St. Johns Count Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View.
The September 7 meeting has 5 items for review. The full agenda can be found here: PZA Agenda
Agenda Item 1 is a minor modification request in District 1, Bartram Park, to accommodate placement of a backyard pool.
Agenda Item 2 is another minor modification request in District 2, to allow an A/C unit to encroach into the required 5 ft. setback.
Agenda Item 3 is of interest to residents who live in Race Track Road area in District 1. This is a request to modify the Race Track Road PUD to accommodate construction of a Personal Property Mini-Warehouse Facility (Self Storage.) A Self Storage warehouse is already an allowable usage in this PUD however they are requesting modifications to the currently allowed commercial and office square footage.
Aerial Map of location for the Self Storage FAcility
The waiver being requested is for the proximity of personal property mini warehouse being located within five hundred (500) feet of a residentially zoned property or residential portions of Planned Developments. The proposed project currently measures approximately 420 feet away from residential properties to the west and approximately 390 feet from the single-family residence located to the east.
The application also seeks to to reallocate square footage requirements. This table demonstrates the changes in square footage being requested.
Screen shot from MAJMOD Race Track Road Application
Item 4 is of interest to residents of Flagler Estates. This is a request for a Special Use Permit for the construction of a 250 ft. cell phone tower on Helena Street.
Item 5 is another request for a modification to allow a self storage facility on US1, just north of County Road 210. This is in District 4. Self Storage Facility
“This is a request to amend Comprehensive Plan Policy A.1.11.3 to allow for a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 110% in lieu of the required maximum of 50% within the Intensive Commercial FLUM designation, specifically located at 11280 US 1 North. According to the provided conceptual site plan, the proposed footprint of the building is approximately 32,750 square feet with a total of 3-stories for an overall square footage of 98,250 square feet. The applicant attest that the amendment is needed since the Comprehensive Plan requires a cumulative calculation for FAR to be based on total floor area of all floors within a building, and does not adequately account for Self-Storage uses in all locations and situations.”
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The meeting started off with a statement from Chair Matovina that the Ponte Vedra Resort PUD would not be heard and has been continued to September 21.
For those interested in this PUD, there are other important meetings associated with this PUD review:
Sept 6, 5:00 PM, the Architectural Review Committee Meeting at the Sawgrass Mariott
Sept 11, 11:00 AM, the Ponte Vedra Planning and Adjustment Board at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine
Sept 21, the Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting, time certain of 10:00, at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine (subject to change.)
Nov 7 – the Board of County Commissioners meeting, 9:00 at the County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine (subject to change.)
Mr. Matovina then shared some additional information for the Board. These items are reported as recorded in the meeting transcript with some editing for grammar:
“I want to make sure that we all understand that staff doesn’t work for us. We don’t give instructions to staff. They work for the St. Johns County Manager who ten reports to the board so I think that, that is something we should understand. There is a lot of discussion about that item. And staff should not be asked to take direction from us. So that is number one.
Number two, I want to point out, the potential for conflict of interest. Because when we think of conflict of interest, we normally think of a monetary situation. Several that I have declared have been because DR Horton is my biggest customer.
If they have a rezoning up here, I clearly should declare a conflict of interest. But there are nonmonetary conflicts of interest. If you live next door to the development, you have a nonmonetary conflict of interest because you live next door to it. Our charge is to not only avoid an actual conflict of interest but also the perception of a conflict of interest.
So, I think thse are all things that are important for us to remember. Because there is going to be a lot of controversy surrounding this particular item on the 21st. And we could potentially, you know, put any decision that is made in danger by not following rules that we are supposed to follow.
So, That’s all I have to say about that matter.”
Items on the Regular Agenda
The first two items were minor and did not have extensive discussion. Approved by the PZA were a Zoning Variance in District 5 and a Minor Modification in District 4 to allow a Rear Yard setback to accommodate a swimming pool.
