Category: Affordable Housing

Posted in Affordable Housing, BOCC, St. Johns County

What’s Ahead at the December 17 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

Recap of the December 3rd meeting coming soon!

Opening Agenda:

  • Call to Order by Chair
  • Roll Call by the Clerk of the Court
  • Invocation v Pledge of Allegiance
  • Deletions to Consent Agenda
  • Approval of Consent Agenda
  • Additions/Deletions to Regular Agenda
  • Approval of Regular Agenda
  • Public Comment

Note that at the December 3 meeting Public Comment went for just over 50 minutes.

Consent Agenda Items of Interest

Within the Consent Agenda are some board and committee assignments.

Consent Agenda Item 25 – elect Commissioner Krista Joseph as a member and chair of the St. Johns County Value Adjustment Board and to elect Commissioner Christian Whitehurst as a member of the St. Johns County Value Adjustment Board.

Consent Agenda Item 26 – appoint Kyle Sawchuk to the North Coastal Design Review Board.

Consent Agenda Item 27 – appoint Commissioner Krista Joseph to the Northeast Florida Regional Council Board of Directors and to appoint Commissioner Clay Murphy to the Northeast Florida Regional Council Board of Directors.

Regular Agenda Items

Agenda Item 1 is the 2025 Roadway and Transportation Alternatives List of Priority Projects (LOPP)

“The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) requests project priorities from local governments for potential funding of new transportation projects to be considered for inclusion in the new fiscal year of FDOT’s Work Program. This is an annual recurring request sent to local governments. The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners is charged with prioritizing all projects within the County, including those within municipal boundaries. The Transportation Advisory Group (TAG), consisting of County staff, representatives of the City of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, St. Johns County School District, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority met on November 14, 2024 to review last year’s priorities and recommend this year’s priorities. The attached LOPP includes TAG’s recommendations for both highway and alternatives projects. This meeting staff is requesting the approval of the Regional Priority list.”

Roadway Projects
Trails and Sidewalks

The link to the materials is here: LOPP Materials

Agenda Item 2 is a Change Order for the Greenbriar to Cimmarone Widening Project.

There is an existing project to widen CR 210 from Greenbriar to Cimmarrone. It has been determined it is necessary to include the Greenbriar Road/Veterans Parkway Intersection in this project.

Details of the project and the change order are here: Agenda Item 2

Agenda Item 3 – FEMA Public Assistance

This is an opportunity to add North Ponte Vedra Beach to the existing South Ponte Vedra Beach restoration Project being funded through a Federal Grant.

Details are here: Agenda Item 3

Agenda Item 4 – Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) update

This is the required annual update from the AHAC. This includes a current state view and recommendations on how to address the growing problem of affordable housing in St. Johns County for not only low income families but our “missing middle.”

Materials are here: AHAC Update

Agenda Items 5 & 6 – Hardee Family request to rezone approx. 30 acres of land from Planned Rural Development to Open Rural. This is located at the corner of Oscar Ashton Road and county Road 13A North and approx. 30 acres of land from Rural/Silviculture to Residential A with a text amendment limiting the property to a maximum of 5 single family dwelling units.

Materials are here: Agenda Item 5 and here: Agenda Item 6

Agenda Item 7 is under the auspices of the St. Johns County CRA.

This item is the Vilano Beach Main Street Contract for the purposes of providing services and projects “consistent with the community redevelopment plan” for the Vilano Beach Redevelopment Area.

Materials are here: Agenda Item 7

Agenda Item 8 is the Second Presentation of the Draft Countywide Strategic Plan

“This draft outlines the proposed strategic priorities and objectives for the Board’s discussion and consideration. The Board can choose to approve the draft as it is or make additional changes. The next phase of the project will involve finalizing the implementation plan, which includes specific action items to achieve these objectives, identifying performance measures, and developing a graphic version of the final plan to share with the community.”

