A proposal to add 330 single-family homes to Durbin Park would cut the development's maximum apartment count by 745 units. The St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) will hear the request at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine.

The modification, listed as Item 5 on the PZA agenda, would allow single-family homes for the first time on Mixed-Use Parcel E, also known as the East Parcel, located on the eastern side of Interstate 95. The maximum number of multifamily units across the Durbin Park Planned Unit Development (PUD) would drop from 2,265 to 1,520. The request also calls for modified residential setbacks within the East Parcel.

What Durbin Park is and who owns it

Durbin Park spans 1,624 acres on the south side of Race Track Road, east and west of I-95. The property is owned by Durbin Creek National LLC, an affiliate of Gate Petroleum Co., according to a 2016 Jacksonville.com report. The PUD was established under Ordinance 2020-20.

A 2022 county staff report noted that Parcels D and E on the recorded Master Development Plan were slated for commercial, hotel, office and multifamily uses, but described the plan map as "conceptual and subject to modification."

Proposed unit changes and what's unconfirmed

The agenda confirms the proposed addition of 330 single-family units and the reduction of 745 multifamily units. No overall cap change is confirmed. Traffic study findings, school-impact data and a staff recommendation on the modification are not included in the agenda text.

Applicant, county staff and PZA board members

Ellen Avery-Smith of Rogers Towers P.A. is listed as the applicant's presenter. Avery-Smith has represented Durbin Creek National in prior land-use proceedings before the Board of County Commissioners, including a 2020 Development Agreement modification for the PUD. Abrielle Genest, senior planner for District 5, is the assigned county staff planner.

How to contact county planning staff

The seven-member PZA board scheduled to hear the case includes Meagan Perkins, Charles Labanowski, Richard Hilsenbeck, Greg Matovina, Robert Olson, Henry F. Green and Judy Spiegel. If the board recommends approval, the item would advance to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for final action. No BCC hearing date has been set.

Residents with questions about the agenda can contact the Planning and Zoning Section at 904-209-0675.