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 BOCC, Florida Legislature, St. Johns County, Transportation

St. Johns County Transportation Summit

Posted on by Beth Tate

Summary of the March 3 Workshop

On Friday, March 3, the County Commissioners hosted a Transportation Summit at the County Auditorium. In attendance were:

  • Our County Commissioners, Sarah Arnold, Christian Whitehurst, Krista Joseph, Roy Alaimo, and Henry Dean
  • US Representative John Rutherford
  • State Representatives Cyndi Stevenson
  • State Senator Travis Hutson
  • FDOT District 2 Representative Jim Knight

This was a “workshop” with no time granted for public comment.

A presentation was provided by County Engineer Dick D’Souza highlighting projects in the county and some of the main areas of traffic concern. Ironically, Representative Stevenson was a few minutes late to the meeting because of heavy traffic. She noted, if she had been going north to catch a flight, she would have missed her flight!

The presentation from Mr. D’Souza is available on the County website at this link:

Transportation Infrastructure

Some highlights of interest:

  • Prioritization of projects that will connect to the Strategic Intermodal System
  • Widening of County Road 210, Greenbriar Road to Cimmarone Blvd. – funded with local, developer and federal funds – currently in the Design Build phase
  • Longleaf Pine Parkway widening to 4 lanes – Developer funded, Construction start in 2023
  • Veterans Parkway – widen from Longleaf Pine to Greenbrier Road, including construction of new 4 lane roadway from Longleaf Pine Parkway to CR 210 – Developer funded, Construction started in 2021
  • Old Moultrie Road – Dino Road, SR 312 to Lewis Point Road – Local and Developer Funds, Construction start 2023. Includes new bicycle lanes and sidewalks

Partnership projects include:

  • I-95 Widening project
  • First Coast Expressway
  • County Road 2209
  • A1A Intersection improvements
  • State Road 16 and International Golf Parkway intersection

Other noted projects:

St. Johns Safe Rail Project is intended to address concerns at US 1 and CR 210. The conceptual design would close the intersection fo Alt CR 210 and US1 and construct a westbound bridge over US1 and access ramps from County Road 210 to US 1.

Country Road 2209 – from Silverleaf Parkway to State Road 16. This project would complete the upper section of north-south 2209 and link with SR 16 to provide a seamless rout to 9B and Race Track Road. It would connect the regional workforce to a 700,000 SF commercial and innovation hub expected to provide more than 1,200 jobs in the county.

Multimodal & Safety Improvements under review include the Pine Island Road at US 1 intersection. Very recently the site of another traffic fatality that resulted in an extensive traffic back-up across CR 210, this is a high priority for the County. The project includes complete reconstruction of the intersection, signalization and a multi-use trail-head. St. Johns County has made an urgent $2 million legislative request to fund this project.

Multi-Use trails are requested including Nocatee trail extension to A1A, St. Johns River to the Intercoastal, and the North-South Connector to SR 207.

Be sure to check the link above for the presentations behind the data!

Posted in BOCC, St. Johns County

What’s on the March 7 St. Johns County Board of Commissioners Agenda?

Posted on by Beth Tate

Items of Interest on next week’s Board of County Commissioners Agenda

Item 1 – Bella Terra PUD

Located in District 3, the Bella Terra PUD Request is to rezone 26 acres of land from Open Rural to Commercial Intensive for a multifamily residential development with a maximum of 174 units. Concerns raised at the Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meeting in November included proposed road improvements and impact fees. Resident concerns were raised about drainage, traffic, and safety. This request was before the County Commissioners in December and was continued to a date uncertain with a vote of 3:1. This is the new hearing date with some revisions made since the original request.

Item 2 & 3 Rivertown PUD and DRI modifications

This request in the RiverTown development is to revise school mitigation requirements, address the abandonment of the Eagle nest, add a date certain for a library site and fire statin site, clarify the residential development rights, include age restricted units, and reduce the proposed roundabout locations on SR 13. This was approved 6-0 in the PZA review. The applicant has provided that the School District had approved the School Mitigation agreement. There was no public comment at the PZA.

