Beth Tate

Summary of the November 19 St. Johns County BOCC Meeting

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Beth Tate

The Reorganizational meeting began with the swearing in of returning Commissioner Christian Whitehurst and was followed by the swearing in of new Commissioners Clay Murphy and Ann Taylor.

Following the swearing in ceremony was the election of the new Chair and Vice Chair. Commissioner Taylor nominated Commissioner Joseph to be Chair. She was elected with a 3-2 vote, Whitehurst and Arnold voting no.

Commissioner Joseph then nominated Commissioner Murphy for Vice-Chair and that passed with a 3-2 vote, Whitehurst and Arnold voting no.

After a short recess the regular meeting was convened with Commissioner Joseph now serving as Chair.

Public Safety Update

In what now appears to be our last Public Safety Update, the Sheriff’s department reminded the public of warnings about many scams that are proliferating during the Holiday season. They provided some general guidelines about how to protect yourself against scams, the most basic being, don’t trust strangers offering to separate you from your money.

Request from Representative Kim Kendall

Tatum Wang from Representative Kim Kendall’s office read a letter from Representative Kendall asking the Board to submit a change order to revise planned road improvements for the World Golf Village area.

Commissioner Whitehurst, who has been our county representative on the North Florida TPO indicated support for the concept and shared that he has raised this topic with the TPO in the past. He wanted to make sure that if we move forward with this change order that it not bump one of our current 5 top priority projects that are already funded and under construction.

Ms. Wang countered that this is already in the top 5 and is just a change order. Commissioner Joseph sought confirmation and County Administrator Andrews stated that this is NOT currently in the top 5.

After more discussion staff was asked to review and come back to the board with the impacts of the project at a December meeting for the Board to make a more informed decision.

You can watch the presentation of the letter and the discussion here: Road Improvements Discussion

Consent Agenda

Item 4 was pulled from the Consent Agenda by the County Attorney – not yet ready for presentation.

Commissioner Murphy asked to move Consent Agenda Item 5 to the Regular agenda. he wanted to have an explanation of the item presented so his constituents who were concerned about this item could gain a better understanding of Impact Credit Fees.

Commissioner Joseph wanted to “lay on the table” numbers 5, 6, and 13 for future meetings.

During public comment on the Consent Agenda items, Attorney Ellen Avery-Smith, who represents the developers for items 5 and 6, pointed out that under current procedures, it is improper to delay these items to a future meeting. She noted that the money has already been paid to St. Johns County and asked the County to not violat the law by approving this motion.

Some residents were defensive about the removal of the items from the Consent Agenda. What they seemed to have missed was that the motion was NOT to move the items to the Regular Agenda for discussion but for a postponement of the items to a later meeting. Had the motion been to bring them on to the Regular Agenda, there would have been no objection. Instead, they were motioned to move to a later meeting, without a date indicated.

Commissioner Joseph modified her motion to delay Items 5 and 14 to a future date and to put Item 6 on the Dec. 3 agenda and that passed 5-0.

Will there be a lawsuit filed by the developers for the indefinite delay?

Regular Agenda

Agenda Item 1 – The first item, the Accessibility Needs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.

This was a presentation only with no vote. There will be future work to assess how to bring this much needed system to St. Johns County.

“Presentation by Calvin Britt of SeaMe Systems. Currently, there are no emergency alert notification systems on beaches in Florida that provide immediate and on-demand information to the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) community at public beaches during an emergency evacuation. Discuss information about the accessibility tools in public spaces such as beaches, public parks, etc. that may assist the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in the event of an emergency. Highlight a system similar to the Beach Emergency Evacuation Lights System (BEELS) at public beaches. BEELS is an emergency alert notification system that incorporates programmed audio loudspeakers and LED lights that provide real-time alerts on beaches for the general public and the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. The system alerts the public of shark sightings, lightning, rip currents, etc.”

Watch the presentation here: Agenda Item 1

Agenda Items 2 & 3 were for the St. Augustine Marketplace. This is a Small Scale Comp Plan Amendment and a Rezoning request. The requested change is from Res-B to Mixed Use. This is for 5 acres of land located southwest of the I-95 and SR 207 intersection.

Links to the materials for items 2 & 3 are here: Agenda Item 2 – CPA and Agenda Item 3 – Rezoning

This item was approved 5-0

Commissioner’s Comments

Commissioner Comments were early on the agenda because it was not yet 11:30.

