Author: Beth Tate

St. Johns County Resident and Entrepreneur - I am focused on supporting our county as we continue our rapid growth. "Connecting People; Solving Problems"
Posted in PZA, St. Johns County, Workforce Housing

Summary of the August 17, St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

Ponte Vedra Club PUD – Change in Date

The meeting started off with a statement from Chair Matovina that the Ponte Vedra Resort PUD would not be heard and has been continued to September 21.

For those interested in this PUD, there are other important meetings associated with this PUD review:

  • Sept 6, 5:00 PM, the Architectural Review Committee Meeting at the Sawgrass Mariott
  • Sept 11, 11:00 AM, the Ponte Vedra Planning and Adjustment Board at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine
  • Sept 21, the Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting, time certain of 10:00, at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine (subject to change.)
  • Nov 7 – the Board of County Commissioners meeting, 9:00 at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine (subject to change.)

Mr. Matovina then shared some additional information for the Board. These items are reported as recorded in the meeting transcript with some editing for grammar:

“I want to make sure that we all understand that staff doesn’t work for us. We don’t give instructions to staff. They work for the St. Johns County Manager who ten reports to the board so I think that, that is something we should understand. There is a lot of discussion about that item. And staff should not be asked to take direction from us. So that is number one.

Number two, I want to point out, the potential for conflict of interest. Because when we think of conflict of interest, we normally think of a monetary situation. Several that I have declared have been because DR Horton is my biggest customer.

If they have a rezoning up here, I clearly should declare a conflict of interest. But there are nonmonetary conflicts of interest. If you live next door to the development, you have a nonmonetary conflict of interest because you live next door to it. Our charge is to not only avoid an actual conflict of interest but also the perception of a conflict of interest.

So, I think thse are all things that are important for us to remember. Because there is going to be a lot of controversy surrounding this particular item on the 21st. And we could potentially, you know, put any decision that is made in danger by not following rules that we are supposed to follow.

So, That’s all I have to say about that matter.”

Items on the Regular Agenda

The first two items were minor and did not have extensive discussion. Approved by the PZA were a Zoning Variance in District 5 and a Minor Modification in District 4 to allow a Rear Yard setback to accommodate a swimming pool.

Item 3, in District 2

Elevation Pointe – Request for a Major Modification to the Elevation Pointe at Anderson Park PUD (Ordinance 1996-66, as amended) to increase wetland impacts with a corresponding decrease in preserved wetlands, open space and upland buffers; increase development area; reconfigure commercial outparcels; and decrease approved commercial entitlements from 190,000 SF to 170,000 SF.

“APPLICATION SUMMARY This is a request to modify the Elevation Pointe at Anderson Park PUD in order to accommodate a planned Publix Supermarket within the commercial portion of the development. The use is proposed at the corner of the future realigned CR 208 and SR 16. The applicant is seeking to reconfigure the commercial outparcels to allow for the use, which will result in additional impacts to adjoining wetlands and open space areas due to an increase in the development area. The applicant also proposes to decrease allowed commercial square footage within the PUD from a maximum 190,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet.”

Aerial view of the Elevation Pointe project

Included in the package for Thursday is a summary of comments received from the Public prior to the meeting.

“PHONE CALLS/CORRESPONDENCE Staff has received several phone calls regarding the proposed Major Modification. A majority of the calls were informational in nature with no stated objections. Several residential property owners to the west have called to express concerns about the proposed impacts to the wetlands, and the possibility of exacerbating drainage issues in the area. Several members of the public have also voiced frustration with regard to another Publix supermarket being built along SR 16, which would be the third Publix located along the SR 16 corridor between I-95 and International Golf Parkway. Staff noted to these callers that the County is unable to prohibit specific businesses from occupying designated commercial properties if the proposed use is allowed by right within the development.”

Elevation Pointe Presentation

This was approved 4-1

Item 4, in District 5

Whole 9 Yards. Request to rezone approximately 1.37 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Industrial Warehousing (IW), located at 5285 Big Oak Road S. This is property located in the Airport District.

Whole 9 Yards Presentation

Aerial View of The Whole 9 Yards project location

Several residents spoke against this development because of the impact on the residential nature of the area.

There was quite a bit of discussion about what is allowed in the Airport District. Of note, the Airport Authority will need to review this item before it is presented to the Commissioners in September.

The application was denied by the PZA.

Item 5, in District 2

Deer Run Road PUD. Request to Rezone approximately 25.12 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow up to 26 duplexes for a total of 52 dwelling units, specifically located at 2380 Deer Run Road, 1109 Fazio Road, and 1150 Fazio Road.