It should be noted, the Eagle’s nest had been abandoned after a lightning strike burned the tree hosting the nest.

Item 6 – Land Acquisition and Management Program (LAMP) submission of 5 properties for consideration for acquisition and conservation.

There are 6 properties under review with the LAMP program recommending the top 5. Location of the Top 5 properties are:

  1. County Road 13 N. Picolata Area – 457.5 acres with a potential use of passive recreation and conservation, wetland mitigation credits, and historic interpretation.
  2. County Road 13 McCollough Creek – 17.6 acres adjacent to the SJC McCullough Creek Conservation Area (MCCA) with a potential use to connect to the MCCA and add a small boat launch.
  3. Anastasia Lakes (Mid-Island) – 49.34 acres of salt marsh with a potential use of preservation for salt marsh credits.
  4. County Road 13 S. Riverdale Area – 30 acres with access on Atlantic Road and a potential use as preservation for wetland mitigation or park uses.
  5. 600 State Road 13 N (Fruit Cove) – 7.7 acres of a former landscape nursery with existing trees and a small pond. Potential use is a passive park. This had been previously recommended in 2022.

More information about the proposed properties can be found here: LAMP Proposal

Item 7 – Ordinance Consideration

Ordinance Establishing Procedures for Code Enforcement Lien Release or Reduction will be presented for a first reading with no action required from the Commissioners on this date.

When citations or other enforcement efforts are unsuccessful in achieving compliance, violations of St. Johns County (“County”) codes and ordinances may be scheduled for hearing before an enforcement board or special magistrate, which may order the assessment of fines, penalties, and/or costs against the violator. Such orders may be recorded in the public records and constitute a lien against the property, which are an asset of the County. The County occasionally receives requests from property owners or other interested parties to reduce or forgive such code enforcement liens. The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) authorized the Office of the County Attorney to draft a proposed ordinance to establish procedures for the consideration of such requests. The attached proposed ordinance establishes application requirements, eligibility criteria, and process for review of the application and recommendation by the applicable code enforcement body, which is then considered by the Board for final disposition.

Item 8 Countywide Strategic Plan

Item 8 is a request from the County Administrator to initiate and complete a countywide strategic plan.

Item 9, discussion of the Professional services agreement for Hunter Conrad

This is an item that has generated much comment at past BOCC meetings and it is expected to have lively public comment on Tuesday. The employment contract is for 3 years, beginning March 7, and includes a salary of $248,000 and an annual increase of 5% each October. Also in the contract is a transportation allowance of 700 dollars/month.

Full details can be found at this link:

County Administrator’s Contract

Posted in Affordable Housing, Essential Worker Housing, Growth & Development, St. Johns County

Summary of the St. Johns County February 21 Board of Commissioners Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

Last week’s Commissioner’s Meeting was a long day! Here are some of the highlights that may be of interest to the community.

Consent Agenda Items of Interest

Item #3 on the Consent Agenda is of interest to residents in the Northwest Sector.

This item was to approve the assignment of the Greenbriar Helow Development Agreement. Kevin Kramer of BTI Partners, one of the developers of the Greenbriar Helow project, spoke to the Commissioners. This marks the first payment to the county of $19 Million for the widening of 4 miles of Longleaf Pine Parkway. Commissioner Whitehurst highlighted that this project impacts his district and that the Commissioners did take a chance when they approved Greenbriar Helow in November. He is pleased to see the developer following through on the commitment. Coupled with Item 10 on the Consent Agenda, the county will now initiate the entire project for widening Longleaf Pine Parkway to four lanes from Veteran Parkway to Greenbriar Road. Construction is anticipated to begin within 60 days and take 18 months to complete.

Regular Agenda Items of Interest

Agenda Item 1 – Presentation of the St. Johns County Surplus and OPEB Investment Portfolios

The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners Investment Policy, Section XVII Reporting, and OPEB Trust Investment Policy, Section XV, requires the Clerk, or designee, to prepare and submit a written report annually on all invested funds to the Board. Included in the report shall be a complete list of all invested funds, the name or type of security in which the funds are invested, the amount invested, the maturity date, earned income, the book value, the market value and the yield on each investment. PFM Asset Management, LLC, is the County’s investment advisor and has prepared the annual reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.