Materials, including a red-line version, are found here: Draft County Strategic Plan

Agenda Item 9 is the confirmation of Desiree Woroner as Human Resources & Risk Management Director

Background information is here: Agenda Item 9

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Posted in Affordable Housing, BOCC, Comprehensive Plan, St. Johns County

What’s Ahead at the May 7 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

After a brief hiatus related to a death in the family, I’m resuming my Blog covering the Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting.

The May 7 meeting is packed with a number of important items. Anticipate Public Comment to be heard at the time certain mark of 11:30 (or close to it) and at the end of the day.

There are 4 Proclamations being presented on May 7:

  • Juror Appreciation Week
  • National Drug Court Month
  • Correctional Officers and Employees Week
  • Water Safety Month

Consent Agenda Items:

There are 38 items in the Consent Agenda. Of interest:

Consent Agenda Item 10 – Request approval to submit Federal grants based on the Program of Projects for Bus and Bus facilities programs. This is to request funding for the Sunshine Bus deviated fixed route and paratransit service.

Consent Agenda Item 11 – a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) extending the timeline for the completion of the Veterans Parkway Intersection construction on CR 210. The delay is caused by the County’s road improvement project. The project will still be completed in 2024.

Interestingly – Consent Agenda Items 34 and 35 are to appoint members of the Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals and the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Curious that these are in the Consent Agenda and not Regular Agenda items as has been the practice in the past.

Regular Agenda Items

Agenda Item 1 – SJC Ordinance amending SJC Ordinance 2022-22, 2nd Reading. This is related to the County’s Local Preference Policy for purchasing.

The details are at this link: Local Preference Policy

Agenda Item 2– Public Hearing on Acquisition of North Beach Utilities, Inc. Water and Wastewater System. At the March 19, 2024 meeting the BOCC authorized the Utility department to continue negotiations for the purchase of the North Beach Utilities. Due Diligence has been completed and the Utility Department is recommending completion of the purchase.

Details can be found here: Agenda Item 2

Agenda Items 3 and 4 are for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Planned Unit Development to build the Preserve at Wards Creek. This item has been highly controversial in community meetings and at the PZA meeting. The project involves an Affordable Housing Project on 19 acres of land at the intersection of 16 and 16A.  The land is currently zoned Agricultural-Intensive and this request changes it to Residential D. This was approved at the PZA with a 4:3 vote.

Details are at these links: Agenda Item 3 and Agenda Iem 4

Location of Proposed Ward’s Creek

This item is anticipated to be a lengthy discussion with lots of public comment.

Agenda Item 5 – Pappy and 210 Commercial This is a modification to the Fiore Industrial Park PUD, Phase III to include:

  • Clarify the permitted uses for Phase III to allow a Self-Storage Facility
  • Increase the total allowable building area for Phase III from 59,000 sqft to 145,000 sqft
  • Increase the maximum height of buildings from 35 feet to 60 feet for Phase III only
  • Revise the Accesses to Phase III
  • Reduce and Update the Buffering requirements
  • Update the Phasing Dates

Details are here: Agenda Item 5

Location of Pappy and 210 Commercial

Agenda Item 8 – Mai Office Complex – request to rezone 1.65 acres from Open Rural to Commercial Neighborhood to build an office complex on the north side of the property.

Details are here: Mai Office Complex

Mai Office Complex Location

Agenda Item 9 – St. Marks Industrial Park

Request to rezone 7.43 acres of land from Industrial Warehousing to Planned Unit Development for a maximum of 78,000 sq. ft of Business Commerce, Light Manufacturing, Warehousing and Outdoor Storage uses. This property is at the corner of St. Marks Blvd and International Golf Parkway, west of US 1.

Details are here: Agenda item 9

St. Mark’s Industrial Project

Agenda Item 12 – Amendments to the Land Development Code for Special Care Housing – Second Reading. Details are here: Agenda Item 12

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Posted in Affordable Housing, BOCC, St. Johns County

Summary of the December 21 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

Tuesday was a surprisingly long day, largely because of Agenda Item 6, the Heritage Park PUD, that had a large number of residents in attendance.

Note: The next Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting will be January 16, 2024.