This development appears to represent more much needed attainable housing in St. Johns County.

“APPLICATION SUMMARY The Applicant is seeking to rezone approximately 25.12 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum of 52 dwelling units consisting of 26 residential duplexes. The applicant asserts that the development will provide multi-family housing options for residents that are employed at the area businesses near the SR 16 and I-95 corridor at a price that they can afford. The applicant points out that the proposed duplexes will provide a more affordable and lower maintenance option as compared to single-family homes without the higher density of multi-family townhomes and apartments.” Deer Run Road Presentation

Aerial view of Deer Run Road project location

Questions were asked of the applicant if this was truly Workforce Housing. They indicated they did not know the threshold for Workforce Housing. When told that the threshold was $260,000, the acknowledge this is not workforce housing but at a range of $300,000 would be more affordable than other homes in the area.

Local residents objected to the development because of the impact on traffic on 4-Mile Road.

After discussion, this was approved 3-2.

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Posted in BOCC, St. Johns County

Update on the August 15 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

The August 15 meeting was refreshingly short! With no Proclamations on the agenda, the Board was able to move quickly into the Public Safety Update

Public Safety Update

SJSO Director Scott Beaver reported that 54,000 kids have now returned to school in St. Johns County, across 43 public schools. Noting that traffic is always much worse during the first 2 weeks of school as everyone gets into a new routine, he asked for patience during this “chaotic” time. He also shared that SJSO has been working hard to cut down on crashes in the county through proactive actions by deputies. They are on a projected path to decrease 71% of our traffic crashes in SJC and 55% of traffic related deaths. He added, “ If you get mad because you get a ticket, we probably saved your life or someone else’s”

Fire Rescue Chief Bullard also commented on school starting and that usually being the signal of the end of summer. He reminded us that August is the hottest part of the year, please stay out of the sun if you have that option and please stay hydrated.  He recommended drinking plenty of non-alcoholic fluids and noted the fine line between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. His admonition was to give your body time to recover when you’ve been in the heat for an extended period of time.

The Clerk of the Court’s update was skipped as they are providing the Financial Report on Agenda Item 1.

Consent Agenda

The County Attorney asked for one item to be pulled from the Consent Agenda, Item 18.

Consent Agenda Item 18 was “Resolution approving the First Amendment to the Amended and Restated Utility Service and Refund Agreement for the SilverLeaf Development of Regional Impact.”

Regular Agenda

Item 1 – Comprehensive Financial Report – Brandon Patty

The Financial Report was a presentation by the external audit firm, MSL, on the completed audit for the Fiscal Year ended in June, 2022.

The audit report can be found at this link: St. Johns County Financial Report

There were no significant issues noted in the audit, internal controls are effective and the county is in sound financial status.

The presentation can be found here: Auditor’s Presentation on the Financial Report

Regular Agenda Item 2 – Hastings Main Street –  presented by Sally O’Hara and Jenna Davis.

“The Florida Main Street Program solicits communities annually to submit applications for Florida Main Street Program designations. Currently, there are 57 such programs in Florida whose purpose is to improve economic development within a context of historic preservation. The benefits of attaining designation contribute to increased professional technical assistance and training for participating communities, guidance for national best practices for community development, and advantageous grant scoring considerations for future funding. The focus of national and state Main Street programs is to: a) create jobs through revitalizing districts attracting new industry and strengthening services and retail job markets; b) save tax dollars through revitalization and strengthening of the area’s tax base, while also protecting existing investments; c) preserve the community’s historic resources for an economically healthy downtown and preservation of the community’s heritage; and d) build community pride providing a public space for members from all areas of the community to come together, create new partnerships, and celebrate their downtown. Hastings Main Street, Inc. is submitting an application to the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources to be recognized as a Florida Main Street community. The Main Street Program application requires the support of the local government in the form of a resolution.”

There was unanimous approval for the resolution.

Read more about the Hasting Main Street Program here: Hastings Main Street

You can read more about the Florida Main Street program here: Florida Main Street Program

Item 3 – New Twin Creeks signage – this was a simple request to modify the PUD to allow for new signage in the Twin Creeks PUD.

Commissioner Whitehurst took the opportunity to ask County Attorney Migut for an update on negotiations with the developer regarding obligations for road improvements. Attorney Migut shared that there is good progress. There is already a bid package out with responses due 8/30 for a traffic light at Cumberland Park Drive and 210. Another package is being prepared for the widening of 210 and should be out for bid by 9/1.