Presentation can be found at this link: Agenda Item 1

After the presentation of the Investment portfolios, questions were raised in public comment about funds that appear to be available to be spent on road projects. It was explained that these funds are held in reserve for specific projects and cannot just be reallocated.

Agenda Item 2 – Amendment to the Concurrency and Impact Fee Credit Agreement for Grand Oaks PUD revising required transportation mitigation and road impact fee credit amounts. Details below:

“Southeast Development Partners, LLC (Applicant) has proposed an Amendment to the Concurrency and Impact Fee Credit Agreement (PFS AGREE 2018-03) for the Grand Oaks PUD to revise the required transportation mitigation and road impact fee credit amount (Amendment). The Grand Oaks Comprehensive Plan Amendment (COMPAMD 2016-08), PUD (PUD 2017-02), and Proportionate Fair Share Agreement (PFS AGREE 2018-03) were approved by the BCC on July 17, 2018, for the development of 999 single family units (maximum 674 non-age restricted and 325 agerestricted), 100,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and 50,000 sq. ft. of office space. PFS AGREE 2018-03 included the requirement to construct the 4-lane widening of SR 16 from San Giacomo to the eastern (main) entrance to the Grand Oaks development, approximately 3.1 miles. The estimated cost of the widening was approximately $15,000,000. The required proportionate share was calculated to be $10,132,643. The applicant proposed in the companion comprehensive plan amendment (COMPAMD 2016-08) to contribute an additional $4,867,357 as public benefit with no impact fee credit for a total of $15,000,000 for transportation mitigation. Payments for each plat were required until the widening of SR 16 was designed (no more than 442 lots can be platted) and construction commenced (no more then 580 lots can be platted). Plats have been approved for 442 lots and mitigation totaling $5,040,000 has been paid and is being held in escrow. The Applicant is requesting to amend PFS AGREE 2018-03 to remove the requirement to construct the widening of SR 16 and instead pay the remaining transportation mitigation to the County. The total transportation contribution of $15,000,000 is being revised to include pre-construction costs/pond acquisitions of $2,100,000; therefore, the total funds to be paid would be $12,900,000. The Applicant is also requesting that the road impact fee credit amount be increased from $10,132,643 to $15,000,000. The Applicant is further requesting that the platting triggers associated with the design and commencement of construction of the widening of SR 16 be deleted.”

For background related to Grand Oaks – This PUD was approved by the County Commissioners in 2018 and included an agreement for the developer to widen 3.1 miles of State Road 16. The developer is now coming forward to say they should not be required to pay for the widening of the road because it was already deficient and not caused by the Grand Oaks Development. After much discussion and reviewing of the previous Board meeting where the PUD was approved in 2018, the Board unanimously voted to deny the request from the developer. The developer does need to move forward with the work to widen State Road 16.

Agenda Item 3 – ICI Middlebourne PUD – Major Modification to add a car wash facility in the Gate Property within the PUD and add landscaping requirements. This is specific to a parcel on the north side of Longleaf Pine Parkway and south of Veterans Parkway.

“Request for a Major Modification to the ICI Middlebourne PUD (Ord. 2018-29, as amended) to (i) add one land use, a Car Wash Facility, to the permitted uses within the PUD solely for the Gate Property; and (ii) add landscaping requirements and a related waiver for commercial and office parcels within the PUD property. The subject property is on an unaddressed parcel located on the north side of Longleaf Pine Parkway, approximately 650 feet south of Veterans Parkway. This item was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Agency at their regularly scheduled public hearing on 10/06/2022 with a vote of 4 to 1. The Agency discussed the wetlands, trees on site, and the reduced buffer. This item was heard at the 11/01/2022 BCC meeting, where a Denial vote failed; the item was continued to a date uncertain and until a 5-member Board was seated. The Board discussed the existing wetlands, proximity to the residential neighborhood, noise, and landscaping.”