Item 3, in District 2
Elevation Pointe – Request for a Major Modification to the Elevation Pointe at Anderson Park PUD (Ordinance 1996-66, as amended) to increase wetland impacts with a corresponding decrease in preserved wetlands, open space and upland buffers; increase development area; reconfigure commercial outparcels; and decrease approved commercial entitlements from 190,000 SF to 170,000 SF.
“APPLICATION SUMMARY This is a request to modify the Elevation Pointe at Anderson Park PUD in order to accommodate a planned Publix Supermarket within the commercial portion of the development. The use is proposed at the corner of the future realigned CR 208 and SR 16. The applicant is seeking to reconfigure the commercial outparcels to allow for the use, which will result in additional impacts to adjoining wetlands and open space areas due to an increase in the development area. The applicant also proposes to decrease allowed commercial square footage within the PUD from a maximum 190,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet.”
Aerial view of the Elevation Pointe project
Included in the package for Thursday is a summary of comments received from the Public prior to the meeting.
“PHONE CALLS/CORRESPONDENCE Staff has received several phone calls regarding the proposed Major Modification. A majority of the calls were informational in nature with no stated objections. Several residential property owners to the west have called to express concerns about the proposed impacts to the wetlands, and the possibility of exacerbating drainage issues in the area. Several members of the public have also voiced frustration with regard to another Publix supermarket being built along SR 16, which would be the third Publix located along the SR 16 corridor between I-95 and International Golf Parkway. Staff noted to these callers that the County is unable to prohibit specific businesses from occupying designated commercial properties if the proposed use is allowed by right within the development.”
Whole 9 Yards. Request to rezone approximately 1.37 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Industrial Warehousing (IW), located at 5285 Big Oak Road S. This is property located in the Airport District.
Several residents spoke against this development because of the impact on the residential nature of the area.
There was quite a bit of discussion about what is allowed in the Airport District. Of note, the Airport Authority will need to review this item before it is presented to the Commissioners in September.
The application was denied by the PZA.
Item 5, in District 2
Deer Run Road PUD. Request to Rezone approximately 25.12 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow up to 26 duplexes for a total of 52 dwelling units, specifically located at 2380 Deer Run Road, 1109 Fazio Road, and 1150 Fazio Road.
This development appears to represent more much needed attainable housing in St. Johns County.
“APPLICATION SUMMARY The Applicant is seeking to rezone approximately 25.12 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum of 52 dwelling units consisting of 26 residential duplexes. The applicant asserts that the development will provide multi-family housing options for residents that are employed at the area businesses near the SR 16 and I-95 corridor at a price that they can afford. The applicant points out that the proposed duplexes will provide a more affordable and lower maintenance option as compared to single-family homes without the higher density of multi-family townhomes and apartments.” Deer Run Road Presentation
Aerial view of Deer Run Road project location
Questions were asked of the applicant if this was truly Workforce Housing. They indicated they did not know the threshold for Workforce Housing. When told that the threshold was $260,000, the acknowledge this is not workforce housing but at a range of $300,000 would be more affordable than other homes in the area.
Local residents objected to the development because of the impact on traffic on 4-Mile Road.
After discussion, this was approved 3-2.
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The August 3 Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meeting had one lengthy discussion and some interesting conversation about the upcoming August 17 PZA meeting.
The first item on the Agenda was the annual election of the Chair and Vice-Chair. Teresa Bishop, of the Growth Management Department made a request to delay the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair to a future meeting. The rationale for the request was because of a highly controversial item to be heard at the August 17 Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting. After much discussion it was agreed to delay the election of a new Chair and Vice-Chair until after the upcoming review of the Ponte Vedra PUD Modification.
Agenda Item 2, a non-zoning variance for signage in The Shoppes of Tocoi Creek was approved with little debate.
Agenda Item 4 for the Katepally Community Commercial PUD to add a connectivity point and an additional vehicular access point was also approved with little discussion.