Items 4 – 11 were relatively minor with no significant comments.

Jumping ahead to Agenda item 12, the “First Reading of Proposed Amendments to St. Johns County Ordinance No. 2009-36, the St. Johns County Ordinance which prohibits the presence of registered sexual offenders and sexual predators within 300 feet of specified locations designed for children.”

The full ordinance can be found here: Presentation on Sexual Offender/Predator Ordinance

This Ordinance specifically addresses “prohibiting the presence of registered sexual offenders and sexual predators from being present, loitering or prowling within three hundred (300) feet of specified locations that are primarily designed for used by, or are primarily used by children in St. Johns County (“County”)”

During public comment there was a question raised about some of the language in the ordinance.

  • Could the language be changed to match the state statute? Distance in the ordinance is 300 feet, State Statutes state 1000 feet.
  • Could the terminology of “Amenity Center” be added to the language? Amenity Centers in CDDs and HOAs are a large portion of HOAs and CDDs and a great area where residents congregate.

The Assistant Attorney clarified that the 1000 feet is in reference to registered sexual offenders and sexual predators cannot LIVE within 1000 feet of a school. It does not extend to parks.

As for adding Amenity Centers, the ordinance is targeting places that are designed primarily for the use of children. Amenity Centers are not designed primarily for children.

It would be up to the Board to direct the ordinance to be modified differently.

By consensus, the Board agreed they would like to see the distance changed to 1000 feet and to include Amenity Centers in the ordinance.

The Attorney’s office will research and confirm there would be no legal hurdles with modifying the ordinance to include those items and will bring that back to the Board for the Second Reading, possibly in September.

Commissioner’s Reports:

Commissioner Alaimo asked staff to review and come back to the Board recommendation for parking at Tortuga Beach Walkover.

Commissioner Dean provided an update on the beach renourishment projects and reminded residents that keeping our beaches viable is a benefit to all County residents because of the impact on our County economy.

Commissioner Joseph asked about options for providing funding to Fort Mose. By consensus, the board agreed to hear recommendations on how to accomplish this.

Commissioner Arnold requested agreement from the Board to support Flagler Estates in getting their own Zip Code. The Board agreed.

Commissioner Whitehurst talked about the return on investment the county gains as a member of the Northeast Florida Regional Council.

County Administrator Report

Interim County Administrator Joy Andrews shared several items with the Board including the creation of a new Infrastructure Team that will be working on ways to expedite strategic infrastructure projects. She asked for this to be a standing item on the first BOCC meeting each month, to follow right after the Clerk of the Court’s report.

She asked the Board for a motion to send letters of support for the widening of State Route 16 between International Golf Parkway and I-95 to the Florida Department of Transportation and the US Department of Transportation. Motion was passed.

Ms. Andrews also provided timeline clarifications on a project of great interest that will be coming before the Board in a few weeks. This project is the Ponte Vedra Resorts PUD. The applicant has pulled their application from the August 17 PZA meeting and there is a new schedule.

Ponte Vedra Resorts PUD Schedule:

  • Ponte Vedra Architecture Review Board – September 6
  • Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board – September 11
  • Planning and Zoning Agency – September 21, at 10:00 AM time certain (tentative, could still be changed)
  • Board of County Commissioners Meeting – November 7

With no other business, the meeting was adjourned.

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Posted in St. Johns County

August 17, St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

The St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) Meetings are held the first and third Thursday of each month at 1:30 PM in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View.

Ponte Vedra Club PUD – Change in Date

The agenda for August 17 has changed in a big way! As discussed at the August 3 Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meeting, the Ponte Vedra Club PUD had been on the agenda for a time certain of 3:00. There had been anticipation this would be a long meeting because of great public interest in the PUD.

That topic has now been moved to a “date certain” of September 21.

For those interested in this PUD, there are other important meetings associated with this PUD review:

  • Sept 6, 5:00 PM, the Architectural Review Committee Meeting at the Sawgrass Mariott
  • Sept 11, 11:00 AM, the Ponte Vedra Planning and Adjustment Board at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine
  • Sept 21, the Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting, most likely 1:30, at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine
  • Nov 7 – (unconfirmed) the Board of County Commissioners meeting, 9:00 at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine

Here’s what’s happening at this week’s PZA meeting

Item 1, in District 5

Request for a Zoning Variance to Section 6.01.03.E.3 of the Land Development Code to allow for a Front Yard Setback of 5′-10″ in lieu of the 25 foot requirement, and a second Front Yard setback of 7′-10″ in lieu of the 20 foot requirement in the Residential, Single Family (RS-3) zoning district, located at 3020 Third Street.