Commissioner Whitehurst extended congratulations to Commissioner Taylor and to Commissioner Murphy for being elected Vice-Chair and Commissioner Joseph as Chair.

Commissioner Arnold also extended congratulations. She raised the idea of forming an advisory board of farmers because of the potential development requests for agricultural land that may be coming forward in the future. All Commissioners agreed there was value in this idea and opened the floor for public comment.

During public comment concerns were raised about the potential make-up of such a board and there was a call for a balance, with more than just farmer’s on the board. Consensus was gained to move the idea forward. I think that means staff will provide recommendations but it wasn’t clear.

Commissioner Taylor congratulated Commissioner Joseph for her Chair appointment and Commissioner Murphy as Vice-Chair. She raised the idea of having evening meetings of the commission. There was consensus to explore the idea. She also asked to get moving on hiring a permanent County Attorney.

Commissioner Murphy congratulated all the new Commissioners sworn in Tuesday morning and extended thanks to Roy Alaimo for his stewardship of District 3 during his tenure on the commission.

Commissioner Joseph thanked Mr. Kommando for his work and said she would like to move forward with the hiring of a new attorney. There was consensus to begin that process.

She also reset the beginning of the agenda for meetings going forward. It will now be:

Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance
Consent Agenda Additions/Deletions
Regular Agenda Approval
Public Comment with no limit on how long public comment will proceed – no longer capped at 30 minutes. No public comment at the end of the agenda

The Minutes of the Meetings will now be more detailed with comments on who spoke and what they spoke about.

She thanked the citizens for their trust in her to do the job.

Public Comment

You can watch Public Comment here: Public Comment

Post Script

Since last week’s meeting, new Chair Joseph is busy realigning the Commission meetings and some of her changes are sparking criticism.

Action News Jax reported that all proclamations are currently on pause, the St. Johns Veterans Council will no longer lead the pledge, and Rich Kommando will be replaced as County Attorney.

While it is no surprise that the interim County Attorney would be replaced, it is puzzling about the change for leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Joseph stated she was extending this to employees of the county who are veterans.

In the First Coast News coverage it was disclosed they are removing Public Safety Updates and Infrastructure updates. The Infrastructure updates have been some of the most popular updates over the past several months as residents have had more transparency into what projects are in the works. Let’s hope that does not come to pass!

Check the First Coast News coverage here: First Coast News Coverage

The St. Augustine Record reports that the elimination of the Veteran’s Council leading the pledge is not sitting well with the Veteran’s Council. It also raises a question. Commissioner Joseph says that the Pledge will be lead by County Employees who are veterans and gold star families. But it is also noted that county resident (and former candidate for Commissioner) Chuck Labanowski will be leading the Pledge on December 17th.

You can read the St. Augustine Record coverage here: St. Augustine Record

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Back to the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meetings!

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Beth Tate

What’s happening at the November 19 meeting?

During the past campaign season it was very difficult to report on the Commissioner’s Meetings. So many candidates were taking up Public Comment time using their 3 minutes to campaign.

Now the campaigns are over and the transition to the new Board happens next week. Perhaps that is why this is one of the shortest Agendas I recall seeing in the 2 years I’ve been reporting on the meetings.

There are technically 2 meetings next Tuesday. The first is the Special Reorganizational Meeting where the newly elected Commissioners will be sworn in.

Returning Commissioner Christian Whitehurst will be sworn in by Judge Lauren Blocker.

Newly elected Commissioners Clay Murphy and Ann Taylor will be sworn in by Judge Charles Tinlin.

Following the swearing in will be a review of the nominating procedures for the Chair and Vice-Chair. And then the nominations begin.

Historically, the Vice Chair from the previous year is nominated to be Chair. That year as Vice-Chair is a bit of a training ground for them. However, former Commissioner Roy Alaimo was the Vice Chair and he is being replaced by newly elected Commissioner Clay Murphy.

Who will be the new Chair? The three returning Commissioners are Joseph, Arnold, and Whitehurst. Joseph has not been Chair or Vice-Chair in her 2 years on the Commission. Will she be nominated for one of those roles this year? Will a freshmen Commissioner be nominated for one of the roles?

