Here in God's country, St. Johns County, all ten constitutional officers are Republicans, who dance with developers and take their campaign CA$H.
Our St. Johns County Democratic Party has inept, maladroit leadership.
Our Blue Wave Coalition is promising.
We need more leaders.
We need more lawyers.
We need to stop clearcutting, regulate lobbying, adopt a County Charter, Ombudsman, Inspector General and stop clearcutting and development by undisclosed corporate owners who corrupt our government and destroy our way of life.
We need candidates, people like Catherine Hawkinson Guevarra, who recently moved to N.H., who was seeking signatures as a Democrat to run for County Commission in 2018. One grizzled musician said of her, "She's the only Democrat around here who makes a lick of sense."
What do you reckon?
From The St. Augustine Record:
As developers eye southern St. Johns County to build new communities, some residents fear impact on quality of life
Rock Springs Farm is currently under construction on U.S. 1 South just south of State Road 206. When completed over the next five years, it will include 202 single-family homes. [COLLEEN MICHELE JONES/THE RECORD]
By Colleen Jones
Posted Oct 20, 2019 at 4:04 PM
Updated Oct 20, 2019 at 4:10 PM
With the northern part of St. Johns County filling up quickly, developers are looking farther afield for parcels of land where they can build new residential neighborhoods — and increasingly they are eyeing the southern part of the county.
St. Johns County is currently the eighth-fastest-growing county in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The school district opens an average of one new school a year just to keep up with the growth.
Over the past couple of decades, development has been concentrated in areas north and west of St. Augustine in sprawling master-planned communities like Nocatee, Palencia, World Golf Village and Beachwalk.
Now, developers are focusing on building new rooftops near St. Johns’ southern borders: along U.S. 1 South, State Road 206 and State Road 207, areas traditionally known more for tree farms and horse ranches than tractors and bulldozers.
Take a drive down U.S 1 and just past the intersection of S.R. 206 you’ll see the beginnings of Rock Springs Farm in the 100 acres that have been clearcut to make room for 202 single-family homes.
The project, which required a rezoning from Open Rural to Planned Unit Development, was approved by the St. Johns County Commission in 2017. Construction is anticipated to be done in phases over about five years.
Melissa Glasgow, St. Johns County director of economic development, said she can understand why the area is attractive for investment, such as the 11,000 acres of land the Rayonier company put on the market in 2018 and another 8,000 acres sold by local developer David Hutson.
“I think there is still strong interest to enter the St. Johns County market and people have to keep looking farther south and west to get enough acreage at the right price to be competitive. ... S.R. 207 is filling up pretty fast with projects under review or already approved, so a developer has no choice but to move a little further out to find the next available parcel,” Glasgow said.
But as developers buy up green space along the 206 and 207 corridors, some residents are afraid more and more building will take away from the rural or semi-rural character of those areas and create population density and traffic congestion.
Another challenge is laying down infrastructure such as roads, utilities and schools to serve new neighborhoods.
“Despite the cost of extending the infrastructure that the developer may choose to pay for, there is ongoing cost to maintain it once it is build, and that cost generally falls on the public sector,” said Glasgow. “That is something the county takes into consideration when considering new projects. ”
The St. Johns County Commission did consider the burden residential development proposed for a large tract of land off S.R. 206 might place on county resources when it denied Kings Grant, a 999-home subdivision planned for 772 acres, in 2015. The applicants filed a lawsuit in circuit court challenging the county’s decision. A civil trial is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 21.
In a Sept. 25 interview with The Record, Jane West, an attorney representing the South Anastasia Communities Association, said if approved Kings Grant would affect the quality of life of her clients as well as others who live nearby.
“It’s leapfrog urban sprawl, and that’s what they (SACA) are trying to stop,” West told The Record. “You’re opening up the floodgates to developing in the southern part of the county.”
Mike Roberson, interim director of growth management for St. Johns County, said the denial of Kings Grant “kind of sent a message to developers that maybe that area is not ready for the kind of scope (of growth).”
However, if Kings Grant or another large residential proposal were to be approved in that vicinity, Roberson said putting that kind of infrastructure in place could open the door to more projects in the area.
It is too early in the process to know how another proposed project will fare in the county’s application process.
Chris Shee, CEO of the Mastercraft Builder Group, wants to develop land near I-95 and S.R. 207. As proposed, Parrish Farms would encompass 3,700 homes and include elements of commercial, office and recreational space.
Shee is also proposing an I-95 interchange that would be at the southern end of the development and extend Watson Road to connect with the highway.
To Roberson’s mind, the southern end of St. Johns County is really the only uncharted territory left.
“From County Road 208 to the northwest, you have some pockets but otherwise it’s already built out or has entitlements,” Roberson said. “But in the south, you still have whole areas open.”
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