The big item of the day was the combined presentation on items 5 – 8, The Landings at Greenbriar and The Landings at St. Johns (Active Adult.)
I’ve shared screen shots from the presentation throughout the narrative below.
Dr. Hilsenback commented on their package having 946 pages to review. This is an indication of the size and complexity of the proposal.
The 4 items, presented in one presentation were:
Agenda Item 5 (370 pages) is “Request for a Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use designation of approximately 31.8 acres of land, located south of Greenbriar Road, approximately one (1) mile west of Longleaf Pine Parkway, from Rural/Silviculture (R/S) to Residential-B (Res-B) with site specific text amendment stating that in locations where the subject property is contiguous to The Landings at St. Johns site, no Development Edges will be required.”
Agenda item 6 (87 pages) is “Request to rezone approximately 382 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 588 single family residential dwelling units. This request is a companion application to CPA (SS) 2022-01”
Agenda item 7 (340 pages) is “Adoption hearing for a Large-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use Map designation of approximately 581 acres of land, located south of Greenbriar Road and west of Longleaf Pine Parkway, from Rural/Silviculture (R/S) to Residential-B (Res-B) with a site specific text amendment stating that in locations where the subject property is contiguous to The Landings at Greenbriar site, no Development Edges will be required.”
Agenda item 8 (149 pages) is “Request to rezone approximately 581 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) and Residential, Single Family (RS-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 761 age-restricted single family homes. This request is a companion application to COMPAMD 2022-06 The Landings at St. Johns.”
The Landings at Greenbriar is planned to have 588 single family residential units while the Landings at St. Johns is planned for 761 Age Restricted (55+) single family units.
Aerial view of Site location
To mitigate impacts to roads, the project includes a Proportionate Fair Share agreement that would:
Widen a portion of Greenbriar Road to 4-lanes from Greenbriar Road/Longleaf Pine Parkway intersection west approximately .90 mile at an estimated cost of $8,162,869.
Widen an additional .5-mile segment of Greenbriar Road extending to approximately 930 feet west of Brambly Vine Drive/Project Entrance intersection for a total of 1.48 miles.
Include improvements to the intersection of Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Pkwy.
The representative for the developer shared information about the status of road improvements.
Active and Funded Road Improvement Projects:
Longleaf Pine Parkway four-lane
CR 210 four-lane from Cimarrone to 210-West
Longleaf Pine improved with the Greenbriar Helow Mixed Use Development
A timeline was shared to demonstrate that the first homes will not be closing for new homeowners until 2026 and that much of the road improvement construction will be done before the new traffic is generated.
Also shared was two proposed road improvements that will be of benefit for school traffic and included in the package was a letter of support from Superintendent Forson about the benefit of these improvements;
The School District had previously determined there is no available capacity in the Concurrency Service Area impacted by this development. In the months since that determination the developer had been working with the School District and there is now an agreed Proportionate Fair Share Agreement with the School District.
The Developer shared information about the impacts on schools with these slides:
Public Comment
During Public Comment there were concerns raised that this is NOT compatible with surrounding neighborhoods. This was based on lot sizes and density in existing developments compared to the proposed development. There was frustration expressed with the number of expert witnesses in the room for the developer. A comment was made that the added turn lane for the schools was not helpful and only provided to win “brownie points.”
Concerns were raised about the overcrowding in the schools and the number of temporary classrooms already in place.
During rebuttal from the developer they pointed out the requirement for the expert witnesses for a quasi-judicial application such as this and that is why they have the experts who helped prepare the reports in the room to answer any potential questions.
They addressed concerns about compatibility by sharing the following slide and chart:
Discussion before the vote
After this discussion Dr. Hilsenbeck indicated he had more concerns about compatibility. He also asked about how many approved and platted but unbuilt lots are in the county today.