Watch on Tuesday to find out.

Following the reorganizing meeting, the Regular Meeting will be called to order. And this is where we have the very short agenda.

Consent Agenda

After the Public Safety update and the Constitutional Officer’s update, the Consent Agenda will be voted on. There are 29 items on the Consent Agenda. Rumor has it that some of the new Commissioner’s want to do away with the Consent Agenda. Does that mean these 29 items would all have to be heard and voted on individually?

Regular Agenda

There are only 3 items on the Regular Agenda and 2 of those will be heard together.

Agenda Item 1 – The first item is Accessibility Needs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.

Read the presentation here: Agenda item 1

Agenda Items 2 & 3 are for the St. Augustine Marketplace. There is a Small Scale Comp Plan Amendment and a Rezoning request. The requested change is from Res-B to Mixed Use. This is for 5 acres of land located southwest of the I-95 and SR 207 intersection.

Links to the materials for items 2 & 3 are here: Agenda Item 2 – CPA and Agenda Item 3 – Rezoning

There is still time certain Public Comment at 11:30 or the conclusion of the meeting, whichever comes first. With such a short agenda, there may only be one Public Comment session.

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BOCC, St. Johns County

Grand Oaks – Finally Resolved?

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Beth Tate

St. Johns County can celebrate a big victory this week! There is finally a conclusion in sight for the Grand Oaks legal battle.

This is an issue that has been lurking out there for YEARS! But most recently, we can look back at the February 21, 2023 County Commissioner’s Meeting as a reminder for why it is important to have forward thinking County Commissioner’s on the dais.

Here’s a link to my summary of the February 21, 2023 Commissioner’s Meeting, where Grand Oaks first came to the attention of those residents not directly impacted by the problems. February 21, 2023 Meeting Summary.

Scroll down to Agenda Item 2 in the summary and you’ll see where Southeast Development Partners were requesting to revise the mitigation and Proportionate Fair Share Agreements from July of 2018 when the Grand Oaks PUD was approved. The agreement included a 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.

Now, 5 years later, the developer was unhappy with the cost to construct that widening and wanted some relief from the county. They had completed the construction of the FIRST 442 of the 99 approved homes and were ready to move forward with the platting of the remainder of the homes. That couldn’t happen until they had completed the required road widening.

Up until 2023, the only people paying attendtion to what this developer was doing were the Grand Oaks residents, who were living in a partially built development and dealing with the traffic problems on SR 16. And, of course, the residents who had to commute on SR 16. The rest of the county was unaware of what was happening in that development.

Learn more about Grand Oaks at this link: Grand Oaks Description/Location

But, in February of 2023, those of us who pay attention to what our County Commissioners are doing became VERY aware as the developer tried to avoid paying for the widening of the road and push it back on the county.

Our County Commissioners didn’t allow it. They voted to find the Developer in default and denied the platting for the remaining homes. In addition, they voted to transfer the $5 Million that had been held in escrow to the Florida Department of Transportation to fund the design work for the widening of SR 16.

A month after that decision, the developer filed suit against the county in Circuit Court. The County countersued and thus began the legal battle that played out in the courts since that time.

As reported in the Jacksonville Business Journal on September 14, a Federal Judge has ruled in the County’s favor. JAX Biz Journal ariticle (behind a paywall.)

County Commission Chair Sarah Arnold was quoted in the article as saying, “Friday’s Federal Court ruling reaffirmed what our Board has believed from the start: in St. Johns County, promises made to our residents are promises that must be kept,” County Commission Chair Sarah Arnold said in a statement. “This developer’s attempt to change the terms years later was a betrayal of trust, and we stood firm for our community.

“Let this serve as a clear message to developer or any one-else coming before our Board: When you commit to something for the people of St. Johns County, we expect you to honor it. We will always hold you accountable if you break your word, because our residents deserve nothing less.”

This is an important win for the County. This sends a clear message to the development community that they will be held to their commitments.

And it should be a message to our residents that our County Commissioners will hold developers accountable.

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BOCC, Politics, St. Johns County

Special Edition – St. Johns County Commissioner’s Candidate Forum

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Beth Tate

The St. Johns County Primary Election is on August 20. This is an important election for the County as 3 Commissioners are up for re-election.