The Gate Car wash was approved 4:1 with Commissioner Joseph the No vote.

Public Comment:

General Public Comment began a little before the 11:30 time certain because it was a convenient time in the schedule. As has become a pattern, several residents of Marsh Landing appeared to provide public comment related to the on-going issues related to the Storm Water Management System in Marsh Landing.

Also present and presenting remarks was Trey Asner, the former Cultural Resources Coordinator for St. Johns County. Mr. Asner shared his concerns about the manner in which he departed his position. His remarks were picked up and covered by Action News Jax. You can watch the report here:

Trey Asner – Action News Jax Report

Other concerns raised were about the residency of our newest Commissioner for District 3, a storage building being constructed near a new development, and comments made by Commissioners at the hearing for the Public Housing Authority that were viewed as disparaging to county residents.

Agenda Item 7 – Workforce Housing Units – Proposal from the Northeast Florida Builders Association to modify the numeric percentage of dedicated workforce housing units in the Workforce Housing Zoning designation.

“This Comprehensive Plan amendment is a companion to an LDC amendment initiated by the Board at its regular meeting on October 18, 2022, and scheduled for first hearing at the February 21, 2023, BCC meeting. This Comprehensive Plan amendment changes two references in Policy A.1.11.1(m) to the numeric percentage of minimum required dedicated workforce housing units in the Workforce Housing Zoning designation and is required to maintain consistency between land code regulations. This CP amendment transmittal was heard by the Planning and Zoning Agency on February 2, 2023, and was recommended for approval with a vote of 6-0. Included in the motion was a recommendation of the proposed changes to the LDC Section 5.11.00 presented by NEFBA.”

Agenda Item 8 Workforce Housing Zoning Designation – Modification to the Land Development Code increasing the Maximum Initial Sales Price to $260,00 and decreasing the minimum percentage of overall units to 30%.

“The proposed amendment to the Workforce Housing element of Land Development Code, Section 5.11.00 increases the Maximum Initial Sales Price to $260,000 and decreases the minimum percentage of overall units to 30%. The Board of County Commissioners directed Growth Management to draft the amendment on October 18, 2022. The Planning and Zoning Agency recommended approval of the amendment with a 4-2 vote at its December 1, 2022 meeting.”

The NEFBA representative presented their rationale for their proposed changes to the County Ordinance for Workforce Housing. Their costs have gone up and they proposed these changes in order to continue to be able to build these homes at a profit.

TRANSPARENCY – I presented a statement on behalf of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce for Items 7 & 8. The Chamber is in agreement with 80% of the proposed ordinance but concerned about the price point of $260,000 and the reduction in the number of homes to be built from 40% to 30%.

Agenda Item 7 was approved 4:1 with Commissioner Joseph voting No and Agenda Item 8 was approved 3:2 with Commissioners Joseph and Whitehurst voting No.

There has been news coverage of the Workforce Housing Ordinance that can be viewed at these links:

News 4 Jax Coverage

Jacksonville Business Journal Coverage

Agenda Item 9 – Update on FEMA Category B Emergency Beach Berm for Hurricanes Ian and Nicole

Hurricanes Ian and Nicole inflicted severe impacts on Florida, resulting in a presidential declaration for federal assistance. FEMA’s Public Assistance program is a Federal grant to aid State and Local governments in returning a disaster area to pre-disaster conditions. The grant is provided to primarily address the repair and restoration of public facilities and infrastructure damaged or destroyed or the restoration of services that were negatively impacted. This update is focused on FEMA’s Category B Emergency Beach Berms. Specifically, eligible locations and volumes, resident easements, project cost, project funding, and project execution.

Agenda item 9 was approved unanimously.

Agenda Item 10 – FY 2024 Board of County Commissioners Budget Calendar and Initial Budget Guidelines

The Budget timeline was presented with budget workshops on May 22-24 in the administration auditorium.

Commissioner Reports

Considering the fatal accident at Pine Island Road and US 1 on the morning of the Commissioner meeting, Commissioner Joseph asked about a light at that intersection. There is on-going work to address this dangerous intersection and they are trying to prioritize efforts.

