"CASE CLOSED." Skip the shallow surface reporting by parvenu putative publisher and pompous puffery from mendacious mouthpieces for speculator-developers won't obviate the law and facts. READ FULL TEXT OF JUDGE Howard Ogle McGillin, Jr. August 25, 2026 Order dismissing writ of certiorari: https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2026/08/xxxxx-in-circuit-court-seventh-judicial.html
Fellow citizens: please click and READ FULL TEXT.
St. Johns County Circuit Court Judge Howard Ogle McMillan, Jr. DENIED Robinson Improvement Company's writ of certiorari, in a final binding order on August 25, 2026. The unsuccessful speculator/developer plaintiff is represented by defeated former County Commissioner JEREMIAH RAY BLOCKER and by three-time unsuccessful judge applicant ZACHARY WATSON MILLER, a solo practitioner, who is the son of DOUGLAS MILLER, unsuccessful plaintiff Robinson Improvement Company's expert witness before County Commission. ROBINSON IMPROVEMENT COMPANY and speculator/developer lawyers BLOCKER and MILLER still have a federal civil rights case pending against St. Johns County, awaiting mediation results in a case pending before the Honorable Timothy Corrigan in United States District Court in Jacksonville.
From Saint Johns Citizen:
Judge Hands Setback To 3,332-Home St. Johns ‘Agrihood’ — But Federal Fight Continues
- By Selim Algar
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Updated on:
A judge has upheld St. Johns County’s rejection of a proposed 3,332-home “agrihood,” handing the developer a setback while a separate federal lawsuit remains unresolved.
Circuit Judge Howard O. McGillin Jr. on Tuesday declined to overturn the County Commission’s unanimous November 2024 decision denying the project.
The development was proposed for 2,673 acres between County Roads 208 and 214, west of Interstate 95. Boston-based Freehold Communities is behind the project, and Robinson Improvement Co. owns the land.
Robinson argued that commissioners treated the company unfairly, failed to apply Florida law correctly and denied the project without enough supporting evidence.
McGillin rejected those arguments.
The judge found that Robinson had adequate opportunity to present its case before the county’s Planning and Zoning Agency and County Commission. He also ruled that the county had legitimate grounds for denying the development.
“As there is still ongoing litigation in federal court on this matter, I cannot comment at this time,” Robinson’s attorney, Zachary Miller, told The Citizen Wednesday.
A central issue was the meaning of a 2019 decision that designated the property for possible residential development and capped it at 3,332 homes.
Robinson argued that it entitled it to develop the property at that level. The county maintained that it only allowed Robinson to seek approval for residential development and did not guarantee approval of the specific plan.
McGillin sided with the county.
He found that the 3,332-home figure was a maximum, not a pledge, and that commissioners could still decide whether a proposed development fit the area.
County planners said the undeveloped tract remains rural. Building more than 3,000 homes there would “drastically change the character of the area,” according to a staff report cited in the ruling.
Objecting residents also testified about the project’s density, small lots, traffic and infrastructure demands.
Robinson proposed 2,077 conventional single-family homes, 340 townhomes and 915 age-restricted houses.
McGillin found that the county could reasonably keep the property’s existing Open Rural zoning and that commissioners had not acted arbitrarily.
The decision conflicts with a 2025 recommendation from Special Magistrate J. Michael Traynor, who found that the county’s denial unfairly burdened Robinson’s property rights.
Traynor recommended changes that could have allowed the project to move forward, including fewer homes, larger lots and land for a school, fire station and commercial businesses.
McGillin said those recommendations demonstrated why the original proposal did not fit the surrounding area.
The ruling does not end the dispute.
Robinson has a separate federal case pending against St. Johns County.
The company alleges that the county violated its constitutional rights and backed away from development rights promised in exchange for land needed to build County Road 2209.
That case is currently in mediation, records show.
The two cases challenge the same rezoning denial but address different issues. The state case asked whether the county followed the law and had evidence to support its decision.
The federal case claims the denial violated Robinson’s constitutional property rights. The state ruling does not end the federal case, but it could potentially bolster the county’s defense.
Robinson can also ask a state appeals court to review McGillin’s decision.
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