Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in St. Johns County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
10 issues in zoning with high priority
Port St. John 10-Foot Fence Approval
A 24-home gated community squeezed between a biker bar/mobile home park and a 20-acre rural parcel won the right to 10-foot fences after years of noise, illegal dumping, U-Haul storage, and debris complaints. The catch: it must be built as one engineered phase within two years, north side only. The south boundary — bordering a retired couple's wooded 20 acres — got no relief because the board found no hardship there.
Private Helicopter Landing Site in Ashton Oaks Equestrian Community
Denied. A disabled Army veteran wanted to keep landing his helicopter on his 17-acre lot while waiting years for airport hangar space, but 19 of 27 households signed a petition against it, citing spooked horses, jet fuel fire risk near homes, insurance liability, and the community's equestrian character. The case also heads back to code enforcement.
NFS Ranch event venue
A 40-acre recording retreat wants to host up to 15 paid events a year. Neighbors fear noise, light pollution, drunk drivers and truck-size traffic on a two-lane road with no shoulders.
Water Plant Road borrow pit access
Sims Trucking needs road access to a landlocked borrow pit, and Water Plant Road — a narrow dead-end residential road with school children at bus stops — is the only option. Residents overwhelmingly opposed 200 daily truck trips.
Manufactured homes in single-family zones
Staff told the board that starting January 1, 2027, state law allows manufactured homes in every residential zoning district, ending local special-use reviews for them. Members had mixed feelings.
Fight against Florida Senate Bill 686
Tallahassee's new laws — including rural agricultural enclave provisions — are forcing growth management staff to redo work, delaying the comprehensive plan cycle and shifting the county's role toward negotiating mitigation on developments it can no longer block.
Administrative rezoning of county utility parcels
The county accepted Merrell Bros.' unsolicited proposal for an indoor, solar-thermal biosolids facility intended to end the odor problems plaguing Morgan's Cove residents near the open-air Indian Head Biomass site. Expect roughly $37 million in county capital costs (the consultant estimated over $54 million) funded through the utilities bond, with a competitive procurement to follow.
Sinclair Lewis house at 177 Surfside Avenue
The 4-1 rezoning lets three Vilano Beach lots become single-family homes — on the site of the house where Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis once stayed. Preservationists called it a demolition request; the applicants say demolition isn't the intent and a 14-page cultural resources review still applies.
Setback variances for 560 Ponte Vedra Boulevard
A homeowner on one of the street's narrow 70-foot lots sought to build closer to property lines than the rules allow, arguing the block's unique 69-foot front setback plus the narrow width makes the lot nearly unbuildable to neighborhood standards. Neighbors said the lot is no different from two dozen others and granting relief would erode the spacing that defines Ponte Vedra Blvd.
Alcohol service near Hastings churches
Main Street Pizza wanted to serve beer and wine with meals just 25 feet from First Baptist Church. Churches appealed the PZA's approval, and commissioners unanimously sided with the churches.