St. Johns County Commission must consider eminent domain to stop 120 gasoline pump project. We need a growth moratorium until we can review our land use code, which was written by developers. Here's a shallow page-one 681 word article by dupey developer fanboy STUART KORFHAGE of The St. Augustine Record, emitting the developer mantra that "there's nothing we can do." As Jim Hightower would say, "They're stealing the alternatives, folks!"
I'm supporting Catherine Hawkinson Guevaarra, Democrat, for County Commission, seat 4. Election is November 6, 2018. Vote like your life depends upon it, because it does.
1. Crummy land use planning by "business-friendly" St. Johns County political machine, which receives campaign funds from land-raping, wetland-destroying, tree-burning "developers -- whom former County Commission Chair Ben Rich Sr. called "worse than any carpetbagger."
2. No legal limit to size of "gas station?" Really?
3. Who wrote these loony laws? Ninnies? Developers? George Morris McClure? Rogers Towers? NEFRC? ETM? What watchdog group examined them at the time? We have no Ombuds, no Inspector General, and no organized group that scrutinizes the actions of local governments, which spend over one billion dollars a year. Why? It's our money.
4. Controversial St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, "The Issues Group," SYD PERRY, wife of former Sheriff NEIL PERRY, bear much responsibility.
5. We the People and this newspaper did little to question their one-party Republican misrule.
6. WGV residents must be heard and heeded. Their concerns must be respected, not neglected.
7. County Commission must consider eminent domain to acquire land before Buc-ees devastates the land and peaceful quiet enjoyment of WGV.
8. Do at least three (3) current County Commissioners have courage on Buc-ees? Pray for them to overturn dictates of County Administrator MICHEL DAVID WANCHICK, County Attorney PATRICK FRANCIS McCORMACK. It's time for GateHouse and Record to investigate and expose the sequelae of corrupt one-party Republican misrule and its climate of fear and retaliation that permits such "developments" -- like allowing an asphalt plant in residential neighborhood on SR-207 without county knowing anything about its toxic effects.
9. I'm voting for Catherine Hawkinson Guevarra, Democrat, for County Commission seat 4 on November 6, 2018.
10. It's time for a change.
Buc-ee’s project anticipated to move forward despite residents’ concerns
By Stuart Korfhage
Posted at 6:50 AM
Updated at 6:50 AM
St. Augustine Record
For a project that isn’t scheduled for a public hearing or even seen a commercial construction plan filed, the proposed Buc-ee’s gas station at the International Golf Parkway-Interstate 95 interchange is certainly taking up a lot of meeting time.
As is becoming the norm at St. Johns County government meetings, much of the non-agenda items public comment period at Thursday’s Planning and Zoning Agency meeting was taken up by opponents of the 120-pump gas station.
Ever since World Golf Village residents started to find out about the pre-application filed in September 2017, they’ve been adamant in their opposition to the idea.
Yet it probably won’t matter. The zoning for the land does allow for gas stations.
As long as the developers don’t ask for variances, the project will not be subject to review by the County Commission or any other county board. The project would be reviewed by staff if a building permit application is filed.
As of Thursday, assistant county attorney Paulo Soria said Buc-ee’s has not asked for a variance.
“Right now it is reviewed at a staff level, and it may be approved administratively if they meet all of the requirements of the PUD, land development code and Comprehensive Plan,” Soria said. “It will only go to this agency (the PZA) if the development seeks a waiver or a variance of any of the requirements. And right now, there has not been a submitted request for a variance.”
Although a building permit application has not been filed yet, Buc-ee’s general counsel Jeff Nadolo said in an email to The Record Friday that the company is still high on the area.
“We still are planning a new store in St. Johns County at International Golf Parkway,” Nadolo said. “We do not have a start date yet.”
While public officials have not offered much commentary on the project that would include a 52,600-square-foot convenience store along with the gas pumps, PZA member Brad Nelson did offer his view of the project.
He said the size of the project does present some issues, but he said that doesn’t make a Buc-ee’s incompatible with the area.
“Personally, I think we’d be better off with one very large gas station as opposed to five or six on each sector of the interchange that would be even more difficult to manage the traffic,” Nelson said at Thursday’s meeting.
Residents on the World Golf Village neighborhoods don’t seem to think that way.
Led by several residents of Pinehurst Pointe Drive on Thursday, about 30 minutes of the PZA meeting ended up being dedicated to Buc-ee’s as people elected to use the public comment period dedicated to non-agenda items. The same thing has been happening at County Commission meetings for months.
The themes are generally the same: that Buc-ee’s is an eyesore, that it’s too large for an area with development already in place, that it’s going to cause safety problems, that it’s going to add even more congestion to an interchange already choked with traffic.
James Povone was one of several Pinehurst Pointe Drive residents asking PZA members for help in stopping the project.
“I need you to take a real serious look at this and see what you can do to present anything that will help save our community from this disaster that’s about to happen,” he said Thursday. “If it’s going to happen, we’d like to stop it if there’s a possibility.”
Added Georgiann Ellis: “The reason I moved there was clearly for all of the green space around the golf courses and around the neighborhood and the lakes around our neighborhood. It’s a very lovely area.
“It’s already at 97 percent capacity and we’re increasing traffic all the more. There’s a lot of concern about personal safety.”
Nelson explained that there wasn’t much the PZA board could do “as long as they are following the rules that are in place.” But the board did ask county staff to provide an update for the concerned citizens.
Planner Shannon Acevedo explained that the project is not quite ready for a final review.
“We have done a pre-application with the applicant as well as reviewed and approved an incremental master development plan (submitted in November 2017) which shows the general layout of the Buc-ee’s, and that’s an administrative process,” she said.
“At this point, we have not received construction plans, although I can tell you is as part of the pre-application review one of the comments from our transportation and concurrency department was to request traffic impact and traffic trip generation data from the applicant as staff realizes this is at a scale that’s a little different than a regular gas station.”
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