Tuesday’s meeting began with a Recognition of Vilano Beach Main Street Board for the work they have done revitalizing Vilano Beach.  

A proclamation was presenting declaring January 2024 as Human Trafficking Awareness month.

Regular Agenda Items

Public Safety Update

SJSO Director Tara Wildes provided a PSA about staying safe during the Holidays, including don’t drink and drive. She also shared that a new class of K-9s for Warriors was graduating on Tuesday with 2 dogs graduating at the jail. Inmates have worked with the program providing a needed service training the dogs and learning a skill that they can use upon their release from jail.

Fire Rescue Chief McGhee provided a PSA on charging lithium-ion batteries and recommended that they not be left unattended when charging.

Service Delivery Update

There was a lengthy Service Delivery Update that you can watch here: Service Delivery Update

Highlights included:

Library Services – Food for Fines

Parks and Recreation – the Hastings Christmas Parade, Phone Calls from Santa, and the Treecycling Program

Veterans Services – Marine Corp Toys for Tots, Firefighters for Families

Health and Human Services – Christmas Party with Santa and Mrs. Claus, provided gifts for 160 children in care.

Emergency Management – Adopted a family from Firefighters for Families

Fire Rescue – Firefighters for Families served 295 families

Director Larson shared how the Office of Public Affairs is integrated marketing communications to tell the story of the county. He highlighted how they used the great story of the historic 2023 sea turtle nesting season. Check out the video for that alone!

The Director of Library Services shared St. Johns Reads and distributed copies of the new book for the program, “The Reading List” by Sara Nisha Adams.

Regular Agenda Items

Agenda Item 1 was a presentation from the Prevention Coalition of St. Johns County on their Hidden in Plain Sight Program. This is an adult education program begun this year. The target audience is parents, grandparents and any adult caregivers of teenagers.

Please watch the video here – very informative! Hidden in Plain Sight

They also shared about how they reach out to youth to educate about the dangers of substance abuse.

The mission of the organization is about loving, nurturing, educating, and encouraging people to make better choices.

“Susan Jackson, Executive Director of PACT, has requested the opportunity to do a brief presentation to the Commission on PACT initiatives and to discuss the Hidden in Plain Sight program. The Hidden in Plain Sight trailer will be on site in the County Administration Parking lot for Commissioners and the public to participate. The cargo trailer is staged as a youth’s bedroom designed to provide eye-opening education about dozens of things that could be indicators of risky behaviors or mental health concerns. There is also a slide presentation and backpack demonstration showing parents, grandparents, and adult family members problematic things that may be hidden in plain sight.”

Learn more about this organization here: Prevention Coalition of St. Johns County

Agenda Item 2 – Award of RFP 23-32 Residential Solid Waste, Recycling and Yard Waste Collection Services

This presentation was a recommendation for the awarding of an RFP for Waste Collection services.

There are currently 3 contracts for solid waste collection. Two will expire July 31 of 2024 and one will expire July 31 2029. They will consolidate these contracts into one contract. This agenda item is to approve the award to FCC Environmental Services Florida, LLC.

Materials are found here:  Agenda Item 2

Key slides below:

During Public Comment, two of the competitors spoke. The Waste Management representative asked about the wisdom of changing service during hurricane season and opined that low cost does not always mean best value. The Meridian Waste Management representative asked that the county continue with 2 vendors and award the south part of the county to them.

The motion to award the bid to FCC was approved 4-1 with Commissioner Joseph being the No vote. Staff will return with a recommendation on the funding options.

Agenda Item 3 was a presentation on the Design-Build Services for a New SR 207 Water Reclamation Facility and Associated Improvements

This is to enter into a contract with Jacobs Project Management company to complete Scope 1 of Design-Build for the new 207 Water Reclamation Facility. Materials are here: Agenda Item 3

With no public comment, the motion to approve and the motion to transfer money from reserves was approved 5-0.

Agenda Item 4 – Summer Haven – Study of Summer Haven River and Surrounding Areas and Study of Summer House Erosion Findings, including potential FEMA Category B emergency protective measures.

