Seven developers are proposing major developments to our county officials between now and November for 7,400+ homes. Among the largest: Two final hearings are for 3,500 homes (October 18th) and 1600+ homes (September 20th.) Please send emails to oppose, and if possible, attend in person to give public comment. Although all seven of the proposed developments have specific reasons why they’re not right for our county, they share common reasons for denial: Many roads are over capacity and traffic is already bad. Our schools are in crisis due to overcrowding, and we’re up to 523 portable classrooms which are not optimal for education OR for security. We have a shortage of teachers, bus drivers, and permanent classrooms. Children are being bused away rom their neighborhood schools. We can’t afford to further burden our public schools by increasing the population. We learned soon after the SilverLeaf approval, from a TV interview with a commissioner, that SilverLeaf will cost taxpayers $50 million in "road needs." Commissioners should not even consider burdening taxpayers with more infrastructure deficits that will result from new developments. Why are so many developments coming up now? All seven developers timed their hearings AFTER the August 23rd primary election. They obviously knew a YES vote for their developments would hurt commissioners’ chances of winning their elections. They also timed their hearings BEFORE the general election in November in case a more developer-friendly commissioner was replaced by a less developer-friendly commissioner (which occurred in District 4). Developers know that the people of St. Johns County do NOT want thousands more homes right now. We already have 63,000 approved homes, not yet built, PLUS the 5,600-home SilverLeaf expansion that was approved in May. ACTION ALERT #1: Please email county officials THIS WEEKEND to oppose the seven developments listed below, AND show up and give public comment, if you can. (Scroll down for address.) You can write all PZA members AND county commissioners in one email by copying the list below. (Every development proposal starts at the PZA (Planning and Zoning Agency), and then goes to the commissioners (BOCC) where final decisions are made.) Please send an email asking them to deny all developments. You can suggest the developers make proposals at a much later date when our county’s infrastructure and schools have caught up with the rapid rate of development we’ve already experienced. Scroll down to see specifics on the development proposals. Copy and paste this list into an Email: bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us; bcc2sarnold@sjcfl.us; pza1@sjcfl.us; pza2@sjcfl.us; pza3@sjcfl.us; pza4@sjcfl.us; pza5@sjcfl.us; pza6@sjcfl.us ACTION ALERT #2: Please forward this email to residents of St. Johns County. We need large numbers to oppose. DEVELOPMENTS COMING BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS (BOCC) 1. SEPTEMBER 20, THIS TUESDAY - ADLER CREEK FINAL APPROVAL for 1,682 single family homes, adding cars to SR16 near Pacetti Road and adding students to mid-County area schools. The developer proposes to construct a new loop road connecting Pacetti Road, SR16, and new CR2209 extension, and bypassing the congested intersection at SR16 and WGV Boulevard. However, CR2209 construction is years away, and this is critical to the success of the new loop road. Why is approval of the development needed now if road construction is years away?? Heavily congested SR16 is a condition that commissioners have rejected on previous projects, denying those. New traffic by Adler Creek onto SR16 should be grounds for denial. Area schools are overcrowded. The developer would contribute land for a new high school, but District funding is limited and no school would be constructed for years. PLEASE ATTEND IF YOU CAN: Agenda item #4. 2. OCTOBER 4, THREE MORE DEVELOPMENTS adding up to 800+ homes and apartments. Ferber PUD; Laurel Point PUD and Madison St. PUD. Ferber PUD IS FOR FINAL APPROVAL on 405 apartments (seven 4-story buildings) and 95,000 SF of retail to SR16 near Four Mile Road, and also strongly opposed by the College and area residents. Plans show very insufficient parking. Likely to present new plans that will take over more wetlands and fill in more open space. 3. Laurel Point is 175 homes and 23,000 sf commercial on the worst congested segment of SR16 next to the Outlet Mall, and commissioners have denied previous projects because of this. (This is not final the hearing) Although Commissioners seek funding for widening SR16, no funding is in place or scheduled. 4. Madison St. The Madison St. proposal is 238 APARTMENTS, FOUR STORIES on SR16 near the Royal St. Augustine single family homes and near the St. Johns River State College. It’s strongly opposed by the College and area residents. The PZA voted to deny, but the applicant has still requested the project be considered for approval by the commissioners. 5. October 18 FINAL APPROVAL for the very large Greenbriar Helow Project along CR210 near Longleaf Pine and Roberts Road. Over 2100 acres would be destroyed to add 3,500 homes and 2.5 million square feet of retail/commercial/office – remotely located 7 miles away from I-95 and larger than the 1.4 million square feet at the Town Center on JTB. The County Transportation Department estimates the project will adversely affect 18 area roads, many already over capacity. Area schools are overcrowded. It’s possible that the Madison St. and Race Track Square Apartments (see below) will also be heard that same day. Please try to attend. Watch for updates on the time here. DEVELOPMENTS COMING BEFORE THE PLANNING AND ZONING AGENCY (PZA) 6. Sept. 15, the developer for Race Track Square just received a continuance and the project will be heard at a later date. It would be 382 apartments on highly congested Race Track Road near 9B and Durbin Park. Although a new loop road is being built to deflect traffic from Race Track Road, this project has no access to that loop road and will further impact Race Track. It’s poorly located and poorly timed. 7. October 20, The Farms PUD proposes to add 1,053 residential homes along two-lane CR210W, a rural area with existing equestrian lots and neighborhoods with lot sizes from 3 to 6 acres. CR210W has experienced excessive increased traffic, is operating at 150% over design capacity, and has no schedule or funding for improvements. The project is incompatible with the surrounding neighbors and would add traffic to make an already overcrowded and congested road even more unsafe. PLEASE WRITE YOUR EMAIL TODAY TO THE LIST BELOW, THEN FORWARD THIS EMAIL. bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us; bcc2sarnold@sjcfl.us; pza1@sjcfl.us; pza2@sjcfl.us; pza3@sjcfl.us; pza4@sjcfl.us; pza5@sjcfl.us; pza6@sjcfl.us ACTION ALERT #3: ATTEND ONE OR MORE HEARINGS IN PERSON, ESPECIALLY SEPT. 20 AND OCT. 18 COMMISSIONERS HEARINGS. Address for hearings is 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine – just off Phillips Highway. Meetings start at 9 a.m., but you may want to CHECK OR CALL HERE.https://stjohnsclerk.com/records/board-records/agendas/ Thank you for taking the time to read this and for taking action to protect our county from overdevelopment.
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