-3.
Anticipate this topic will take up the morning session, up to Public Comment and a lunch recess.
There are two requests for Puerta Del Sol. The first is for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Land Use change from Residential B to Residential C and the second is the creation of a Planned Unit Development (PUD). The PUD would include a single-family home, 137 townhome units, and 25,000 square feet of commercial use.
At the PZA presentation, there was much public comment from nearby residents who do not want more development in their area. Some were ok with more development if it wasn’t townhomes because they don’t want lower income homes nearby. Other residents were in favor because of the need for diverse housing options such as townhomes. Another recommendation in favor was the concern if housing does not get built in this space, commercial will one day fill the space and housing is preferable to adding commercial to 206.
Read more about the PUD here: Puerta Del Sol PUD
Live Local Act
Continuing the theme of Affordable Housing, Item 5 on the Agenda is a workshop discussion to be led by one of the County Attorneys, Christine Valliere and Assistant Administrator Joy Andrews.
Senate Bill 102, The Live Local Act, was recently passed by the Florida Legislature and quickly signed into law by Governor DeSantis. This legislation is intended to incentivize developers and builders to provide more affordable housing across the State of Florida and in many instances preempts local jurisdictions local ordinances.
Some important elements include:
- Preempts local authorization of multi-family and mixed-use residential rental developments in any area zoned commercial, industrial, or mixed use with an affordable housing component.
- 40% of the units must be affordable for at least 30 years; 65% of the total square footage must be residential in mixed-use projects.
- Density and height restrictions are based on maximum limits of jurisdiction and nearby developments.
- Local government cannot require a development authorized under this preemption to obtain a land use/zoning change, special use approval or variance for use, density, or height. No public hearing process allowed.
Read more about Tuesday’s presentation here: Live Local Act – Workshop
The full agenda for Tuesday can be found here: BOCC Agenda
I’ll provide a summary of the meeting later in the week.
If you are finding value in these updates, please subscribe to my blog so you get notifications when I publish an update. Feel free to share with others who may find value in the content.
Beth Tate 