The Ponte Vedra and Palm Valley Community Associations held a Candidate Forum on July 9. It was moderated by a UNF professor. All candidates were present.

The Community Associations have graciously made available a video of the evening. It is about an hour in length.

Please watch and vote in the upcoming Primary election.

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Comprehensive Plan, St. Johns County

Plan for the July 18 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Beth Tate

There are several important topics on Tuesday’s Agenda. Plan for a long day.

Only one Proclamation will be presented, recognizing the Graduation of the 100^th Veteran from the St. Johns County Veterans Treatment Court.

Items of Interest on the Consent Agenda

Consent Agenda Item 6 – Silverleaf DRI Impact Fee Credit Agreement (Fire/Law Enforcement/Public Buildings) will surely raise questions. Largely because most residents don’t understand what the term “Impact Fee Credit” means.

Background materials are here: Consent Agenda Item 6

“The proposed Impact Fee Credit Agreement with Whites Ford Timber, LLC (Owner) seeks to establish Fire/Rescue, Law Enforcement, and Public Buildings impact fee credit for dedication of a 4.58 acre parcel on CR 2209 within Parcel 19 of the DRI. As required by Special Condition 27 of the Silverleaf DRI Development Order, Resolution 2006-65 (DRI DO), as amended, the Owner is required to convey a three (3) to five (5) acre parcel to the County for fire and police protection. The Owner is proposing to dedicate a 4.58 acre parcel valued at $1,950,000 based County appraisal. The Owner is requesting that the total impact fee credit be divided equally under the Fire/Rescue, Law Enforcement, and Public Buildings impact fee categories at $650,000 each. The impact fee credit will be awarded following the conveyance and acceptance of the subject property by the BCC.”

Read carefully the background documentation where it says, “WHEREAS, St. Johns County Ordinance Nos. 87-59 (“Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee Ordinance”), as has been or may be amended, allow for impact fee credits to be granted by the Board of County Commissioners for the property dedicated to St. Johns County and/or improvements made or funded by the Owner as identified within the Impact Fee Credit Agreement attached hereto and incorporated herein.”

Further, “The appraised value of the Public Safety Parcel to be dedicated to the County shall be One Million Nine Hundred Fifty Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($1,950,000.00). A summary of the Public Safety Parcel appraised value is set forth on Exhibit “C” attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.”

Bottom line – the developer has paid for the land that will be used to build the fire/rescue, law enforcement, and other public buildings. The value of the land they are conveying is being credited towards the Impact Fees they were assessed.

Consent Agenda Item 19 is important. Recognize and Appropriate unanticipated revenue from developers for certain road Capital Improvement Projects.

“In FY 2024 developers have made required contributions to St. Johns County to fund capital improvements to roads in the impacted area of their developments. To date the following contributions have been made to the County and need to be recognized and appropriated for expenditure: $574,691.68 for the CR 210 Widening – Greenbriar to Cimarrone; $214,229.70 for the Woodlawn Road Improvements; $1,196,879.92 for the CR 210 Road Improvements from I-95 to US 1. Staff is requesting the funds be recognized and appropriated into the Transportation Trust Fund and Impact Fee Roads B Fund Major Collector Road budgets.”

This is the action to move the funds received from developers through impact fees over into the Transportation Trust Fund to pay for these improvements. Details are here: Consent Agenda Item 19

Consent Agenda Item 25 is of interest to those of us who travel SR 1 (Phillips Highway in the north) between Race Track Road and St. Augustine. Award of Invitation for Bid (IFB) No: 1850; US-1/Pine Island Road Intersection Improvements – FDOT FPN 210418-9-54-01

“St. Johns County identified the need to construct intersection improvements at US 1/Pine Island Road/Stratton Road in St. Johns County, Florida. Improvements consist of milling/resurfacing, roadway striping, roadway signage, drainage improvements, installation of traffic signal w/ preemptive connection to railroad, improvements/added lanes to Pine Island road and US-1, improvements to Stratton Road. This project is partially funded under State of Florida Department of Transportation State-Funded Grant Agreement No. G2T28, FPN #210418-9-54-01. The Purchasing Department issued an Invitation for Bids (“IFB”) for construction of intersection improvements at the US-1/Pine Island Road in St. Johns County, Florida. Six (6) Bids were submitted, with the responsive and responsible bid being submitted by DB Civil Construction, LLC, at a lump sum bid price of $1,689,920.50. Staff recommends Board approval to award IFB No: 1850 to DB Civil Construction, LLC, and to execute a contract in substantially the same form and format as attached for completion of the project in accordance with IFB No: 1850.”