Item 2, in District 4

Request for a Minor Modification the Ponte Vedra By-The-Sea Estates PSD (ORD. 2000-5) to allow a Rear Yard setback of six (6) feet in lieu of the ten (10) foot requirement to accommodate placement of a swimming pool.

Item 3, in District 2

Elevation Pointe – Request for a Major Modification to the Elevation Pointe at Anderson Park PUD (Ordinance 1996-66, as amended) to increase wetland impacts with a corresponding decrease in preserved wetlands, open space and upland buffers; increase development area; reconfigure commercial outparcels; and decrease approved commercial entitlements from 190,000 SF to 170,000 SF.

“APPLICATION SUMMARY This is a request to modify the Elevation Pointe at Anderson Park PUD in order to accommodate a planned Publix Supermarket within the commercial portion of the development. The use is proposed at the corner of the future realigned CR 208 and SR 16. The applicant is seeking to reconfigure the commercial outparcels to allow for the use, which will result in additional impacts to adjoining wetlands and open space areas due to an increase in the development area. The applicant also proposes to decrease allowed commercial square footage within the PUD from a maximum 190,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet.”

Aerial view of the Elevation Pointe project

Included in the package for Thursday is a summary of comments received from the Public prior to the meeting.

“PHONE CALLS/CORRESPONDENCE Staff has received several phone calls regarding the proposed Major Modification. A majority of the calls were informational in nature with no stated objections. Several residential property owners to the west have called to express concerns about the proposed impacts to the wetlands, and the possibility of exacerbating drainage issues in the area. Several members of the public have also voiced frustration with regard to another Publix supermarket being built along SR 16, which would be the third Publix located along the SR 16 corridor between I-95 and International Golf Parkway. Staff noted to these callers that the County is unable to prohibit specific businesses from occupying designated commercial properties if the proposed use is allowed by right within the development.”

Elevation Pointe Presentation

Item 4, in District 5

Whole 9 Yards. Request to rezone approximately 1.37 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Industrial Warehousing (IW), located at 5285 Big Oak Road S. This is property located in the Airport District.

Whole 9 Yards Presentation

Aerial View of The Whole 9 Yards project location

Item 5, in District 2

Deer Run Road PUD. Request to Rezone approximately 25.12 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow up to 26 duplexes for a total of 52 dwelling units, specifically located at 2380 Deer Run Road, 1109 Fazio Road, and 1150 Fazio Road.

This development appears to represent more much needed attainable housing in St. Johns County.

“APPLICATION SUMMARY The Applicant is seeking to rezone approximately 25.12 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum of 52 dwelling units consisting of 26 residential duplexes. The applicant asserts that the development will provide multi-family housing options for residents that are employed at the area businesses near the SR 16 and I-95 corridor at a price that they can afford. The applicant points out that the proposed duplexes will provide a more affordable and lower maintenance option as compared to single-family homes without the higher density of multi-family townhomes and apartments.” Deer Run Road Presentation

Aerial view of Deer Run Road project location

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Posted in BOCC

What’s on the August 15 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting?

Posted on by Beth Tate

The upcoming meeting is another light agenda with no Proclamations to be accepted. The introductory part of the meeting should go quickly.

The full agenda can be found at this link: August 15 Board of Commissioners Agenda

There are several items for review that are more routine in nature. I am only highlighting those items that may be of more general interest.

Consent Agenda Items of Note:

Consent Agenda Item 10 is an important step forward in the widening of County Road 210 from Cimarrone Blvd to Greenbriar Road. This item is to accept temporary construction easements to accommodate the project.

Consent Agenda Item 21 has historical significance to St. Johns County. This item is for the relocation of the Canright House to County Park Property.

What is the Canright House? Here’s the description in the Consent Agenda Item.

