County Commission will consider Watermarke development Tuesday
Posted: September 19, 2016 - 10:24pm | Updated: September 20, 2016 - 6:46am
By STUART KORFHAGE
stuart.korfhage@staugustine.com
Six weeks after the Planning and Zoning Agency recommended approval of the Watermarke development over the vocal opposition of many Vilano Beach residents, the issue will come before the St. Johns County Commission today.
In August, the PZA voted 5-1 in favor of the plan to build a 120-room hotel, 50 beach villa rentals and a 39-slip boat dock on a 43.5-acre parcel of land just north of the Usina Bridge.
The owners of the property are asking for a change in the Future Land Use Map designation from Conservation and Residential-C to Residential-D for approximately 23.5 acres of the land and from Conservation and Residential-C to Conservation for approximately 20 acres of land.
They are asking for the change because the Residential-C designation does not allow for hotels, while Residential-D does. Also, the owners are planning 70,000 feet of commercial space to support what they say will be a four-star resort.
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In 2007, the property was rezoned from Open Rural, Residential Mobile/Manufactured Housing and Planned Special Development to Planned Unit Development to allow 79 housing units, including 45 single-family residential units and 34 multi-family homes.
But hundreds of Vilano residents came to the PZA meeting last month, many of them wearing white to show their opposition to the project. More than a dozen people spoke against the development. Among the arguments against the Watermarke project are traffic and safety.
“I don’t see how this thing can be taken seriously,” said Alan Fisher, who lives on State Road A1A, at the PZA meeting. “There is no commercial in that area. Anyone who lives in the area and tries to get over the bridge at peak time ... I know that when you try to get over that bridge it’s way backed up. And now you tell me evacuation is not going to be an issue?”
Access to and from Vilano is limited to State Road A1A, which is two lanes and developed in such a way that adding more lanes is virtually impossible. And getting into St. Augustine is often a time-consuming exercise because of the near-constant bottleneck at the May Street-San Marco Avenue intersection.
In presenting arguments in favor of the new development, attorney Ellen Avery-Smith noted that the Florida Department of Transportation is scheduled to completely remake that intersection well before the Watermarke reaches full build out in 2021.
She said the traffic study reviewed by the county shows the Watermarke will result in fewer daily peak trips than the 79-unit residential community that was previously approved for the land. That is one of the many ways, she said, that the Watermarke is a better use of the property.
After making the presentation to the PZA, Avery-Smith said she was approached by several Vilano residents who actually liked the resort idea better after hearing of the specific plans.
“I think there are a lot of people in Vilano who see the logic in what we're trying to do,” she said.
Steven Ren, who is a partner in the ownership group with Steve Magiera, said the resort project won’t be the radical change for the area that detractors are claiming. He said Vilano is not exactly the “sleepy beach town” that some people are portraying.
“It is already a good mix of everything we’re doing,” Ren said. “It’s got restaurants, hotels; it’s got the campground. There’s a pretty healthy vacation rental activity going on there, as well.
“We don’t feel like we’re doing anything that isn’t being done in the community [already].”
Ren and Avery-Smith also stressed that the development will not be particularly dense. Only 17.5 acres of the property are upland and can be developed.
Attorney Jane West, representing many of those opposed to the project, argued that the development is going to steer business away from the Vilano Town Center, which was established to encourage commercial growth where the residents of Vilano wanted it.
“The economic diversion of this project [away] from the subsidized Vilano Town Center CRA amounts to a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars,” West said in an email to The Record. “St. Johns County taxpayers have made (and continue to make) a considerable investment in the financial viability of the Vilano Town Center.
“That 70,000 square feet of commercial space in the Watermarke project will absolutely divert people away from the town center.”
The commercial aspect of the Watermarke has been described as ancillary to the resort — designed especially for the guests. It was first proposed as 80,000 square feet before being scaled back by 10,000 square feet.
Ren said it was one of the ways in which the project was altered in order to help residents feel more comfortable with it. Those moves, which also included fewer hotel rooms, clearly haven’t appeased everyone.
But Ren said he’s confident many people will eventually see Watermarke as an asset to Vilano. He said he and his partner knew what entitlements were attached to the property when they bought it, but they decided it had much more potential than a small residential neighborhood.
“This is the best use for this piece of property,” he said. “It became clear that the area is in high demand. I think they [visitors] are looking for something more like the Casa Monica but with ocean access and Intracoastal [Waterway] access.
“I think it’s going to be a real win when people look back five years from now.”
COMMENTS
sponger2 09/20/16 - 02:31 am 40Those developer errand boys...
Better consider saying no for a change. We can consider sanctions against actions contrary to our wishes and that are not in the best interests of the citizens of the county, and by God we will. The land use map shouldn't be changed every time some azzwipe shows up with a suitcase full of money.
martystaug 09/20/16 - 07:10 am 10Lose-Lose
Ren said "...I think they [visitors] are looking for something more like the Casa Monica but with ocean access and Intracoastal [Waterway] access"
Yes, it is all about the "visitors" experience and screw the locals. If you are listening county commissioners, just for once, how about being responsible to your constituents instead of your campaign donors and keep the planning use map intact.
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