County Commission denies new development off SR 207 (Jacksonville Business Journal)

Another day in Paradise, another victory over mediocrity, kakistocracy, kleptocracy and devious developers. 

"Ideas have consequences," as the late Deputy UN Ambassador, José Sorzano, my Georgetown University Political Theory professor, put it.

Some 67 speakers spoke out against metastatic growth at the Grown Management workshop on January 25, 2022.  One week later, there was a 3-2 majority to reject a corporate kleptocrat's latest insanity, Pulte Homes' Winding Oaks development. (Love how developers and their propagandeists name their stinky projects after the nature that they're destroying, not unlike putting lipstick on a pig.)

I spoke against this lousy project, as did residents of Vermont Heights. 

Why would the St. Augustine Record ignore this story?  

GANNETT is an abortion, a journalistic whorehouse untethered to our town, cutting staff to the bone and discouraging reasoned discourse on public issues.

The Jacksonville Business Journal covered it.  But we were not quoted by developer fanboy Stuart Korfhage, formerly Managing Editor with the St. Augustine Record, now with the Jacksonville Business Journal. 

 I pointed out that in 2021, Pulte Homes was fined $13,700 by the State of Florida for destroying some 22 gopher tortoise burrows in Marion County.  I said the irrefragable evidence establishes that Pulte is an unjust steward of our environment. Pulte is the Nation's third largest home builder.

The devious developer's local frontman responded with a non sequitur: he said that the gopher tortoise burrow destruction in a different county, as dopey an excuse as ever emitted by an uncouth developer energumen in defense of the indefensible. 

Thanks to Commissioners Henry Dean, Jeremiah Blocker nad Paul Waldron. No thanks to Commissioner Christian Whitehurst and Commissioner Sarah Arnold, appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to take the place of Commissioner Jeb Smith.  

After the January 25, 2022 Growth Management Workshop, we know who's heeding the will of the people and who cares about the future of our County, which is under constant assault by unethical, unenlightened, misguided, wildlife-killing, wetland-filling, clearcutting corporate thugs, "worse than any carpetbagger," in the words of former County Commission Chair Ben Rich, Sr. 

From Jacksonville Busniess Journal: 

County Commission denies new development off SR 207

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This is a map of the Winding Oaks development proposed in St. Johns County.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY

IN THIS ARTICLE

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  • By Stuart Korfhage  –  Digital Editor, Jacksonville Business Journal 

    Feb 1, 2022, 2:39pm EST

    Just a week after dozens of residents commented on St. Johns County's rapid growth during an hours-long workshop, commissioners voted against a new residential development in a booming area of the county.

    The project, called Winding Oaks, was proposed on a 217-acre parcel off State Road 207 about a mile southwest of Interstate 95. The developer made a request to rezone the land from Open Rural to Planned Unit Development.

    It would have brought 279 homes to an area that see heavy congestion at peak hours, although the roads are not considered failing.

    Commissioner Paul Waldron commented directly about how busy the stretch is when he uses the road in the afternoon — and it's only going to get busier. 

    Just on the other side of the interstate, a massive commercial development is ongoing at a site that used to house a flea market. A bestbet facility is already nearing completion, and Baptist South has a parcel under development, among the other projects there.

    And approximately a mile farther north on S.R. 207 a new Publix is under construction. That's serving the newly built Treaty Oaks and Andalusia subdivisions as well as the emerging Orchard Park townhome development in the immediate vicinity.

    Winding Oaks has been in the works for more than five years. It was first brought forward in 2016 and denied by the Commission in 2018, in part because of a lack of nearby fire service. 

    Developer Justin Dudley of Pulte Homes said during the Commission meeting that the county would receive $750,000 above the regular impact fees to help fund a new fire station if Winding Oaks were approved.

    He also acknowledged the growth concerns by a county that has seen its population more than double since 2000 — and by 44% from 2010 to 2020.

    He noted that the development proposal has gone from 360 homes down to 279 and that it would be 58% open space with 101 acres of wetlands and 17 upland acres preserved.

    "Driving in this morning, I will say that I got lost in the thoughts over the concerns of growth in this county," Dudley said at the meeting. "Personally, I was stirred following last Tuesday’s (growth management) workshop. 

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"Previously, the Comp Plan that was sought for this property was to maximize the value of the land, but the board did push back over concerns, including traffic, such that the project proposed today is 30% less (dense) than previously presented. Now the project has been sized such that we do not create one adversely impacted roadway segment, but we do generate more than $2.6 million in road impact fees."

Despite those concessions by the developer, it was not enough to sway three of the commissioners to rezone. Without permission to rezone, the parcel could have 114 homes because current zoning allows for one home per upland acre.

As residents have continued to vocalize complaints about St. Johns County's rapid growth, rezoning for PUDs that would add density to established neighborhoods have received serious scrutiny — especially as traffic has noticeably increased throughout the county.

Just last month, the Planning and Zoning Agency recommended denial of a residential project that would have added 223 homes in the area around Lewis Speedway. The Commission has not had a decisive vote on that project yet.