A residential community just south of State Road 16 near St. Augustine is proposed with 376 single-family homes.
The item was before the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency on Thursday, when it received mixed reviews. The project needs a rezoning from Open Rural to Planned Unit Development to commence.
The board recommended approval in a 4-3 vote. It will go on to the County Commission for a final vote.
The project is called the Preserve at St. Augustine Lakes, and it would include homes on 247 acres, about 100 of which would be preserved as wetlands.
The property is located south of S.R. 16 and west of North Holmes Boulevard. It would be primarily accessed from Thompson Bailey Road, which intersects with Deer Run Road and Arcadian Lakes Boulevard. Interconnectivity is proposed with the adjoining St. Augustine Lakes community to the east.
There were questions of compatibility posed to the applicant, represented by attorney James Whitehouse.
He pointed to the adjacent St. Augustine Lakes. It’s a PUD approved for 575 homes, about 200 of which have been permitted. Although it does have the rights to build some multifamily, so far only single-family homes have been built.
The other main issue is traffic. Residential growth has been rampant in the county for the better part of two decades, and the area suffers from backups at peak hours.
Even if approved by the County Commission, the developer would have to pay about $9.3 million for traffic mitigation.
Despite the requirement to invest so much in road improvements, several PZA members said traffic was a determining factor in voting against the project.
According to the county’s assessment, the development at full build-out is estimated to generate 3,413 daily trips and 345 afternoon peak hour trips.
The directly accessed roadway segment — Holmes Boulevard from County Road 214 to Four Mile Road — is currently operating at 75.2% of capacity based on existing 2023 traffic. It is currently classified as critical for concurrency review purposes at 98.6% of capacity based on total committed traffic.
The project will also have access to a link — Four Mile Road from Holmes Boulevard to S.R. 16 via Deer Run Road — that is currently operating at 132.2% of capacity based on existing 2023 traffic. It is currently classified as deficient for concurrency review purposes at 158.5% of capacity based on total committed traffic.
Despite those issues, PZA member Greg Matovina said as long as the developer fulfills its commitment to paying for mitigation measures then the project is appropriate for the area.
“I believe it is compatible,” he said at the meeting. “And I do believe that James’ arguments with regard to traffic are accurate. We have a way by which you get to pay and go.”
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