“The historic Canright House at 5480 Atlantic View, on Anastasia Island, has significant links to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s visit to St. Augustine in May of 1964. This beach cottage attracted international attention in 1964, and a photograph taken there of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pointing to a bullet hole in the window has become one of the iconic images of the civil rights movement. It was the winter home of Dr. Cyril M. and Winifred Canright which they made available to Dr. King when he came to St. Augustine in May 1964 for the mass campaign that led to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Staffers stayed there, but Dr. King had not yet spent a night in the house when the local newspaper ran directions to it on the front page, and segregationists attacked it on numerous occasions, shooting up the house, attempting to burn it, and fire bombing it. These events were widely reported around the country, and increased public pressure to do away with racial segregation. On August 16, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners discussed the relocation of the Canright House and upon motion of the Board, gave direction to write a letter in support for two non-profits organizations in their effort to raise money for the relocation of the structure to Joel A. “Bubba” Williams Windswept Acres Park. The house is currently owned by St. Johns County resident David Manaute, who is offering to donate the structure to St. Johns County. The St. Johns County Parks Foundation received a state appropriation for the Foundation to relocate the structure. The Parks and Recreation Department is seeking the Board’s approval to accept and authorize the relocation of the structure, and authorize the County Administrator to negotiate and execute agreements with the Parks Foundation and the home owner for the relocation of the Canright House to Joel A. “Bubba” Williams Windswept Acres Park, 210 Mickler Road, St. Augustine, FL 32080.”

Regular Agenda Items

Regular Agenda Item 1 is the presentation of the St. Johns County Annual Financial Report, presented by Brandon Patty, Clerk of the Court.

Annual Financial Report Presentation

What is most interesting about this item is the timeframe being covered. This report is asking for acceptance of the FY2021 audit results. This was completed in June 2022. Why do we review Financial Reports a year in arrears?

The County’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) requires acceptance from the Board of County Commissioners. The Report is prepared by the Clerk Comptroller’s Office. As a final step, the Board should accept the FY 2021 ACFR as audited by MSL, P.A., the County’s auditing firm. The ACFR and SAS 114 letter is available on the Clerk’s website, which can be accessed from the County’s webpage, at the following link:

St. Johns County Financial Report

Regular Agenda Item 2

Sallie O’Hara will be presenting on behalf of the Hastings Main Street Program. The Florida Main Street Program solicits applications for Florida Main Street Program designations each year. These are intended to improve economic development within the context of historic preservation. The focus of these programs are to

a) create jobs through revitalizing districts attracting new industry and strengthening services and retail job markets

b) save tax dollars through revitalization and strengthening of the area’s tax base, while also protecting existing investments

c) preserve the community’s historic resources for an economically healthy downtown and preservation of the community’s heritage

d) build community pride providing a public space for members from all areas of the community to come together, create new partnerships, and celebrate their downtown.

Hastings is submitting an application and these require the support of local Government through a resolution.

Hastings Main Street Presentation

Regular Agenda Item 4 is a request to modify the Cumberland Industrial Park PUD to add permitted and special uses to Parcels A and B. This is located at 1301 and 1405 County road 210 West. Cumberland Industrial Park PUD

Location of Cumberland Industrial Park

Regular Agenda Item 12 is the First Reading of Proposed Amendments to the St. Johns County Ordinance which prohibits the presence of registered sexual offenders and sexual predators within 300 feet of specified locations designed for children. Agenda Item 12 – Ordinance Presentation

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Posted in PZA

Summary of the August 3 St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

The August 3 Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meeting had one lengthy discussion and some interesting conversation about the upcoming August 17 PZA meeting.

The first item on the Agenda was the annual election of the Chair and Vice-Chair. Teresa Bishop, of the Growth Management Department made a request to delay the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair to a future meeting. The rationale for the request was because of a highly controversial item to be heard at the August 17 Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting. After much discussion it was agreed to delay the election of a new Chair and Vice-Chair until after the upcoming review of the Ponte Vedra PUD Modification.

Agenda Item 2, a non-zoning variance for signage in The Shoppes of Tocoi Creek was approved with little debate.

Agenda Item 4 for the Katepally Community Commercial PUD to add a connectivity point and an additional vehicular access point was also approved with little discussion.

The big item of the day was the combined presentation on items 5 – 8, The Landings at Greenbriar and The Landings at St. Johns (Active Adult.)

You can watch the full presentation at this link: August 3 PZA Meeting

I’ve shared screen shots from the presentation throughout the narrative below.

Dr. Hilsenback commented on their package having 946 pages to review. This is an indication of the size and complexity of the proposal.

