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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“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.”
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.”
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.”
“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”
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.”
“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.”
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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Village Commons Location
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Tuesday’s meeting does not look to be a long one. There are no major Comp Plan Amendments on the agenda that day.
The meeting will open with 2 Proclamations: July as Parks and Recreation Month and recognizing the American Flag Rescue Program.
Consent Agenda Items
Of interest in the Consent Agenda:
Item 7 – Proportionate Fair Share Agreement for the Secession Development
“KG Island Designs, LLC (Owner) has proposed a Proportionate Fair Share Agreement (Agreement) to mitigate the project’s transportation impacts to US 1 from Old Moultrie Road to Wildwood Drive, pursuant to Section 11.09.04.B of the Land Development Code in order to meet transportation concurrency requirements for the Secession Subdivision for the development of 99 single family units located on Watson Road west of US 1 to be developed in the existing zoning category of RS-2 and RS-2 with conditions, and future land use designation of Residential B. Access is proposed directly to Watson Road, as extended, and to the existing Devonshire Dr. within Watson Woods Phase I. There is no connection proposed to Carter Rd. The proportionate fair share is calculated to be $1,090,553.00 as detailed in Exhibit B of the Agreement (PFS). The proposed Agreement includes a provision for cost indexing to adjust the proportionate fair share payment that was assessed based on 2023 FDOT cost per mile models annually beginning January 1, 2025 until full payment has been received by the County.Road impact fee credit is included as a component of the Agreement to be awarded upon the County’s receipt of the PFS payment that is required prior to construction plan approval.”
Consent Agenda Item 17 is likely to generate public comment. This item is to transfer $800,000 from the General Fund Reserve to the County Attorney account to cover outside legal expenses. The cost of outside legal counsel is often a topic of discussion in Public Comment. Materials are here: Consent Agenda Item 17
Regular Agenda Items
Agenda Item 1 is the Constitutional Officers’ Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Presentation from the Supervisor of Elections. Materials can be found here: Supervisor of Elections Budget
Agenda Item 2 is a hearing of interest to Julington Creek Plantation Residents. This is a request for a non-zoning variance for the Julington Creek Plantation Bald Eagle Management Plan Amendments.
“The subject properties currently consist of three developed parcels, parcel 11 (Plantation Park), parcel 18 (Administration Building), and parcel 19 (Plantation Recreational Facility), of the Julington Creek Master Development Plan. These parcels are part of the Julington Creek PUD and have a Future Land Use of Julington Creek DRI. The properties are located east of State Road 13 North and south of Race Track Road, directly abutting Davis Pond Boulevard and Durbin Creek Boulevard. The Bald Eagle Nest, SJ-07, is located southwest of the properties within a St. Johns River Water Management District Conservation Easement (O.R.B. 929 PG. 684) approximately 221’ from Davis Pond Boulevard to the north. The applicant desires to amend and restate the Julington Creek BEMP text to allow construction of recreational or commercial improvements within parcels 11, 18, and 19 of the Julington Creek Master Development Plan to be completed during the Bald Eagle Nesting Period. Specifically, the applicant desires to update, expand and remodel within Parcels 11, 18 and 19. The text amendment now includes prohibition of the use of bright color schemes on the exteriors of the proposed recreational and commercial buildings which could create a visual impact on the Bald Eagle. The proposed amendment also includes that Bald Eagle monitoring shall be conducted pursuant to current FWS Guidelines for any construction activities within the subject parcels during the Nesting Period as described within Section VI. Monitoring, part F, of the revised BEMP.”
Agenda Item 3 is a request for a Special Use Permit to allow for the expansion of the existing JEA Wastewater Treatment Facility at 1245 Reclamation Drive. This was unanimously approved by the PZA on May 16, 2024.
Agenda Item 4 is a request to rezone .43 acres of land from Commercial Neighborhood to Residential, Manufactured/Mobile Home or Single Family to allow for one single family home on each of 2 platted lots.
Agenda Item 5 is a request for a Non-Zoning Variance to the Land Development Code to allow for more than one driveway for a. Single Family residential unit at 241 State Road 16.
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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.
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.
Agenda Items 3 and4 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.
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.
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.
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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Tuesday’s meeting has some important topics including new parks and updates on the Live Local Act
There are 3 Proclamations to be issued at Tuesday’s meeting;
Recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month
Recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Recognizing National Library Week
Consent Agenda
Two items of interest on the Consent Agenda are:
Consent Agenda Item 21 – Issuance of bonds by the Housing Finance Authority of St. Johns County to finance or refinance rehabilitation, construction and development of a multifamily housing project known as Summerset village and Summer Breeze Apartments.
