Tag: StJohnsCounty

Highlights: Triathlon Impact & Agenda Items

The May 17 BOCC meeting was a long one so focus today is on items from the Regular Agenda and the additional Agenda item that was raised by Commissioner Krista Joseph.

The weekend prior to the meeting, there was an Ironman triathlon event in Jacksonville. Part of the course came through St. Johns County. This was the inaugural Ironman in Jacksonville and there were many lessons to be learned from the event!

While there were many St. Johns County residents participating in the event, The  event had been publicized on the news and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s FB page indicating there may be traffic impacts on Saturday; however the word did not get out to many residents along the route and there were upset residents, in both St. Johns County and Duval County, who were surprised and unhappy about the traffic impacts.

Commissioner Joseph had posted on her FB page about the impacts and that the County was not aware of the event and that it would be impacting St. Johns County. She brought the concerns to the Board for discussion at the May 17 meeting.

Administrator Andrews shared that the impact on roads and residents was far greater than had been conveyed to the County by the City of Jacksonville.  She pointed out the course had changed over time and had much more impact on the NE part of the county than originally anticipated.

Watch the discussion here: IronMan Discussion

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Regular Agenda Items

Agenda Items 1 & 2 were heard together. This was an appeal of a decision by the Planning and Zoning Agency to approve a Special Use Permit to allow for on-site sale and consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in conjunction with a restaurant. The Appeals came from God’s Way Baptist Church of Hastings and the First Baptist Church of Hastings. After close to 2 hours of discussion, the Appeal was upheld with a 5:0 vote.

“Request to appeal the Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) approval of a Special Use Permit (SUPMAJ 2025-27) to allow for the on-site sale and consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in conjunction with a restaurant located in Commercial General (CG) zoning. This request is being made on behalf of Jeb S. Smith, representing God’s Way Baptist Church of Hastings. This item was heard at the Planning and Zoning Agency’s regularly scheduled February 29, 2019, meeting. Motion to approve was made by Mr. Matovina was seconded by Mr. Olson, and passed with a vote of 4 to 3. Dissenting votes by Mrs. Spiegel, Dr. Hilsenbeck, and Mr. Labanowski.”

Background materials are here: Agenda Item 1 and Agenda Item 2

“Request to appeal the Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) approval of ZVAR 2025-32 and SUPMAJ 2025-27 to allow for the on-site sale and consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in conjunction with a restaurant located in Commercial General (CG) zoning within 1,000 feet of an existing Church. This request is being made on behalf of Benjamin Rodda, representing First Baptist Church of Hastings. This item was heard at the Planning and Zoning Agency’s regularly scheduled February 29, 2019, meeting. Motion to approve was made by Mr. Matovina, seconded by Mr. Olson, and passed with a vote of 4 to 3. Dissenting votes by Mrs. Spiegel, Dr. Hilsenbeck, and Mr. Labanowski.”

Watch the discussion/presentation here: Discussion on Agenda Items 1 & 2

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Agenda Item 3 – “Request to rezone approximately 3.08 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a maximum 11,500 square feet Automobile Repair Facility with a maximum of ten (10) active service bays and accessory Outdoor Storage located at 10150 Cartwheel Bay Avenue.”

Background materials here: Agenda item 3

With commitments to address concerns about vehicle parking and keeping the location neat and orderly, the request was approved 5:0

You can watch this discussion here:

Discussion on Agenda Item 3

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Agenda Item 4 – Anchor Faith Mall – Request to rezone approximately 9.56 acres of land from Commercial General (CG) to Commercial Intensive (CI), located specifically at 2121 US Highway 1 S. The Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) heard this request at their regularly scheduled public hearing on April 2, 2026, and was recommended for approval with a vote of 7-0.

After adding 2 conditions, no Data Center and nothing built under the Live Local Act, the request was approved unanimously.

Materials are here: Agenda Item 4

The application states, “This rezoning merely seeks to rezone the middle two parcels that are buffered from any adjoining properties by their own CG parcels that they also own, which creates a built-in buffer and planning step down in intensity. The parcel rezoning is limited their two inner parcels that will allow some temporary outside use of the parking area deemed necessary for some current use. The property is in the middle of the MIXED USE DISTRICT on the arterial federal highway and is bordered by a car dealership, restaurants, and their own properties. This request is both reasonable and compatible to the area and current uses thereon and in the area.”

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Agenda Item 5 – 4060 County Road 13S. – This was a simple request to change the Future Land Use Map desgination from Agricultural Intensive to Residential A to allow the construction of 1 single family dwelling unit on the property. It was approved 5:0.

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Agenda Item 6 – Rivers Edge CDD (Rivertown)

This petition proposes to remove approximately 298.07 acres from the 983.88 acres of land currently comprising the district, leaving approximately 685.81 acres within the amended CDD boundary.

The petition was approved 5:0

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Agenda Item 7 – Landscaping Service Accessory Use – This is a follow up to an item that came up at the February 17 BOCC Meeting requesting a change to the Land Development Code to allow Landscaping Service businesses as an accessory use to Commercial Plant Nurseries.

