Six agricultural properties totaling 6,558 acres could be cleared for residential development Wednesday, Aug. 19, when the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners holds a special meeting on applications filed under a new state law that strips the county of its traditional power to deny them.

The largest application covers 4,462 acres along North Palm Valley Road between Nocatee's northern boundary and the Intracoastal Waterway. That tract alone could yield up to 4,462 homes at the one-unit-per-acre density the applicants requested. It is roughly 30% the size of Nocatee.

The hearing begins at 9 a.m. at the St. Johns County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine. It is open to the public and will be livestreamed on the county's Facebook, YouTube and GovTV platforms.

Senate Bill 686 Strips County of Its Traditional Denial Power

Senate Bill 686, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 24 and effective July 1, created a streamlined certification process for agricultural properties surrounded by development. Once certified, a property must be treated as a conforming use regardless of the county's comprehensive plan, zoning or future land-use map. Traffic impacts are not grounds for denial.

"Once they achieve those rights or those entitlements, they'll get them in perpetuity," Growth Management Director Mike Roberson told News4JAX in a July 28 report on the law's effect.

Commissioners' review Wednesday is limited to whether county staff correctly applied SB 686's criteria.

If staff did, the board must certify.

Six Properties Span From Nocatee's Border to World Golf Village

The Davis family, founders of the Winn-Dixie grocery chain, has held most of the 4,462-acre tract since November 1994, when it paid $9.3 million. The family is pursuing the project with The PARC Group, developer of Nocatee, eTown and EverRange. Their application was filed July 1, the day SB 686 took effect, and applicants say existing or planned development borders 84% of the property's perimeter, above the 75% the statute requires.

The Adler Creek parcel sits next to Picolata Crossing Elementary School. Commissioners denied a development of more than 1,600 homes on that same ground in 2022, according to a stjohnscommunity.com analysis of the pending applications. Under SB 686, that prior denial carries no weight.

County Faces Automatic Approval if It Misses 90-Day Deadline

The law gives county staff 30 days to produce a compliance report and the commission 30 days after that to act. If the county does nothing within 90 days of filing, the application is automatically approved. For the Davis tract, filed July 1, the board must act by the end of August or lose the decision by default.

Commissioners Weigh Legal Challenge to State Law

Commissioners voted 5-0 at their Aug. 5 meeting to direct the County Attorney's Office to obtain an outside assessment of whether an injunction against SB 686 is legally viable and what it would cost. "We do need to have some kind of response to this," Chair Clay Murphy said at that meeting, according to News4JAX. Commissioner Krista Joseph called the law "an erosion of home rule" and pushed for outside counsel.

Every member of St. Johns County's legislative delegation voted for SB 686: Sen. Tom Leek and Reps. Sam Greco, Kim Kendall and Judson Sapp. Several commissioners have said they did not learn of the legislation until April, after it passed.

Certification Won't Lock in Road, School or Site Details

Certification is not a site plan. It does not lock in road connections, school capacity agreements, conservation set-asides or a single house pad. Those details come later through administrative review rather than the public rezoning hearings residents are accustomed to.

Wednesday's hearing is the last scheduled opportunity for public comment before the board must act on the Davis tract application. The county attorney's cost analysis on a possible injunction is expected at a later board meeting; no date has been set.