Next Tuesday, Oct. 20, the St. Johns County Commission will consider a variance on the 17-acre property at 1044 Ponte Vedra Blvd. to build 22 new homes instead of the eight which are allowable, due to the prevailing topography and wetlands.
They would be bringing in some 20,000 yards of fill, thereby destroying wetlands directly at the head of the Guana Preserve.
Astonishingly, the Ponte Vedra Zoning & Adjustment Board gave it their blessing, as being not contrary to the public interest. And this, despite the fact that the only “hardship” involved is the developer’s wish to build more than eight homes.
Approval of this request is definitely NOT in the public interest. It renders obsolete a perfectly reasonable wetlands code and it contributes to the ever-more-difficult task of limiting our local population densities - all of this at a time when local impact fees on new residential construction do not pay the total cost for the services that the county and the school district are currently dedicated to provide.
Please, for the good of our community, kindly ask all of our county commissioners to reject this variance request.
—Dan MacDonald
Ponte Vedra Beach