Ms. Bishop provided these numbers:
142,555 approved lots
83,888 are built
58,267 unbuilt, county wide
Dr. Hilsenbeck went on to share that he felt the traffic would be “crushing” and that this development is premature until the roads and schools can catch up.
Mr. Matovina pointed out that there were other sources of funding for road improvements, not just those indicated for this development. He also shared his view that as road improvements come online, people will change their travel habits and that will alter the traffic patterns.
All four applications were approved 5-1 with Dr. Hilsenbeck being the Nay vote.
The next step is review with the County Commissioners on Sept. 5.
Staff Reports and Final Discussion
During staff reports, Ms. Bishop shared that the School Board is working on finding a replacement for their vacant PZA position.
There was discussion about the upcoming PZA meeting on August 17 where the controversial Ponte Vedra Resorts PUD will be reviewed.
-The hearing is set for a time certain at 3:00 and it is anticipated the meeting may go very long based on the recent community meeting with over 400 people in attendance.
-They are setting a time certain for the Chairman to be allowed to continue the meeting if it is still going at 8:00 PM.
-They could extend the meeting to 10:00 PM.
-If the meeting goes past 6:00, they will schedule a 30 minute dinner break.
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Agenda Item 1 is the annual election of the Chair and Vice-Chair. Will there be a change this year?
Agenda Item 2 is a non-zoning variance for signage in The Shoppes of Tocoi Creek. The monument sign should not be larger than 28 square feet. The applicant is requesting a variance for a 60.7 square foot sign to accommodate the large number of tenants in this shopping center (over 20.)
Agenda Item 4 is for the Katepally Community Commercial PUD to add a connectivity point and an additional vechicular access point. This will require .58 acres of wetlands to be filled in. The intent of this change is to reduce traffic congestion related to the property.
Agenda Items 5 – 8 are related to The Landings at Greenbriar and The Landings at St. Johns (Active Adult.)
Agenda Item 5 (370 pages) is The Landings at Greenbriar – “Request for a Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use designation of approximately 31.8 acres of land, located south of Greenbriar Road, approximately one (1) mile west of Longleaf Pine Parkway, from Rural/Silviculture (R/S) to Residential-B (Res-B) with site specific text amendment stating that in locations where the subject property is contiguous to The Landings at St. Johns site, no Development Edges will be required.”
Agenda item 6 (87 pages) is The Landings at Greenbriar – “Request to rezone approximately 382 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 588 single family residential dwelling units. This request is a companion application to CPA (SS) 2022-01”
Agenda item 7 (340 pages) is The Landings at Saint Johns – “Adoption hearing for a Large-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment to change the Future Land Use Map designation of approximately 581 acres of land, located south of Greenbriar Road and west of Longleaf Pine Parkway, from Rural/Silviculture (R/S) to Residential-B (Res-B) with a site specific text amendment stating that in locations where the subject property is contiguous to The Landings at Greenbriar site, no Development Edges will be required.”
Agenda item 8 (149 pages) is The Landings at Saint Johns – “Request to rezone approximately 581 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) and Residential, Single Family (RS-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 761 age-restricted single family homes. This request is a companion application to COMPAMD 2022-06 The Landings at St. Johns.”
Links to each agenda item are included below.
High level description of the project
These two communities have generated a lot of concern and interest in the Northwest sector. This is the Adoption Hearing for this development as it was approved for Transmittal in May of this year.
Location of the project
Residents Concerns
At the hearings for the transmittal, there were many residents who spoke both for and against the project. There were complaints raised by some of the residents opposed to the project that residents speaking in favor had some affiliation to the project, either directly or indirectly. Regardless of their affiliation, they are still residents of the county and are therefore able to share their opinions on the project.
The opposition to the project is largely around increased traffic on the roads, lack of capacity in the schools today, and the further eroding of Rural Silviculture in St. Johns County and thus the continued removal of trees and impact to wildlife.