The 4 items, presented in one presentation were:

  • Agenda Item 5 (370 pages) is “Request for a Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use designation of approximately 31.8 acres of land, located south of Greenbriar Road, approximately one (1) mile west of Longleaf Pine Parkway, from Rural/Silviculture (R/S) to Residential-B (Res-B) with site specific text amendment stating that in locations where the subject property is contiguous to The Landings at St. Johns site, no Development Edges will be required.”
  • Agenda item 6 (87 pages) is “Request to rezone approximately 382 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 588 single family residential dwelling units. This request is a companion application to CPA (SS) 2022-01”
  • Agenda item 7 (340 pages) is “Adoption hearing for a Large-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use Map designation of approximately 581 acres of land, located south of Greenbriar Road and west of Longleaf Pine Parkway, from Rural/Silviculture (R/S) to Residential-B (Res-B) with a site specific text amendment stating that in locations where the subject property is contiguous to The Landings at Greenbriar site, no Development Edges will be required.”
  • Agenda item 8 (149 pages) is “Request to rezone approximately 581 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) and Residential, Single Family (RS-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 761 age-restricted single family homes. This request is a companion application to COMPAMD 2022-06 The Landings at St. Johns.”

Links to each agenda item are here:

Agenda Item 5 – The Landings at Greenbriar

Agenda Item 6 – The Landings at Greenbriar PUD

Agenda Item 7 – The Landings at St. Johns Agenda

Item 8 – The Landings at St. Johns PUD

The Landings at Greenbriar is planned to have 588 single family residential units while the Landings at St. Johns is planned for 761 Age Restricted (55+) single family units.

Aerial view of Site location

To mitigate impacts to roads, the project includes a Proportionate Fair Share agreement that would:

  • Widen a portion of Greenbriar Road to 4-lanes from Greenbriar Road/Longleaf Pine Parkway intersection west approximately .90 mile at an estimated cost of $8,162,869.
  • Widen an additional .5-mile segment of Greenbriar Road extending to approximately 930 feet west of Brambly Vine Drive/Project Entrance intersection for a total of 1.48 miles.
  • Include improvements to the intersection of Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Pkwy.

The representative for the developer shared information about the status of road improvements.

Active and Funded Road Improvement Projects:

  • Longleaf Pine Parkway four-lane
  • CR 210 four-lane from Cimarrone to 210-West
  • Longleaf Pine improved with the Greenbriar Helow Mixed Use Development

A timeline was shared to demonstrate that the first homes will not be closing for new homeowners until 2026 and that much of the road improvement construction will be done before the new traffic is generated.

Also shared was two proposed road improvements that will be of benefit for school traffic and included in the package was a letter of support from Superintendent Forson about the benefit of these improvements;

The School District had previously determined there is no available capacity in the Concurrency Service Area impacted by this development. In the months since that determination the developer had been working with the School District and there is now an agreed Proportionate Fair Share Agreement with the School District.

The Developer shared information about the impacts on schools with these slides:

Public Comment

During Public Comment there were concerns raised that this is NOT compatible with surrounding neighborhoods. This was based on lot sizes and density in existing developments compared to the proposed development. There was frustration expressed with the number of expert witnesses in the room for the developer. A comment was made that the added turn lane for the schools was not helpful and only provided to win “brownie points.”

Concerns were raised about the overcrowding in the schools and the number of temporary classrooms already in place.

During rebuttal from the developer they pointed out the requirement for the expert witnesses for a quasi-judicial application such as this and that is why they have the experts who helped prepare the reports in the room to answer any potential questions.

They addressed concerns about compatibility by sharing the following slide and chart:

Discussion before the vote

After this discussion Dr. Hilsenbeck indicated he had more concerns about compatibility. He also asked about how many approved and platted but unbuilt lots are in the county today.

Ms. Bishop provided these numbers:

  • 142,555 approved lots
  • 83,888 are built
  • 58,267 unbuilt, county wide

Dr. Hilsenbeck went on to share that he felt the traffic would be “crushing” and that this development is premature until the roads and schools can catch up.

Mr. Matovina pointed out that there were other sources of funding for road improvements, not just those indicated for this development. He also shared his view that as road improvements come online, people will change their travel habits and that will alter the traffic patterns.

All four applications were approved 5-1 with Dr. Hilsenbeck being the Nay vote.

The next step is review with the County Commissioners on Sept. 5.

Staff Reports and Final Discussion

During staff reports, Ms. Bishop shared that the School Board is working on finding a replacement for their vacant PZA position.

There was discussion about the upcoming PZA meeting on August 17 where the controversial Ponte Vedra Resorts PUD will be reviewed.

-The hearing is set for a time certain at 3:00 and it is anticipated the meeting may go very long based on the recent community meeting with over 400 people in attendance.

-They are setting a time certain for the Chairman to be allowed to continue the meeting if it is still going at 8:00 PM.

-They could extend the meeting to 10:00 PM.

-If the meeting goes past 6:00, they will schedule a 30 minute dinner break.

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