500+ page presentation is here: Summer Haven Presentation

A motion was made to have staff continue researching and come back to the Board with recommendations on how to proceed with protecting this vital area of the county. It was approved 5-0

Agenda Item 5 – Heritage Park PUD

“MAJMOD 2023-10 Heritage Park PUD, a request for a Major Modification to the Heritage Park PUD (Ord. 2000-4, as amended) to divide Parcel B into two sections (B-1 and B-2); to add 12 multifamily residential units to the allowable uses for Parcel B-2; to remove the use of a 7,200 sq ft daycare facility from the list of allowable uses on Parcel B; to provide parking and design criteria to Parcel B-2 for the proposed 12 multi-family units; and to provide a revised MDP Text and Map, specifically located at 227 Hefferon Drive.”

Read the materials here: Heritage Park PUD

This item turned out to be the most contentious of the day, lasting about 2 hours with much public comment from residents of Heritage Park.

You can watch the video here: Heritage Park PUD Video

The request was denied 5-0.

Agenda Item 6 – the 2023 Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Annual Report

The Chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) presented the report which is required by law to be presented by the end of each year.

Read the full report and recommendations here: AHAC Annual Report

The motion to approve the report was passed with a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Joseph being the no vote.

Key slides are below:

Commissioner’s Reports

Commissioner Joseph shared her appreciation of the people who spoke in Public Comment supporting her. She wished everyone Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas; expressing hope for the New Year.

Commissioner Alaimo congratulated the St. Augustine High School Football team for making it to the finals. Even though they didn’t win, it was a great accomplishment to get there. He also congratulated Dylan Rumrell for being elected as St. Augustine Mayor for the coming year. He asked staff to research the concerns raised during Public Comment about dues paid to the Library Association. And he asked if the staff could be awarded an extra day off for the Holiday in appreciation for their hard work this year. By consensus, the staff will have that extra day off this coming week.

Commissioner Whitehurst wished everyone a Merry Christmas

Commissioner Dean expressed appreciation for the good dialog on Tuesday and the ability to focus on the important elements of the people’s business; the reclamation facility, the solid waste collection, and the eco-system.

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

Commissioner Whitehurst on WSOS 103.9

Posted on by Beth Tate

On Thursday, July 7, I participated in a conversation with Commissioner Christian Whitehurst on local radio station WSOS 103.9

Beth Tate, The Kesley Group, with Commissioner Christian Whitehurst
photo courtesy of St. Johns County, Public Relations, Wayne Larson

Local business North Avenue Capital sponsors a monthly show on WSOS talking about all things St. Johns County. Commissioner Whitehurst and I were invited to talk about affordable housing needs in St. Johns County.

Ed Dwyer, North Avenue Capital with Commissioner Whitehurst
photo courtesy of St. Johns County, Public Relations, Wayne Larson

Since our invitation to the show, the Workforce Housing Ordinance was passed and Administrator Hunter Conrad resigned so the focus of the conversation shifted to more current topics. We were able to talk about the need to provide attainable housing for our teachers, firefighters, deputies, tourism and hospitality workers and others who support the county but can’t afford to live here.

You can watch the video on Facebook Live here: WSOS Facebook Live

Or listen to the conversation here:

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

Preview of the June 20 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

This will be another long day!

During the opening of the meeting, there is a Fire Rescue Citizen Commendation, a Proclamation, and a Parks and Recreation Hall of Fame Recognition in addition to the usual Public Safety Update and Clerk of Court’s Report.

Public Comment is Time certain from 11:30 – 12:00 AM or at the conclusion of the Regular Agenda.

Consent Agenda Items

There are 34 items on the Consent Agenda with a few being of particular interest.