Commissioner Arnold raised a discussion point with the Board to put in place a reduced summer camp registration program at the Solomon Calhoun Center for the West Augustine residents to encourage enrollment.

Commissioner Dean brought forward the need to begin the work to update the Comprehensive Plan. Within 30 days staff will come back with a briefing on what needs to be done to update the plan. It is noted that the updated plan needs to be submitted to the state by August of 2024.

Commissioner Alaimo – Addressed the many public comments about his residency. He clarified that when appointed, a Commissioner has until election time to be a resident of the District. He also noted that he does have a home in the District and grew up in District 3.

Commissioner Whitehurst – Announced the Transportation Summit that will be held in the Auditorium on March 3, at 9:00 AM. A presentation from St. Johns County staff will be focused on strategic transportation infrastructure funding needs.

Invited participants at the Summit are:

  • U.S. Rep. John Rutherford
  • State House Speaker Paul Renner
  • State Sen. Travis Hutson
  • State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson
  • State Rep. Bobby Payne
  • FDOT District 2 Secretary Greg Evans
  • St. Johns County District 1 Commissioner, Chair, Christian Whitehurst
  • St. Johns County District 2 Commissioner, Vice-Chair, Sarah Arnold
  • St. Johns County District 3 Commissioner Roy Alaimo
  • St. Johns County District 4 Commissioner Krista Joseph
  • St. Johns County District 5 Commissioner Henry Dean
Posted in Growth & Development, St. Johns County, Travel

First Coast Expressway – Coming Soon to St. Johns County

Posted on by Beth Tate

What is the First Coast Expressway?

What do you know about the First Coast Expressway? Possibly not a lot because it hasn’t yet directly impacted residents of St. Johns County until recently.

Questions have been popping up on social media about the construction being done near the Shands Bridge. This new bridge across the St. Johns River will be part of the First Coast Expressway that has been under construction since 2013.

This multi-lane, limited access toll road will cross parts of Duval, Clay, and St. Johns counties. What is a “limited access toll road?” You’ll pay a toll to use it and it will work with the SunPass transponder system.

Once complete, the Expressway will be 46 miles in distance and is planned to reduce congestion and traffic on other major roadways in the region, specifically for daily commuters.

How is it being funded? The entire project is funded by the Florida Turnpike Enterprise.

Project Phases

The first segment of the Expressway was completed in 2019. This segment starts at Blanding Blvd/State Road 21 in Clay County and extends north to I-10/US 90 in Duval County.

The second segment runs from Blanding Blvd/SR 21 in Middleburg south and then east into Green Cove Springs. This includes a new bridge over Black Creek.

There are two separate projects for this second segment. The North project is expected to be complete in 2025 and the south project should be complete in 2026.

The third segment of the Expressway is also made up of two projects. This is where St. Johns County residents start to see construction.

The new bridge over the St. Johns River is being constructed just south of the Shands Bridge and is expected to be complete in 2029.

The final segment will be a new road from east of the County Road 16A Spur over to I-95 in St. Johns County. That is expected to begin construction in the summer of 2023 and be completed in 2030.

There is a great YouTube video of the project that you can watch here:

First Coast Expressway

For more information, check out First Coast Expressway

Posted in Affordable Housing, BOCC, Essential Worker Housing, St. Johns County

February 21 St. Johns County Commissioners Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

What you should know

What’s on the Agenda for the Commissioners next week?

Consent Agenda Items of Interest

There are two items on the Consent Agenda that are worth highlighting. Item 8 is authorization to execute the agreement between St. Johns County and the Florida Department of Transportation related to the construction and construction engineering inspection of four lanes connecting the end of County Road 2209 to State Road 16, approximately 3.26 miles of four lane construction.

Item 10 is awarding a bid and executing a contract to perform construction of the widening of Longleaf Pine Parkway to four lanes from Veteran Parkway to Greenbriar Road. Only Phase 1 can begin. The remainder must wait until payment from development agreements 2022-01 and 2022-02, due March 31, 2023.