The Board of County Commissioners requested changes to Land Development Code (LDC) regulations regarding Landscaping Service businesses as an accessory use to Commercial Plant Nurseries as a Special Use at their regularly scheduled public hearing on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.

This was heard in conjunction with Agenda Item 8, “This amendment amends Land Development Code Article II (Zoning Districts and Special Uses), Article III (Special Districts) and Article XII (Definitions) to codify changes to State Statute that went into effect on July 1, 2021 with the enactment of House Bill 403. The bill added Florida Statute 559.955, which stipulates the policies local governments may implement to regulate home-based businesses. This amendment brings the Land Development Code into compliance with F.S. 559.955 by adding the allowed specified criteria to Home-Based Business as permitted in zoning districts allowing residential use. The amendment also removes outdated language no longer in statute.”

This was a First Reading of both ordinance changes so no vote was required.

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Agenda Item 9 – SUN Trail Network Presentation This was a presentation to help the current Board understand how we got to the current work on the SUN Trail. Important to note this project has beeh moving forward since 2008.

“Presentation to the Board concerning the SUN Trail, the Northeastern Florida regional loop trail represents a coordinated, multi-jurisdictional effort to create what is anticipated to be the longest multi-use loop trail in the Southeast, totaling approximately 260 miles upon completion. Within this broader system, nearly 40 miles will be in St. Johns County, including segments within the City of St. Augustine and the City of St. Augustine Beach, positioning the County as a critical link in the regional network. The loop integrates with major statewide and national trail systems, including the East Coast Greenway and the Coast to Coast Trail, enhancing both interstate and cross-state connectivity. This presentation will focus on the segment along Beach Blvd. from Pope Road to A1A, within the City of St. Augustine Beach.”

Watch the presentation here: SUN Trail Discussion

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Commissioner Reports

During Commission Reports Commissioner Whitehurst reminded residents about the Memorial Day event at the St. Augustine National Cemetery. He also shared information about a presentation he and Commission Taylor attended a presentation on Data Centers and wanted to share that new data centers being built today are not using water for cooling, but a synthetic coolant.

Commission Taylor followed up with her appreciation for that presentation and the concern that data centers do require a tremendous amount of electricity.

Commissioner Murphy wanted to bring back a project that had been presented to the BOCC 2 weeks ago, and now that he has additional information would like to bring it back to the Board for consideration. After discussion and public comment, the project will be brought back before the board for action. This was approved 3-2 with Taylor and Joseph being the no votes.

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Tuesday began with what is typically a straightforward agenda item — the annual re-organizational meeting of the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners. In recent years, however, this meeting has become less predictable, with outcomes that depart from long-standing practice.

Traditionally, the Vice-Chair has been elevated to the role of Chair, with the Vice-Chair position often assigned to a newer Commissioner as preparation for future leadership. Since 2023, that tradition has shifted. Commissioner Joseph, elected in 2022, did not serve as Vice-Chair during the 2022–2023 or 2023–2024 terms. For the 2024–2025 term, she was elevated directly to Chair, and newly elected Commissioner Murphy was selected as Vice-Chair. Many observers assumed this year’s reorganization would follow past precedent, with Commissioner Murphy moving into the Chair role and Commissioner Taylor potentially stepping into Vice-Chair.

Following the Invocation and Pledge, County Attorney Kommando outlined the procedures for the re-organizational meeting. Commissioner Taylor nominated Commissioner Murphy for Chair, and Chair Joseph nominated Commissioner Whitehurst. Chair Joseph then asked Commissioner Murphy whether he would support Commissioner Taylor for Vice-Chair; he responded, “No.” Chair Joseph stated that she could not support Commissioner Murphy for Chair.

Commissioner Whitehurst thanked Chair Joseph for the nomination but expressed a desire to uphold the traditional progression of Vice-Chair to Chair. He withdrew his name from consideration and indicated support for Commissioner Murphy.

Chair Joseph then asked Commissioner Whitehurst about his certifications and training as a Commissioner, specifically referencing Ethics training. She expressed concern that Commissioner Murphy had not attended the required training and therefore could not support him for Chair. Commissioner Murphy responded that he had completed the Ethics training over the summer, leading to additional discussion about the training and about his reasons for not supporting Commissioner Taylor for Vice-Chair.

Commissioner Murphy countered that he HAD attended the ethics training over the summer.

What followed was some debate about whether Commissioner Murphy had attended the training and why he would not support Commissioner Taylor for Vice-Chair.

During Public Comment a suggestion was made to keep the current chair. After Public Comment, the first vote was called for Commissioner Murphy. That vote failed in a 3-2 vote with the No votes being Taylor, Joseph, and in a surprise move, Commissioner Murphy himself.