Consent Agenda Item 18 – Commercial/Industrial Solid Waste

If you’ve ever wondered about the Solid Waste contracts and who holds those contracts, check out this link: Consent Agenda Item 18

Consent Agenda Item 20 – Awarding of bid for Mickler Road and State Road A1A improvements. Much needed improvements at Mickler Road are included in this item. Consent Agenda Item 20

DB Civil Construction, LLC is being awarded the bid at $4,699,650.00. The approval on Tuesday would include transfer of $1,600,000.00 from Impact Fees Roads Zone B Capital Outlay Reserves to Mickler A1A Intersect Imp Improvements Other Than Buildings for the Mickler Road and SR-A1A Intersection Improvements Project.

“Contractor shall improve the existing signalized intersection by adding two eastbound left-turn bays on Mickler Road, constructing a westbound left-turn bay on Ponte Vedra Boulevard, and constructing a second northbound through lane on SRA1A (which shall be extended to the Crossroad Lakes Drive/Lauden Court intersection, approximately 0.4 miles north of the signal). In addition, the Contractor shall be responsible for relocation of existing St. Johns County utilities along Mickler Road as noted in the approved construction plans. Sidewalk, striping, roadway, and signal adjustments shall be as designed in the construction plans.”

Consent Agenda Item 29 – Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program FY 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan, SF-424 Universal Application and Certificates for the October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024, CDBG Program Year.

This is a 1180-page presentation buried in the Consent Agenda. The presentation includes the responses to the Community Needs Assessment Survey conducted in March of 2023. The 310 responses from the community are included in detail in the report, as well as a list of all public comments included in the survey responses. That’s 310 out of what is estimated to be over 300,000 residents in St. Johns County. That’s less than 1%; hardly a fair representation of the needs of the community. Consent Agenda Item 29

Regular Agenda Items

Agenda Item 2 is an update on the role Fire Watch is taking in Northeast Florida. For those not familiar with Fire Watch, check out this link: Fire Watch

This organization is focused on ending Veteran suicides in Florida. Link to their Tuesday presentation is here: Agenda Item 2

Agenda item 3 is an interesting one as it is a rehearing of an item previously denied. The topic is the Mivo Multi-Family Development with a request to “rezone approximately 15.7 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the development of 204 multi-family residential dwelling units. The property is located southwest of the US 1 South and Watson Road Intersection.”

The development was denied in a 2-2 vote in October of 2022 and the applicant filed an appeal. At the March 21 BOCC meeting, the County Attorney recommended the Board reconsider the application. After discussion and public comment, the Board voted 4-1 to reconsider the application. This is the rehearing.

Agenda Items 4 – 10 are smaller, more localized items including some easements and a carport approval. I expect the 11:30 Public Comment to provide a break in these items and they will continue on after a lunch recess.

Agenda Item 11 is the Workforce Housing Land Development Code Amendment, Second Reading. This was originally to be heard at the May 2, 2023 meeting and was postponed to the June 6 meeting to allow for time to address questions raised by Commissioners Joseph and Dean. At the June 6 Board meeting, there was much discussion about some of the changes that had been incorporated into the Amendment. Motions were made to revise some of those changes. The Board agreed that staff needed time to incorporate those revisions into the amendment and the item was continued to the June 20 meeting.

The updated Amendment can be found here: Workforce Housing LDC Amendment

Agenda Item 12 is of interest to our Ponte Vedra residents. The St. Johns County Utility Department (SJCUD) is a separate utility that provides water services to the Ponte Vedra area. This item is to approve the new schedules for “water, wastewater, and reclaimed water rates, deposits, fees, charges, and costs that reflected reductions to all current Main System water and wastewater usage rates by 3.0% (or as indicated in the Utility Rate Tariff document attached to this agenda item).” Agenda Item 12

Do you have a houseboat? Then you’ll be interested in Agenda Item 13, the First Reading of the Floating Structure Ordinance. This is in response to concerns raised about the anchoring and mooring of “floating structures” in the County during a February Board meeting. Floating Structure Ordinance

Pro Tip! If you are interested in only 1 or 2 items on the agenda, watch or listen to the meeting on the GTV web-site or on local television. In southern St. Johns County, Channel 3, northern St. Johns County, Channel 29 or 261 and in Jacksonville, Channel 26. Link to GTV here: Watch GTV

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