A new law that expedites the approval process for developing land formerly deemed agricultural went into effect July 1. That same day, landowners applied to have six St. Johns County properties certified “agricultural enclaves” in keeping with the new rules, subject to a public hearing and approval process.
The applications and law itself drew criticism from several citizens speaking at the July 21 County Commission meeting.
Resident Joe McInerney described three of the six properties as having previously been denied development, at least two of them due to a lack of infrastructure, but “the state said they know better, they know better than you, they know better than us what is important for St. Johns County.”
He estimated that the properties, if all are converted to residential development, would produce 32,000 new homes.
He and others requested the commission file an injunction to delay the implementation of the law, also known as Senate Bill 686.
Here are the applicants and their properties:
Now, the county must issue a written report on whether the parcels in the applications qualify as agricultural enclaves, according to a set of pre-defined standards, within 30 days. It must then conduct a public hearing to either approve or deny the applications within 30 days of issuing the report.
If the county neither approves nor denies certification of the parcels within 90 days from July 1, the properties become agricultural enclaves by default.
If the county denies the applications, it must issue its decision in writing with findings of fact and conclusions of law. The applicants then have 30 days to petition the circuit court.
The bill applies only to counties with populations of 1.75 million or less. The period of time for applications to be made is limited; the bill’s provisions expire on Jan. 1, 2028.
The county does have the right to some expectations. Developments are limited to the density of surrounding properties. They must have access to public services, such as water, wastewater, transportation, schools and recreation facilities.
SB 686 was passed by the Florida House by a vote of 90 to 20 and the Florida Senate by a vote of 34 to 2. Every member of the Legislature representing St. Johns County, whole or in part, voted for the law.
After County Commissioner Ann Taylor contacted state Rep. Kim Kendall and described the potential impact to St. Johns County, the latter spoke with commissioners Krista Joseph and Clay Murphy.
“If I had known there was going to be an issue or this bill was going to hurt our community, I absolutely would have voted no,” Kendall said in a video she posted on YouTube to explain her vote.
She listed the aspects of the bill that had sounded good.
“This bill maintained local control,” she said. “It still had the community meetings. It still allowed for the county commissioners to approve or deny. It had a review process, and then it had a streamlined permitting process that would bring affordability down. So, it sounded like a well-balanced bill.”
The County Commission could take up the issue at one of its meetings in August, though the agenda item has not yet been announced.