What’s included
These items will probably be presented in one presentation that we can anticipate will be lengthy. The complete project is an overall “master planned and interconnected” residential community that will be made up of The Landings at Greenbriar and The Landings at St. Johns.
The Landings at Greenbriar is planned to have 588 single family residential units while the Landings at St. Johns is planned for 761 Age Restricted (55+) single family units.
To mitigate impacts to roads, the project includes a Proportionate Fair Share agreement that would:
Widen a portion of Greenbriar Road to 4-lanes from Greenbriar Road/Longleaf Pine Parkway intersection west approximately .90 mile at an estimated cost of $8,162,869.
Widen an additional .5-mile segment of Greenbriar Road extending to approximately 930 feet west of Brambly Vine Drive/Project Entrance intersection for a total of 1.48 miles.
Include improvements to the intersection of Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Pkwy.
Proposed road improvements
The School District has determined there is no available capacity in the Concurrency Service Area impacted by this development. The applicant has stated they are aware they will need to begin the proportionate fair share mitigation process or wait until there is available capacity.
In the staff review they noted that this region of the county has had “notable impacts” to school capacity and has deficient roadway segments.
The applicant has proposed traffic mitigation that they believe will provide a public benefit. This includes:
• Widen a one (1) mile segment of Greenbriar Road from two (2) lanes to four (4) lanes from just east of its intersection with Longleaf Pine Parkway to the west, including the widening of the Greenbriar Road/Longleaf Pine Parkway intersection to accommodate the four-lane reconfiguration of Greenbriar Road.
• Widen an additional one-half mile section of Greenbriar Road from the terminus of the Landings at Greenbriar project improvements (outlined above) just west of the project entrance.
• Turn lane improvements to Greenbriar Road at the entrances to Switzerland Point Middle School and Hickory Creek Elementary School, which the applicant attests will relieve traffic congestion on Greenbriar Road when school is starting and ending.
• Turn lane improvements to Longleaf Pine Parkway at the entrance to Bartram Trail High School, which the applicant attests will relieve traffic congestion on Longleaf Pine Parkway when school is starting.
Additionally, they note these benefits:
• Providing a provision of funds for the construction of roadway improvements to Greenbriar Road, Longleaf Pine Parkway, or other regional roads that are currently in need of widening.
• Provision of much-needed housing in an area that is surrounded by existing residential communities, schools, parks and other public facilities that are already available to serve project residents.
• The age restricted community will have no impact on school capacity and yet contribute ad valorem tax revenue to the St. Johns County School District.
There is a lot to digest and a lot of background reading necessary to understand the full proposals. For more of the details, check the links below.
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The April 6 Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meeting had 2 items of great impact to St. Johns County and a handful of smaller items.
Agenda Item 1 was The Landings at St. Johns, an Active Adult community.
This item is of great interest to those in the Northwest Sector, District 1.
The applicant for this project is Pulte. At the beginning of the presentation, Chair Matovina wanted to emphasize this is a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and NOT a PUD hearing. He stated that the PUD will be heard at a later date.
The presentation was from Ellen Avery-Smith, representing the applicant. While the application on Thursday was only for one community, Ms. Avery-Smith provided an overview of the entire project for this area.
There are four applications proposed:
The Landings at Greenbriar
Small Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Planned Unit Development
The Landings at St. Johns
Large Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Planned Unit Development – Active Adult
Because the Landings at Greenbriar is a Small Scale Plan Amendment, it only requires 2 hearings, not the 4 required for a Large Scale Amendment. Thursday’s presentation was ONLY for the Large Scale Plan Amendment for The Landings at St. Johns.
This property is surrounded by land that is zoned Residential B and Rural/Silviculture. Ms. Avery-Smith walked through the rationale for why legally, this project would not be considered Urban Sprawl so the development boundaries can be extended. This is important for the legal aspects of approval of this project.