Details are here: Consent Agenda Item 25

Consent Agenda Item 33 is another of great interest, particularly in the Northwest. Request to Apply for Beluthahatchee Park to be Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

“The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources. Beluthahatchee Park is located on the William Bartram Scenic Highway (SR 13) approximately one-fourth of a mile south of Roberts Road and approximately 200 feet north of Cricket Hollow Lane. Beluthahatchee Park originated out of the 10,000 acre land grant given to Francis Philip Fatio in 1774. This land grant created the Switzerland community today located in St. Johns County, Florida. In 1945, George Wallace Kennedy, dammed Mill Creek that originally ran through the property to create Lake Beluthahatchee. His son, William Stetson Kennedy acquired the 50 acre property in 1948 and added a further 20 acres. Stetson Kennedy was an author, folklorist, labor and human rights activist, and environmentalist. He became highly involved in the Civil Rights Movement and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in St. Augustine, FL. By the 1970s, Kennedy wanted to make Beluthahatchee is permanent home, building a more substantial house that replaced more primitive camp-style cabins on the property. This property is already designated as a St. Johns County Historic Landmark, a Florida State Historical Landmark, and a Literary Landmark.”

Details are here: Consent Agenda Item 33

Regular Agenda Items

Item 1 – TyMe Institute Economic Development Incentive Request

“The St. Johns County Economic Development Agency has received an application from the TyMe Institute for economic development incentives to develop a total of 30,165 square feet of space for a cancer prevention clinic that will also in the future include a cancer research laboratory and smallscale cancer drug manufacturing facility. After the Applicant submitted their application, they subsequently withdrew their request for confidentiality. The project scored 7 points under the new industry category of the County’s Business Incentive Program, which makes it eligible for expedited permitting and an economic development incentive of up to 100% of fees paid to the County by the Applicant (impact fees), four years ad valorem taxes paid by the Applicant (general County portion) on capital improvements, and four years tangible personal property taxes paid by the Applicant (general County portion). Completion of the project is anticipated by the fourth quarter of 2025. With this schedule, the first annual incentive payment would be anticipated during FY27. The total estimated value of the incentive is $621,031. In accordance with Program requirements, the Agency is required to review the application and make a written report to the Board of County Commissioners. Staff recommends support of this incentive application.”

Background materials are here: Tyme Economic Incentive Request

Item 2 – Fiscal Year 2025 Recommended Budget & Proposed Millage Rates

Details of the presentation are here: Budget Presentation

“The BCC will need to approve proposed Millage rates (see the attached sheet) for the County’s TRIM mailing, and approve September 3, 2024 @ 5:01 PM in the County Auditorium as the Date, Time and Place of the first public hearing for the adoption of the FY 2025 Budget for the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners”

Details of the budget are transparently presented at this link: Office of Managment and Budget Website

Drill down into the various components. It is very educational to spend some time on this website.

Item 3 – 2050 Vision – Comprehensive Plan Update

This will be an update from the Consultant on the Comp Plan update. There is no presentation posted at the time of this writing.

Item 4 – Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) Based Comprehensive Plan Amendments – Transmittal Hearing

“The State of Florida requires local governments to evaluate and update their Comprehensive Plans every 7 years, this process is known as the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR). The County’s consultant, Inspire Place Making Collective, has provided an analysis of the County’s current comprehensive plan and identified proposed changes in order to meet current state regulations. The proposed changes reflect updated Florida Statute code sections and citations, as well as an expansion of the current planning horizon from 2025 to 2035, as required by Florida law. The Planning and Zoning Agency is scheduled for a Transmittal Hearing on July 11th. Recommendation of the PZA will be presented to the Board after the recommendation has been made.”

