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 Affordable Housing, BOCC, St. Johns County

What’s on the St. Johns County BOCC Agenda for January 17?

Posted on by Beth Tate

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:

PZA Meeting – January 5

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.)

JAX Biz Journal – CHIEF

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:

CHIEF BOCC Agenda Item

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.

Posted in BOCC, St. Johns County

What’s Happening at the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners Meetings?

Posted on by Beth Tate

You may be too busy to pay attention to what’s coming up at our County Commissioner meetings, and then may be surprised later about what was approved! My goal is to report on key happenings at the State and County Level that will impact our future in St. Johns County.

Today’s focus is on how to keep up with what’s being discussed at the Board of County Commissioner (BOCC) Meetings and how to participate if you desire.

There are two ways to keep up with what will be discussed at the BOCC meetings. Both requirement time and commitment.

The first is to check out the County’s Neighborhood Bill of Rights Notices. These are published notices about Zoning related items that will impact neighborhoods, will be on the Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) agenda or on the BOCC Agenda. Neighborhood Bill of Rights Notices can be found here:

Neighborhood Bill of Rights

The second is to check the posted Agendas.

The full year’s calendar of County Commissioner meetings can be found here:

BOCC Calendar

Agendas are usually published a few days prior to the meeting. You’ll have to check to see if they are posted. The published Agendas can be found here:

BOCC Agendas

Following the meetings, prior approved Board Meeting Minutes can be found here:

BOCC Minutes

If you want to participate in the meetings, they are conducted in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine, FL. To participate, be prepared to speak for no more than 3 minutes on any of the specific agenda items or no more than 3 minutes during general Public Comment time.

Recently, the Commissioners have added a “Time Certain” slot of 30 minutes at 11:30 for public comment. This was in reaction to concerns from the community that Public Comment has been at the end of the meeting. Because BOCC meetings can go for a few hours, this has meant that residents may have to sit for hours waiting on the opportunity to provide their public comment. Let’s watch and see how this goes.

If you just want to observe the meetings and not participate, you can watch them live on local PBS stations, or anytime after the original date at this link:

St. Johns County GTV

My goal this year is to provide advance notice of items on the agenda and summaries after the meeting about key elements.

Follow along!

Posted in Growth & Development, St. Johns County

What’s Ahead for St. Johns County in 2023?

Posted on by Beth Tate

More Growth!

With St. Johns County continuing to be one of the most sought-after Florida counties to live in, we can anticipate more requests for homes and commercial development.

It’s a conundrum. St. Johns County has one of the best school systems in the state. People taking jobs in Jacksonville and relocating here from other parts of the country often choose to work in Jacksonville and live in St. Johns County.

This model has created a big traffic problem for the region as we have people commuting daily between Jacksonville and St. Johns County. Remote work has helped with that – and many of the new residents in St. Johns County are working remotely for companies that aren’t even located in Florida! But it is still an issue.

One way to address the traffic issue is to create more jobs within the county. But that means more commercial development to create the space for offices and light industrial. And many of our residents are opposed to any type of commercial development.

Indeed, a conundrum.

Some residents are opposed to any new development. Others are opposed to apartments, or multi-family developments. Depending on where you live in the county, you may have different views or concerns about the path forward.

But it’s clear the concerns won’t be going away soon.

Residents are coming together in groups to speak out against developments that they believe will be detrimental to their quality of life.

In 2022, the Greenbriar Helow project was approved by the Board of County Commissioners after a yearlong process of the property owner and potential builder meeting with community members, taking input and making changes based on the input. And importantly, there was an agreement with the county that vertical construction would not begin until construction had begun on road improvements in the area, and the property owner agreed to pay a significant portion of the fees up front to fund the road construction. Residents who had initially been opposed to the development lauded the process as a model for developers to follow in the future.

Recently, a group calling itself “Save Fruit Cove,” was successful in creating enough concern about a proposed multi-family development in Fruit Cove that the developers decided to back out, “for now.” This group was well organized, thoughtful, and professional in their approach and presentations. They achieved their goal, “for now.”

Another commercial development has been proposed at the northeast corner of Greenbriar Road and State Road 13. Learning from the “Save Fruit Cove” and Greenbriar Helow experiences, the developer hosted a community meeting in December that was attended by more than 100 people expressing their concerns. This developer has not yet filed a formal application with the county.

The community feedback was overwhelmingly in opposition to the location of the development. For now, it appears the developers will continue to move forward with their plans, and we can expect to see the formal filing in the future.

In January, for the first time in 3 months, since the untimely loss of Commissioner Paul Waldron, we will have a full 5-member Board of County Commissioners. With one new Commissioner (Krista Keating-Joseph) elected on an anti-growth platform, and a newly appointed Commissioner (Roy Alaimo) with a background on the Planning and Zoning Agency, it promises to be an interesting year ahead at the County Commissioners’ meetings.

