Retirement home rejected

Retirement home rejected



DOUGLAS JORDAN
Special to The Record
Publication Date: 01/04/08
After more than two hours of public debate at its monthly meeting on Thursday afternoon, the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency denied the application by a developer to rezone property off U.S. 1 and Old Moultrie Road to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for a 190-bed independent living retirement center.
Nearby residents have opposed the facility as presented by the developer, Moultrie Bluffs LLC, mainly because they do not want a full-scale nursing home in the midst of their residential community.
Agency member Doug Laidlaw said he was "struggling with the concept that this is a residential project, and not a commercial one."
Laidlaw grilled Karen Taylor, a planner for the developer, about the distinctions between special care housing and a licensed nursing care facility.
Taylor stressed that the facility would not have a full-time nursing home, but would be a residential building that coordinated care for its residents when needed through an outside provider.
"This is not much different than an apartment building," Taylor said. "It will provide assisted living, but I'm not sure why that is being looked at as a negative thing."
According to state guidelines and county code, special care housing is allowed in residential use, Taylor said. The project would also include personal services such as laundry, a restaurant and a wellness center, she said.
Scott Bartage, president of the Moultrie Trails Homeowners Association, said the developer had met with nearby residents and assured them that it would not be building a nursing home.
But Bartage said the plan presented to the county was more like a "medical office building," which was not at all acceptable to the residents.
"What this looks like is a good old-fashioned bait-and-switch routine," Bartage said. "The developer bought a piece of property, and he's entitled to develop it and make a profit.
"But it ought to be done in compatibility with what's around it. We ask that you deny this application."
Taylor said the proposed project would be "an elegant retirement center," much like The Allegro on St. Augustine Beach.
Laidlaw didn't seem convinced.
"You're going to be a nursing home, according to our land use zoning," he said. "They've used the land development code as a buffet" to pick and choose.
Laidlaw said he didn't think residents would want to see an institutional type of building in their area.
"Here's my fear: They can have 190 residents in a three-story building. It will have a commercial look to it, and it's going to look like a hospital."
Other members, such as Jim Wheeler, agreed on the appearance issue.
After Laidlaw made a motion, the Agency members voted 6-1 to deny the application. Chairman Henry Green voted against the motion to deny.
The PUD application will next go to the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, who could choose to override the Planning and Zoning Agency's decision or affirm it.

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