These are existing apartments located in St. Augustine. Background materials are here: Consent Agenda Item 21
Consent Agenda item 22 is an event approval for 3 Triathalon events to take place at Vilano Beach. These events are sponsored by Game On Race Events. The event has been moved from Mickler’s Landing because of the current renourishment project.
AgendaItem 1 – Regional Park and Community Service Center Plan is a review of a plan for 4 full-service regional parks Parks Presentation
Presentation Agenda
AgendaItem 2 – State Funded Florida Shared-Used Nonmotorized Trail Network Program Agreements. In a nutshell, the Florida Legislature allocated $26,277,505 I FDOT Sun Trail Grant funds for 5 segments of the SUN Trail network. As a condition of the funding, the county is required to maintain the project for it’s useful life. This item is for approval to execute the agreements. Details are here: Agenda Item 2
River-to-Sea Loop
Agenda Item 3 – Capital Improvement Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2024. This is project to reduce the cost of deb servicing for the county. Agenda Item 3
Agenda Item 4 – 1st Reading of SJC Ordinance 2022-22, Purchasing Policy, including Local Preference.
In September 2023 there was a proposed change to the Local Preference section of the Purchasing Policy. Concerns were raised that these changes could have unintended negative consequences so the Board asked the Purchasing Director to meet with the Chamber of Commerce and bring back a recommendation. This is the updated ordinance.
For transparency, as Chair of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee, I was part of the discussions with the County.
Agenda Item 5 – Public Hearing Bella Terra PUD – to rezone 37.73 acres of land from Open Rural, Commercial General, and Commercial Intensive with conditions to Planned Unit Development for a maximum of 155 homes. Bella Terra has come before the Board in the past with other proposed zoning. Planning and Zoning Agency approved this one 5-2 at the March 7 PZA hearing.
Some of the background on past hearings:
March 7, 2023 – request to rezone 26 acres of land from Open Rural and Commercial Intensive with Conditions to PUD for 174 multi-family residential dwelling units. This request was unanimously denied by the Board.
May 25, 2023 – request for a waiver to reapply for rezoning before the required 1 year wait period.
July 18, 2023 – the Board heard the appeal and approved the waiver of the 1 year waiting period with a 3:2 vote, Joseph and Whitehurst being the no votes.
Agenda Item 6 – Fidus Warehouse & RV/Boat Storage – Request to rezone 4.7 acres from Open Rural to Industrial Warehousing with conditions to waive any right to develop the property pursuant to the Live Local Act. This has become a hot button for development. This is located at SR 16, west of Race Track Road. This should not be confused with Race Track Road on the northern border of the county.
Agenda Item 7 – ABC Fine Wine and Sprits – Appeal the PZA denial of a request to allow ABC Fine Wine and Sprits to be established within 1,000 feet of an existing church and school. Materials are here: Agenda Item 7
Agenda Item 10 – Petition to Establish the Orange Branch CDD. This CDD will serve the residential portions of The Landings at St. Johns and The Landings at Greenbriar Planned Unit Developments. Background materials are here: Agenda Item 10
The two PUDs will have a total of 1,349 single family residential units. The CDD is being established to fund improvements to the Infrastructure improvements. This means the future residents of these two communities will be responsible for the yearly CDD fees that will pay for these improvements. Improvements listed are:
Offsite Roadway and Utility Improvements (Wetland Mitigation/Earthwork/Utilities/Pavement/Storm/Electric Relocation)
Master Stormwater Drainage System (Earthwork and Stormwater Facilities)
The establishment of the CDD will grant the CDD powers to finance, fund, plan, establish, acquire, construct, reconstruct, enlarge or extend, equip, operate and maintain systems and facilities for: (1) parks and facilities for indoor and outdoor recreational, cultural, and educational uses; (2) security, including but not limited to guardhouses, fences and gates, electronic intrusion-detection systems, and patrol cars, as authorized and described in Section 190.012(2), Florida Statutes.
Screenshot
Agenda Item 11 – Presentation of the 2024 Live Local Act Glitch Bill. Recent meetings have seen concerns raised about the preemptions allowed by the Live Local Act related to the construction of multi-family developments in commercial, industrial or mixed-use lands. In 2024, the Florida Legislature approved a “glitch bill” to address some of the concerns. At the March 5 meeting the Commissioners requested an update on the Glitch Bill. The two bills are Senate Bill 328 and House Bill 7073. They are currently awaiting the Governor’s signature.
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Beth Tate 