By Sheldon Gardner
Posted at 5:57 AMUpdated at 11:15 AM
  
Well over 100 people gathered at a town hall Monday evening at the Southeast Branch library on U.S. 1 South to air concerns and seek answers from county officials about rapid development and growth in St. Johns County.
People packed the room’s seats, some standing against the walls just to get a place in the room. County officials attended along with County Commissioner Paul Waldron, who lives in southern St. Johns County and represents part of it.
“I think the attendance in and of itself is a message,” said Nancy Rawson, a longtime county resident.
Rawson and several other residents spoke to the crowd, sharing concerns about developers increasing traffic and infrastructure burdens, clear-cutting trees and increasing flooding in neighborhoods.
They wanted to open the channels of conversation between residents and county commissioners, according to a presentation. They wanted to make Waldron aware of their concerns about “unbridled development and flooding in St. Johns County.” They also wanted an action plan with county officials to help engage residents more closely on planning and permitting new growth and making policy changes.
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More than 100 people listen to a presentation during a town hall meeting about growth concerns in St. Johns County on Monday night at the Southeast Branch library. [SHELDON GARDNER/THE RECORD]
Rawson spoke to Waldron during her presentation about rapid growth and its impacts, such as traffic and flooding. She said people had seen his votes against developments and hoped he would keep up opposition to developments at least until their concerns could be resolved.
“These are not isolated concerns,” she said. “They can’t be blamed on the weather. We understand developers have rights, but what about our rights? ... Folks are frustrated and tired. We live here. I don’t think the developers do.”
Residents complained about environmental destruction and flooding problems that they say has come alongside the booming development of the county.
Some want county laws changed to require better drainage and more protections for nature.
For some, flooding is the main focus.
Because of lack of drainage in the Winton Circle area in St. Johns County, sometimes a small storm can make roads impassable because of water, resident Sue Bergeron said. Bergeron calls it a “ridiculous mess.” Regular flooding has put people’s health in danger by limiting their ability to get to doctor’s appointments, she added.
“One guy had hospice workers who couldn’t get in,” she said in an interview before the meeting. “People [have] had challenges getting to work.”
The county hired a design firm to search for answers for Winton Circle because, so far, officials couldn’t find simple fixes, Waldron said in an interview before the meeting. He said the study should be done in a few weeks.
Suzanne Konchan, growth management director of St. Johns County, spoke at the meeting. She reviewed county growth regulations, such as how developments go through the county and how they’re reviewed — adequacy of roads, neighboring developments, school capacity and fire service are among the considerations, she said.
Some Land Development code changes under review include tree protection standards and road development standards, she said. Anyone can come to a workshop on those matters and can contact St. Johns County for more information, she said.
The meeting, which went late in the evening, included a question-and-answer session with county officials and Waldron.
In another part of the question-and-answer session, people applauded as Waldron said that he won’t vote for developments that will cause more infrastructure problems for the county.
“Development’s not paying for itself right now,” Waldron said.