The project includes:
The Landings at St. Johns – 761 Active Adult Homes
The Landings at Greenbriar – 588 Single Family Homes
Open Space Preservation – 49% Open Space and Recreation, 302.8 Acres of Wetland Preservation, 146 Acres of Upland Preservation and 28.6 Acres of parks
What was under review for Thursday was the Active Adult Community only. This is housing for 55-years of age and older. There can be no one under the age of 19 years old occupying the home. This importantly provides for no impact on the school system while still providing ad valorem school tax revenue.
Additional benefits noted are reduced roadway traffic and amenity programming on-site that reduces need for external trips. Also noted was no impact on the local recreation programs such as sports teams.
It was pointed out in the presentation that this property was previously the Switzerland Air Field, used by the US Navy. The site plan was developed using the pathways utilized by the airplanes thus creating a compact and orderly plan.
There have been 2 community meetings conducted for this project. As is a common theme, resident concerns are around transportation and schools.
The Active/Funded transportation projects noted that impact this development are:
CR 210 four lane from Cimarrone to 210 West – Under construction
Longleaf Pine Parkway four lane – plans are complete. Greenbriar Helow has contributed up front money and construction should be completed in 2 years
Veterans Parkway connection to CR 210 – Should be completed end of 2023 or first quarter of 2024
Greenbriar Road widening to Greenbriar Estates – Greenbriar Helow project will pay for this widening
Shearwater Parkway to 16A – still to be built
First Coast Expressway – Under construction – completed by 2030; will have an entrance ramp at Longleaf Pine Pkwy
Proposed Improvements to be paid for by this project:
Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Parkway Intersection
Switzerland Point Middle and Hickory Creek Elementary Turn Lanes
Bartram Trail High School Lanes
The lanes at the schools are intended to improve traffic flow. The School Board will need to approve these proposals.
The age-restricted development, while not generating additional load to the schools will generate $10.4 Million in proportionate share payments with .9M going to School Access improvements and $1M in Annual local Ad Valorem Tax.
During Public Comment, Christine Mullis spoke representing the Greenbriar Road Preservation Group. She referenced materials that had been submitted to the PZA about why this should not be approved. Items mentioned included lack of adequate infrastructure, the Greenbriar Road traffic analysis, and the Lot Sizes that would be inconsistent with surrounding developments. Also included were concerns about protection of wetlands.
Al Abbatiello spoke of concerns about the impact on the Bartram Trail Scenic Highway. He emphasized that the Commission continually approves these amendments and the county still does not have a Strategic Plan in place. He shared concerns about the added traffic and that projected plans are not going to solve the current issues in District 1. He would like to see the PZA reject the transmittal of the proposal.
Concerns were raised by some residents about the impact on schools. The applicant during rebuttal commented that this application is for the Active Adult community that has no impact on school populations.
After much more discussion with the applicant and the Agency, the motion passed 4:1.
This will now go to the County Commissioners for approval.
There were several smaller applications that did not generate as much discussion before the final item on the Agenda, the Adoption of a Workforce Housing Ordinance update that has been proposed by the Northeast Florida Builder’s Association.
Workforce Housing Ordinance
The two most impactful elements of the ordinance are to raise the initial sales price of Workforce Housing from $240,000 to $260,000 and reduce the % of required Workforce Housing from 40% to 30%.
This ordinance is another Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the County. The Adoption Hearing with the Commissioners is scheduled for May 2.
A representative from NEFBA shared a short presentation with the rationale for the changes. He compared the proposal to Sarasota and Martin counties, that are comparable to St. Johns in size and wealth. He also confirmed that if the builder pays qualified closing costs on behalf of buyers, it would add to the initial sales prices of the house.
Also shared was a chart showing a comparison to other counties and their Workforce Housing pricing. Putnam County was the lowest at $243,000 and Collier and Sarasota counties were the highest at $420,000.
The Ordinance was approved for adoption by the PZA 5:0.
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Beth Tate 