Link to the materials is here: Comprehensive Plan Details

Item 5 – RFP 1480 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solution

“The purpose of implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is to create efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of the internal service departments that provide support to all County departments in its daily operations within budget, procurement, finance, human capital and other business systems. This project will allow the integration, consolidation, and automation of business processes currently handled in separate systems as well as the elimination of duplicative, manual, and offline processes. The County’s current systems are outdated, disconnected and undersized, and not able to meet the needs of the County. Implementing a modern, integrated ERP software system with increased functionality, user access, reporting, automation, integration, and data structures will support the comprehensive needs of the County, including the internal service departments and end-user departments that use these core resources within their daily functions. The Purchasing Department issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the implementation of a cloud-based, centralized Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solution, for four (4) main functional areas: Finance, Human Resources, Procurement and Budget. The RFP was developed with the assistance of the County’s ERP Consultant, Plante & Moran, PLLC. The County received six (6) responsive Proposals, which were evaluated, and demonstrations were presented by a shortlist of two (2) firms. The evaluation committee, based upon Proposals and demonstrations, identified Cognizant Worldwide Limited as the top ranked firm. Cognizant is the firm who is responsible for developing and implementing the ERP Solution. The proposed ERP Solution is Workday, Inc for the procurement, finance and human resource functions, with Sherpa Government Solutions, LLC (EUNA) proposed for the budget function, and Can/Am Technologies, Inc proposed for the cashiering function. Staff has negotiated Statement(s) of Work and agreements with the four (4) firms that will make up the entirety of the ERP Solution. Each of these agreements with their respective Statement of Work is attached to this agenda for review and approval. Staff recommends Board approval to award RFP 1480; Enterprise Resource Planning Solution, to the top ranked team of Cognizant, Workday, Sherpa (Euna) and Can/Am and to execute the contracts, as negotiated, in substantially the same form and format as attached hereto. Due to the size of the Exhibits and Attachments, they are available upon request from Jaime Locklear.”

Materials are here: ERP Proposal

Items 6 and 7 – PUD 2023-22 Shearwater 210 PUD

These two items will be heard together as they are companion pieces.

“Request to rezone approximately 6.04 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum of 72,480 square feet of commercial, retail, and/or office uses; located on the southwest corner of CR 210 W and Shearwater Parkway. This request is a companion application to CPA (SS) 2023-11. This request was originally heard at the 4/18/2024 PZA, where it was continued with a 4-2 vote. At the 6/20/2024 PZA, it was recommended for denial with a vote of 6-0. Agency members and nearby residents discussed a range of topics, including compatibility, traffic on CR 210 W and the status of it being widened, the approved CR 210 Town Center PUD located to the north, and the demand for non-residential uses in general for the nearby area.”

Item 6 details: Agenda Item 6

Item 7 details: Agenda Item 7

Item 8 – PUD 2023-09 Rivers Self Storage PUD

“Request to rezone approximately 5.99 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 100,000 square foot Self Storage facility, specifically located at 1065 State Road 16. The Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) heard this request at their regularly scheduled public hearing on June 20, 2024 and recommended approval with a vote of 6 to 0. Agency members discussed the Applicant’s plan to provide buffers along SR 16 and Mission Trace, where the Applicant highlighted that the buffer reduction was limited to the southwest corner of the site. They also noted that the reduced setback was adjacent to the open space parcels for Mission Trace to the south and west. The Agency discussed the Applicant’s plan for the preservation of significant trees, controlled onsite lighting, security fencing, and acknowledged the Project Team’s outreach through unofficial meetings with Mission Trace neighbors. There was only one member of the public who spoke during public comment, and they presented the Applicant’s agreement to address site/area security, adequate stormwater management, prevention of damage/trespass during construction, and appreciation for the courtesy meetings hosted by the applicant.”

Materials are here: Agenda Item 8

Item 9 – PUD 2023-23 Village Commons PUD

“Request to rezone three (3) parcels from Open Rural (OR) and PUD (Ord 2008-20) to PUD to accommodate a maximum of 55,000 square feet of commercial/retail uses as permitted in the Neighborhood Commercial zoning designation of the Land Development Code, and a 7,000 square foot expansion of the existing church, specifically located at 5845, 5865, and 5885 State Road 16, Saint Augustine. The Planning and Zoning Agency held a Public Hearing on this item on June 6, 2024, and voted 5-1 in favor of recommending approval. Concerns raised by Agency members included increased traffic, and that the church expansion and proposed commercial uses appeared to be incongruent. The applicant waived any right to develop the property pursuant to the Live Local Act, Chapter 2023-17, Laws of Florida, and any subsequent amendments.”

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