Posted in Affordable Housing, St. Johns County

St. Johns County and the Affordable Housing Issue

Posted on by Beth Tate

St. Johns County Affordable Housing Update

At the December 20 Board of County Commissioners meeting, the annual update from the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) for St. Johns County was presented.

I’ve heard from many in our county that there is no issue with affordable housing in St. Johns County. The AHAC report provided to the Commissioners provides real data demostrating this to be a fallacy.

What is Affordable Housing?

That depends. It depends on the size of the household. A single person with no dependents making $60,000 a year is in a good place for renting an apartment. It’s a different story when that person making $60,000 a year has 2 or 3 children to support and no other income.

The AHAC is all about Affordable Housing. They are primarily focused on workers making $48,000 or below.  These are the folks who keep this county running, the workers we depend on day-in and day-out to provide for basic needs in the county. Are we providing for THEIR basic needs?

Let’s dig into the numbers

With a goal of 30% of gross income going towards housing, a person making $60,000 a year can spend about $1500 on rent or a mortgage payment.

How realistic is that in St. Johns County? Not very.

Fair Market Rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in St. Johns County, (if you can find one,) is $1542. That’s a 39% increase over 2021 rates. To afford that rent, an individual needs to be making $22.45 an hour, or $48,000 a year.

The median home prices in St. Johns County is $490,000. To afford to buy a home in this county, a household income of over $165,000 is required. That means that even if you have a dual income household with each adult making $48,000 a year, they still can’t afford to buy a home in St. Johns County.

Even though there are around 500 building permits issued every month, the average value for those homes is $265,000. Only about 5% of those homes would be considered “workforce” housing.

Employment

What type of employees earn less than $48,000, not enough to rent an apartment or buy a home in St. Johns County?

  • Restaurant workers – four restaurants closed in the last quarter because of staffing difficulties.
  • Hospitality workers – our hotels run with these workers
  • Arts, Entertainment and Recreation workers – who staff our museums and theaters?
  • Retail workers – complained lately about lack of service in the stores?
  • Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting – when we clamor to save our farmland, are we considering where those farm workers can afford to live?
  • Educational Services – starting salary for a teacher in St. Johns County? What about the administrative staff in the schools?
  • Trade, Transportation and Utilities workers

76,000 employees in St. Johns County earn less than $22.85 an hour. That’s 76,000 people who cannot afford to rent or buy in this county.

Over 10,000 families in St. Johns County spend more than 50% of their income on housing. These are people already here – many of whom were born and raised here. They can no longer afford to live here.

Recommendations

The AHAC has recommendations.

  1. Impact and utility fee connection relief
  2. Where possible, build near transportation hubs
  3. Incentivize flexible density strategies (duplexes, apartments, townhomes)
  4. Make use of the inventory of SJC properties available for affordable housing

Proposed Solutions?

There is a great need for public/private partnerships to address the need for more workforce housing in the county. The county needs more options for rental and home ownership for our workforce.

We need programs to provide financial literacy to help prepare residents for home ownership.

Workforce Housing

Last Tuesday’s report focused just on Affordable Housing. That report didn’t touch on the next income level. That is the next tier, those employees in our county making between $48,000 and $60,000 a year.

These are our teachers, deputies, firefighters, factory workers, nurses, healthcare workers, and other trades people.

They can’t afford to live here either.

Going back to our Median Home price of $490,000, even a working couple at the top end of our median workforce, making $60,000 each, cannot afford to buy a home in St. Johns County. Remember, you need a household income of $165,000 to afford to buy a home in St. Johns County.

We need solutions for Workforce Housing, as well. Not just Affordable Housing. And the answer isn’t to just pay people more. Salary increases for our public service workers like first responders will need to be funded by us – and we know that residents don’t want increased taxes. Salary increases for our private sector employees mean increased prices – and we already have complaints about the high cost of healthcare and goods.

We need to work together to find better solutions.

What are your solutions?

Posted in Coaching, Goals, Growth

Do You Have a Growth Mindset?

Posted on by Beth Tate

“Whatever you do today, do it better tomorrow.” – Robert Schuller

Growth is a choice. We can choose each day to repeat what we did yesterday, or we can choose to do that thing better and to learn a new skill to use tomorrow.

It’s easy to fall into a routine and just keep doing the same thing over and over. That’s true whether it’s your home routine, your fitness routine, or your work routine.

If you have a fitness routine, are you pushing yourself to go beyond your current comfort level? Maybe walk a little farther today? Run a little faster today? Lift a couple of pound more than you usually do?

If you have been in your current job role for awhile, has it become easy? Do you need to challenge yourself to learn a new skill? Expand upon your current role and take on more responsibility? Stretch yourself to do something completely new?

Many of us are thinking about our 2023 goals. Perhaps this is the year to challenge yourself to develop a growth mindset. Challenge yourself next year to learn a new skill or expand upon an existing skill.

How will you grow in 2023?