Item 8:

The Florida Legislature allocated $8,000,000 in FDOT Grant Funds to St. Johns County for a portion of the construction of CR 2209. The funding supports construction and construction engineering inspection (CEI) oversight of four lanes connecting the existing terminus of CR 2209 to SR 16 approximately 3.26 miles. This item requests authorization to execute the Agreement between St. Johns County and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and to recognize the grant revenue and appropriate the funds for expenditure. No match is required by St. Johns County

Item 10:

SJC Purchasing issued an Invitation for Bids (“IFB”) for the widening of Longleaf Pine Parkway to four lanes from Veterans Parkway to Greenbriar Road. The project scope generally includes clearing, earthwork, paving, signing, pavement marking, drainage, and utility adjustments. All work is to be completed in accordance with St. Johns County, JEA, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), Army Core of Engineers (ACOE) and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Standard Specifications and Permits. The IFB was advertised in accordance with County Purchasing Policy. Three (3) bids were received, with the lowest, responsive, responsible bid being from Baker Constructors, Inc. for a Total Lump Sum Amount of $14,899,000.00 for Phases I, II, and III. County Staff recommends Board approval to award Bid 23-35 to Baker Constructors, Inc., and to execute a contract for completion of the work as specified in Bid 23-35. However, only Phase I is authorized to begin work, until such time as the County receives payment of funds required under Development Agreements No: 2022-01 and 2022-02, at which point County intends to authorize Contractor to proceed with Phases II and III. The County is due payment from Development Agreements No: 2022-01 and 2022-02 by March 31, 2023. Due to their size, Exhibits are available upon request.

Public Comment Time Certain continues at 11:30 – 12:00 PM or at conclusion of the Regular Agenda, whichever comes first.

Regular Agenda Items of Interest

Agenda Item 1 – Presentation of the St. Johns County Surplus and OPEB Investment Portfolios

The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners Investment Policy, Section XVII Reporting, and OPEB Trust Investment Policy, Section XV, requires the Clerk, or designee, to prepare and submit a written report annually on all invested funds to the Board. Included in the report shall be a complete list of all invested funds, the name or type of security in which the funds are invested, the amount invested, the maturity date, earned income, the book value, the market value and the yield on each investment. PFM Asset Management, LLC, is the County’s investment advisor and has prepared the annual reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.

Presentation can be found at this link: Agenda Item 1

Agenda Item 2 – Amendment to the Concurrency and Impact Fee Credit Agreement for Grand Oaks PUD revising required transportation mitigation and road impact fee credit amounts. Details below:

Southeast Development Partners, LLC (Applicant) has proposed an Amendment to the Concurrency and Impact Fee Credit Agreement (PFS AGREE 2018-03) for the Grand Oaks PUD to revise the required transportation mitigation and road impact fee credit amount (Amendment). The Grand Oaks Comprehensive Plan Amendment (COMPAMD 2016-08), PUD (PUD 2017-02), and Proportionate Fair Share Agreement (PFS AGREE 2018-03) were approved by the BCC on July 17, 2018, for the development of 999 single family units (maximum 674 non-age restricted and 325 agerestricted), 100,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and 50,000 sq. ft. of office space. PFS AGREE 2018-03 included the requirement to construct the 4-lane widening of SR 16 from San Giacomo to the eastern (main) entrance to the Grand Oaks development, approximately 3.1 miles. The estimated cost of the widening was approximately $15,000,000. The required proportionate share was calculated to be $10,132,643. The applicant proposed in the companion comprehensive plan amendment (COMPAMD 2016-08) to contribute an additional $4,867,357 as public benefit with no impact fee credit for a total of $15,000,000 for transportation mitigation. Payments for each plat were required until the widening of SR 16 was designed (no more than 442 lots can be platted) and construction commenced (no more then 580 lots can be platted). Plats have been approved for 442 lots and mitigation totaling $5,040,000 has been paid and is being held in escrow. The Applicant is requesting to amend PFS AGREE 2018-03 to remove the requirement to construct the widening of SR 16 and instead pay the remaining transportation mitigation to the County. The total transportation contribution of $15,000,000 is being revised to include pre-construction costs/pond acquisitions of $2,100,000; therefore, the total funds to be paid would be $12,900,000. The Applicant is also requesting that the road impact fee credit amount be increased from $10,132,643 to $15,000,000. The Applicant is further requesting that the platting triggers associated with the design and commencement of construction of the widening of SR 16 be deleted.

