Ashley Chandler
News-Leader
A public hearing for the reclassification of a few thousand acres in Nassau County owned by Raydient LLC brought a group of concerned citizens to the Board of County Commissioners meeting Oct. 27.
The BOCC unanimously approved the transmission of an ordinance to reclassify 3,052.65 acres of property located on the north side of State Road 200. The ordinance will return to the board for final approval. If approved, the land between I-95 and Griffin Road will change from Agriculture to a variety of transects — Transect 1, Transect 2.5, Transect 3, Transect 3.5, Transect 4, Transect 4.5, Transect 5 and Transect 7.5.
Elizabeth Backe, director of the county planning department, said it is a request to meet the requirements for the Timber to Tides Design Overlay that was implemented in June.
Although no design or construction plans exist for development on the property, staff noted it could serve the county in several areas of need.
“This area will both support the residential and nonresidential supportive uses, and we’re anticipating a large area for employment generating jobs,” Backe said.
Prior to the meeting, The Planning and Zoning Board recommended the ordinance for approval. Several concerned citizens attended the PZB meeting. Following the approval by the PZB, staff spoke with neighbors about bringing equestrian and stable uses into the conditional uses, in case neighbors are able to purchase some of the adjacent land.
This did not stop locals from standing up to speak directly to the BOCC.
Public speakers’ comments ranged from concerns about Rayonier and whether they will be “good neighbors” as they say; worries about general development, growth and consistent maps; but mostly, speakers were concerned for the future of a local neighboring nonprofit organization, Paramount Adaptive Riding Center.
Paramount ARC says its mission is to “enrich the lives of others, particularly those with special needs, using the therapeutic nature of horses.”
Director of Paramount Adaptive Riding Center Krista Jurkovich is concerned about the impact of development of the 3,000 acres.
“There are just a lot of reasons that we didn't initially set ourselves up in a neighborhood,” Jurkovich said. “There are a lot of considerations that go into running a therapeutic riding program, and one of them is finding a space that is connected to nature and quiet and doesn't have the hustle and bustle of a neighborhood.”
Jurkovich said more populated areas bring additional safety concerns.
“There is a big safety aspect, as far as safety for our horses with neighbors wandering in and feeding them things that could make them sick or fireworks celebrations. Horses traditionally don't do well with lots of noise and activity,” she said.
At the BOCC meeting, Jurkovich urged commissioners to slow down.
“I would just encourage
you, please don’t rush this because this is the first plan that’s presented to you. There is no site plan according to what we’ve been told. There’s no hurry. We’ve been told that Rayonier wants to be a good neighbor and we’re very happy to hear that, but also we have no guarantee, especially with this new merger, that that will happen,” Jurkovich said. “If you are able to redraw the map and we can be surrounded by less-intense zoning in our area, then that does ensure that we’re not going to be surrounded by 150 houses and all that comes with that.”
Wes Hinton, vice presi-
dent of Wildlight at Rayon-ier, was the last to comment. “A vote to transmit this tonight is not a vote against Paramount. ... “We don’t have immediate plans, but obviously the purpose of this rezoning is to bring the land in compliance with the regulating map that you guys passed back in June.”
County Manager Taco Pope said Timber to Tides had initial public engagement in 2019. The design overlay establishes a plan for the look and feel of the corridor. Nassau County adopted the two new articles to its Land Development Code in June — the T2TDO Community Based Design Standards and Transect-Based Zoning Districts.
The articles established the overlay, which regulates development in the established corridor.
It covers just west of Tributary all the way to the Thomas Shave Bridge, and extends up and down Pages Dairy Road. It also goes up north and south slightly on U.S. 17. The county says it introduces a form-based code structure to guide growth, improve mobility and ensure quality development that connects people to places.
“It is long-term planning, and it has been in process, and there’s been an extensive amount of work including robust civic engagement to arrive at this point,” Pope said.
“Nassau County is going to continue to grow. This is free Florida. They’re coming, whether you like it or not. What we have to do it plan for that expansion,” he said. “The groundwork we’re laying now is for the next generation.”
For more information,
visit nassaucountyfl.com/
1397/Timber-to-Tides-Design-Overlay-T2TDO.