Because Commissioner Whitehurst had withdrawn from consideration, Commissioner Taylor followed up on recommendations from Public Comment and nominated Commissioner Joseph to be Chair. During a long pause, Commissioner Joseph asked Commissioner Whitehurst if he was sure he didn’t want to do it; his response was to indicate he supported her for Chair.

That vote passed 3-2 with Arnold and Murphy voting no.

I encourage you to watch the discussion, public comments and following vote at this link: Re-organizational Meeting

The special meeting was adjourned and followed by the Regular Board Meeting.

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Key Highlights from the Regular Board Meeting were:

Agenda Item 1 – Request to split precinct 209 and add precinct 214; reequst to reconfigure precincts 501 and 502 and add precinct 512 to allow for efficient operations on Election Day. Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes presented the request and it was approved unanimously.

Below are the new precinct lines. Always check with St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections for your voter status and current precinct information.

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Agenda item 2 – Total Earned Unused and Undistributed Revenue – “In compliance with Florida Statute, 218.36, the St. Johns County Tax Collector, Jennifer Ravan, will present a report of unused earned revenue collected for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Please note that these unused revenues have already been estimated as part of the County budget process and therefore they do not necessarily represent additional County revenue.” This was approved unanimously.

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Discussion on E-Bikes – Chair Joseph recognized Director Martin of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department to address the Board about e-bikes. He shared they have made great progress with the educational piece. House Bill 243 (HB243) has been filed with our Representative Kim Kendall being a co-sponsor of the bill. Sheriff Hardwick is participating on a committee for the bill, sharing learnings from St. Johns County.

 Read the bill here: HB243 – E-Bikes

The Sheriff’s department has purchased e-bikes of their own so they can meet the riders where they are. The focus is to make contact with riders and educate them on safety rules when needed; holding accountable if necessary.

Watch the update here: E-Bike Update

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Agenda Item 3 – this was a very lengthy request to “appeal the Planning and Zoning Agency’s (PZA) denial of a Special Use Permit to Section 2.03.26 of the Land Development Code to allow for the construction of a 150-foot monopole communication tower and support facilities within Open Rural (OR) zoning, located specifically at 1152 Fort Peyton Drive, came before the Planning and Zoning Agency for public hearing on July 17, 2025. The Planning and Zoning Agency denied the application with a vote of 6-0, Member Green was absent.”

Motion to deny the appeal was approved unanimously.

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Agenda Item 4 – Epic-cure Warehouse “Request to rezone approximately 0.90 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Commercial Warehouse (CW) with conditions to provide consistent zoning across the overall 2.82 acre property. This request was heard by the Planning and Zoning Agency at their regularly scheduled public hearing on Thursday, October 16, 2025, and was recommended for approval by a vote of 5-0.”

This was also approved unanimously.

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Agenda Item 5 – Project Dark Horse – a request to rezone approximately 11.86 acres of land from Open Rural to Planned Unit development for a 21,000 sq. ft. health/fitness facility and a 12,250 sq. ft. covered turf field on the north side of Greenbriar Rd. approximately 1.25 miles west of Longleaf Pine Pkwy.

There has been some publicity about this project as local basketball star turned ESPN broadcaster, Steffi Sorenson, is the owner of the project.

Watch her pitch to the Commissioner’s here: Dark Horse Request

The rezoning was approved unanimously. See coverage of the project here: Dark Horse News Coverage

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We’ll now jump ahead to the Commissioner’s reports:

Commissioner Whitehurst offered Happy Thanksgiving greetings and shared his views that there are still many opportunities in this country  for those who work hard to succeed.

Commissioner Murphy asked for consensus to extend December 26^th as a Holiday for the staff in addition to Christmas Day. County Administrator Andrews added that she was going to ask if the County could follow the Governor’s new additional Holidays, November 26^th, December 26^th and January 2^nd. This was granted by consensus.

Commissioner Taylor shared about the recent opportunity to meet Judy Benjamin, an 81 year old Alzheimer’s Survivor who completed her almost 3000 mile walk by touching the water in St. Augustine Beach. Read more about Ms. Benjamin and her journey on her website, Judy Walks Website

She also shared about the successful start to Nights of Lights and success from improvements made to this years event. Learn more here: Night Of Lights

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County Administrator Report

Administrator Andrews had 3 updates for the Commissioners. The first was a response to a request from Commissioner Taylor about LAMP Funding. They are still reviewing opportunities for additional funding including identification of possible grants in collaboration with state and federal agencies. Second was an update on the $200,000 approved for the food pantries – $117,000 has been disbursed to the 10 agencies approved thus far.

The 3^rd update was presented by Jamie Locklear and Christine Valliere. In relation to the World Golf Village properties, the new owners of the Renaissance Hotel have announced a $20 Million renovation project. This shifts the negotiating position of the county considerably as there is now private sector investment coming into play for the adjacent properties. A motion was made to reject the current bids for the WGV properties in order to continue negotiations.

Deputy Attorney Lex Taylor gave a good explanation of the proposal. Watch it here: World Golf Village Motion Explained

The motion passed unanimously.

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