Agenda Item 3 – ICI Middlebourne PUD – Major Modification to add a car wash facility in the Gate Property within the PUD and add landscaping requirements. This is specific to a parcel on the north side of Longleaf Pine Parkway and south of Veterans Parkway.

Request for a Major Modification to the ICI Middlebourne PUD (Ord. 2018-29, as amended) to (i) add one land use, a Car Wash Facility, to the permitted uses within the PUD solely for the Gate Property; and (ii) add landscaping requirements and a related waiver for commercial and office parcels within the PUD property. The subject property is on an unaddressed parcel located on the north side of Longleaf Pine Parkway, approximately 650 feet south of Veterans Parkway. This item was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Agency at their regularly scheduled public hearing on 10/06/2022 with a vote of 4 to 1. The Agency discussed the wetlands, trees on site, and the reduced buffer. This item was heard at the 11/01/2022 BCC meeting, where a Denial vote failed; the item was continued to a date uncertain and until a 5-member Board was seated. The Board discussed the existing wetlands, proximity to the residential neighborhood, noise, and landscaping.

TRANSPARENCY – I will be speaking on behalf of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce in response to Agenda items 7 and 8 below.

Agenda Item 7 – Workforce Housing Units – Proposal from the Northeast Florida Builders Association to modify the numeric percentage of dedicated workforce housing units in the Workforce Housing Zoning designation.

This Comprehensive Plan amendment is a companion to an LDC amendment initiated by the Board at its regular meeting on October 18, 2022, and scheduled for first hearing at the February 21, 2023, BCC meeting. This Comprehensive Plan amendment changes two references in Policy A.1.11.1(m) to the numeric percentage of minimum required dedicated workforce housing units in the Workforce Housing Zoning designation and is required to maintain consistency between land code regulations. This CP amendment transmittal was heard by the Planning and Zoning Agency on February 2, 2023, and was recommended for approval with a vote of 6-0. Included in the motion was a recommendation of the proposed changes to the LDC Section 5.11.00 presented by NEFBA.

Agenda Item 8 Workforce Housing Zoning Designation – Modification to the Land Development Code increasing the Maximum Initial Sales Price to $260,00 and decreasing the minimum percentage of overall units to 30%.

The proposed amendment to the Workforce Housing element of Land Development Code, Section 5.11.00 increases the Maximum Initial Sales Price to $260,000 and decreases the minimum percentage of overall units to 30%. The Board of County Commissioners directed Growth Management to draft the amendment on October 18, 2022. The Planning and Zoning Agency recommended approval of the amendment with a 4-2 vote at its December 1, 2022 meeting.

Agenda Item 9 – Update on FEMA Category B Emergency Beach Berm for Hurricanes Ian and Nicole

Hurricanes Ian and Nicole inflicted severe impacts on Florida, resulting in a presidential declaration for federal assistance. FEMA’s Public Assistance program is a Federal grant to aid State and Local governments in returning a disaster area to pre-disaster conditions. The grant is provided to primarily address the repair and restoration of public facilities and infrastructure damaged or destroyed or the restoration of services that were negatively impacted. This update is focused on FEMA’s Category B Emergency Beach Berms. Specifically, eligible locations and volumes, resident easements, project cost, project funding, and project execution.

Agenda Item 10 – FY 2024 Board of County Commissioners Budget Calendar and Initial Budget Guidelines

Agenda Items 11 – 14 – Consideration of appointments to the Health & Human Services Advisory Council (HHSAC), the Tourist Development Council (TDC), the Housing Finance Authority, and the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC).

Agenda Item 15 – Time Certain to be heard at 5:01 PM

Second Reading of the Land Development Code Amendments for Veterinary Office, Animal Hospital in Office and Professional Services Use Category.