St. Johns County commissioners voted 3-2 to certify two agricultural enclaves totaling roughly 1,166 acres near Interstate 95 and State Road 207. The decision clears the way for as many as 15,000 homes on former timberland in southwest St. Johns County.
The split votes came at a special meeting Aug. 19 at the St. Johns County Auditorium in St. Augustine. Chair Clay Murphy, Commissioner Christian Whitehurst and Commissioner Sarah Arnold voted in favor of both certifications. Commissioners Krista Joseph and Ann Taylor voted against both.
Two timberland tracts could yield nearly 15,000 homes
Heritage Development Company of Northeast Florida, connected to homebuilder MasterCraft Builder Group, filed both applications under Florida's SB 686.
Heritage East covers about 615 acres east of I-95 and Heritage West covers about 551 acres to the west. Both sit south of SR 207. The land has been in timber for 70 years.
Under SB 686, which took effect July 1, the county had to determine whether each property met the state's definition of an agricultural enclave. County staff found both applications satisfied all eight criteria required under state law. If the county had not acted within 90 days, the properties would have been certified automatically, according to the St. Augustine Record.
At up to 13 homes per acre, the two parcels could yield nearly 15,000 homes. Development plans will still go through county staff review for school concurrency and natural-resource impacts. But they will not return to the County Commission or the public for approval, and the county cannot require a review process longer than 180 days.
Commissioners split
Murphy, who voted yes, made clear he was not enthusiastic.
"We look at these agricultural enclaves as a preemption from the state, and I'm not happy. I'm not happy with them at all," Murphy said. "But what I discovered is that when you get into this position is, whether I'm happy or not is not the deciding issue. The deciding issue is 'What does the law say?'"
Taylor said too many questions remained about whether the properties qualified as bona fide agricultural operations. She told colleagues she would be comfortable voting no and letting attorneys defend the county, according to St. Johns Community Website. Whitehurst pushed back at the idea that commissioners had rolled over, noting that staff had found grounds to turn away other applications and could not find them here.
Three other enclave applications on the Aug. 19 agenda never received a vote. Star IV Investments, covering 176 acres, was withdrawn Aug. 7. Adler Creek and Osceola Lakes were withdrawn the following week.
The county has received nine total agricultural enclave applications under SB 686. Staff turned away three for not meeting qualifications. Growth Management Director Mike Roberson said three additional applications are pending: 379 acres south of County Road 210, 310 acres north of County Road 208 and 51 acres northeast of the I-95/SR 207 intersection.
School Superintendent Brennan Asplen attended the Aug. 19 meeting on his own to watch the votes. He said the district's ability to pay cash for new schools depends on how quickly houses go up. If growth happens at the pace Nocatee filled in, the district would be building several schools at once and would have to borrow, according to St. Johns Community Website.
A public commenter at the hearing cited county transportation data showing SR 207 was already operating at 96.6% capacity.
Growth-skeptic candidate set to join commission in December
The board's composition is set to shift. Martin Pyszczymuka, who campaigned against the county's pace of growth, won the Aug. 19 primary to replace Arnold in District 2 and is slated to take office in December.
