Wednesday, December 12, 2018

St. Augustine Record editorial hints at support for growth moratorium: RECORD EDITORIAL: County seeks help with volunteer boards. (SAR)






1. I agree -- time for our two cities and St. Johns County to enact a growth moratorium on further development pending reforms. NOW. Affordable housing, infrastructure and education must be addressed. NOW. Moratorium will allow time and attention to resolving conundrums re: runaway growth and flooding, wetlands, deforestation, education, infrastructure, lobbying reform registration. disclosure of shell LLC corporate ownership.
2. SJC BoCC's unconscionable, unethical unanimous 2016 deletion of affordable housing acreage in Nocatee in exchange for a measly $800,000 appears to have violated the Fair Housing Act and Comp Plan.
http://pontevedrarecorder.com/stories/county-commissioners-approve-nocatee-plan-modifications,1242
This subtle corruption of our government by greedy developers like PARC Group is indefensible and must be ended at once. Is it a pervasive practice and continuing violating that could be resolved by civil rights groups in the courts if our Commissioners don't correct their mistake? Query: How many times did BoCC do it without news media attention or investigation?
2. Enough metastatic growth allowed by County Administrtor MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK and his unjust stewards allowing secretive investors to clearcut God's country.
3. Enough unsustainable, unaesthetic, unaffordable, ugly "developments."
4. Enough shoddy homes plopped down in our swamps, creating flooding.
5 Enough secrecy about undisclosed investors.
6. Enough blight on our community.
7. Enough exploitation of homebuyers.
8. Enough CDDs leaving homeowners with the bills for the devious developers' demolition derby and County's lack of planning.
9. Some of these boards are moribund and lack transparency. Please investigate.
10. Good editorial. Keep up the good work, Jim Sutton.





RECORD EDITORIAL: County seeks help with volunteer boards
Posted Dec 11, 2018 at 7:43 PM
Updated at 6:03 AM

So, you have some time on your hands and maybe want some input in goings-on in your community?

St. Johns County is looking for a few good men and women to fill vacancies on some county boards and committees. The pay’s pretty poor, as in “volunteer.” But the rewards could be significant, depending upon you — and that’s the point. You won’t make laws, but you will make recommendations on topics such as tourism, libraries, parks and recreation, arts, culture and more.

Positions include the Mid-Anastasia Design Review Board. The purpose is to protect natural resources and maintain the design and diverse character of that overlay district. There are also a South Anastasia Design Review Board and a North Coastal Design Review Board with openings.

One area we desperately need some impetus in is affordable housing, and that Advisory Committee establishes policies and procedures, land development codes, ordinances and comp plans and recommends procedures to facilitate affordable homes here.

The Recreation Advisory Board provides new ideas and assists in solving problems to help ensure leisure time facilities and programs for residents.

The Fire Code Appeals Board rules on matters relating to the code and its enforcement.

The Cultural Review Board advises County Commissioners regarding cultural, architectural, archaeological and historic resources — and to document, identify, evaluate, designate and protect these important resources.

The Architectural Review Committee is tasked with ensuring enhanced property development while maintaining quality character of design within the Ponte Vedra/Palm Valley overlay district — in line with the county comp plan.

If we could slip one in here, there’s a committee not yet established we believe would draw wide volunteer support from residents from Ponte Vedra, south to Crescent Beach and points west to the St. Johns River.

We’d suggest calling it the “Tap the Breaks on Development Committee” or “Moratoriums Are Us.” As an alternate, it could be called “Residents Live Here, Too.” You’d be tasked with looking at the existing zoning and land development codes under which the land set for development was sold.

In other words, what they bought.

Then, compare that with the all the sundry amendments and variances they’re demanding.

In other words, what they want.

Then determine the impacts on infrastructure and natural resources those “what they wants” will cost us all down the road of the difference.

Then divide all that data by the square root of quality of life.

Do the math and stand firmly by the sum.

But for now, there are full versions of the existing committee duties, deadlines for applications, qualifications, meeting dates and places and more online at sjcfl.us/Boards. You can download the applications there as well.

In the meantime, keep that new committee in mind. And we’ll let you know when the cattle call comes.


comments

Edward Adelbert Slavin
1. I agree -- time for our two cities and St. Johns County to enact a growth moratorium on further development pending reforms. NOW. Affordable housing, infrastructure and education must be addressed. NOW. Moratorium will allow time and attention to resolving conundrums re: runaway growth and flooding, wetlands, deforestation, education, infrastructure, lobbying reform registration. disclosure of shell LLC corporate ownership.
2. SJC BoCC's unconscionable, unethical unanimous 2016 deletion of affordable housing acreage in Nocatee in exchange for a measly $800,000 appears to have violated the Fair Housing Act and Comp Plan.
http://pontevedrarecorder.com/stories/county-commissioners-approve-nocatee-plan-modifications,1242
This subtle corruption of our government by greedy developers like PARC Group is indefensible and must be ended at once. Is it a pervasive practice and continuing violating that could be resolved by civil rights groups in the courts if our Commissioners don't correct their mistake? Query: How many times did BoCC do it without news media attention or investigation?
2. Enough metastatic growth allowed by County Administrtor MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK and his unjust stewards allowing secretive investors to clearcut God's country.
3. Enough unsustainable, unaesthetic, unaffordable, ugly "developments."
4. Enough shoddy homes plopped down in our swamps, creating flooding.
5 Enough secrecy about undisclosed investors.
6. Enough blight on our community.
7. Enough exploitation of homebuyers.
8. Enough CDDs leaving homeowners with the bills for the devious developers' demolition derby and County's lack of planning.
9. Some of these boards are moribund and lack transparency. Please investigate.
10. Good editorial. Keep up the good work, Jim Sutton. « less


Mike Alyea
Stop the Growth, Plan for Growth, Smart SJC Growth

SJC County Commissioners
Jimmie Johns - ‪bcc1jjohns@sjcfl.us‬
Jeb Smith - ‪bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us‬
Paul Waldron - ‪bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us‬
Jeremiah Blocker - ‪bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us‬
Henry Dean - ‪bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us‬

Building & Development Moratorium - NOW

Mike Alyea
Stop Growth, Plan Growth, Grow Smart

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