Nocatee
will straddle County Road 210 between the Intracoastal Waterway and
U.S. 1. About 12,000 of its acres will be in northeastern St. Johns
County, with the remainder in southeastern Duval County.
Could take years
It could take 20 to 25 years to completely develop Nocatee,
planners said. Eventually, there would be about 35,000 residents,
residential villages, greenways, a nature preserve, schools and a
town center with offices, retail stores and some residential units
within its borders.
The Parc Group President Greg Barbour said the new-town concept
should be promoted as a superior form of development because it
creates a sustainable area in which people don't have to drive, but
would be able to walk or ride bicycles or golf carts to school,
work, the library, the bank, parks, stores and restaurants.
"So we think it's a development pattern that makes sense," The
Parc Group Chairman Roger O'Steen said. "It would be a travesty if
St. Johns didn't use the [new town] land-use category even beyond
Nocatee."
The St. Johns County Commission isn't alone in agreeing with the
concept. The Jacksonville City Council, Northeast Florida Regional
Planning Council and Jacksonville Land Use and Zoning Committee also
have approved Nocatee development plans.
Some disagreement
But not everyone agrees. Announcement of the development created
a sharp division among many St. Johns County residents that still
exists but to a lesser degree. Also, the St. Johns County Planning
and Zoning Agency recommended the county commission deny the
development plan.
The Florida Wildlife Federation also had petitioned for an
administrative hearing to challenge the land-use category, but it
reached a settlement Oct. 29 with Nocatee developers agreeing to add
fences in areas near wildlife crossings and include garage
apartments and multifamily units in some sections of the
development. The developer also agreed to help the federation lobby
to get the state transportation department to install a wildlife
crossing at U.S. 1 and the Twelve Mile Swamp area.
The St. Johns County Commission, which this week signed off on
the settlement, also agreed to help lobby for the wildlife crossing.
As part of the settlement, the commission also passed a resolution
Tuesday agreeing to consider certain amendments to its new town
land-use category and also help lobby the state for a wildlife
crossing. Some proposed amendments include requiring two-thirds of
all residential units to be within a half mile of a designated
new-town's town center and requiring 30 percent of the residential
units to be multifamily.
The commission can't vote on the actual amendments until at least
December, when changes to the county's comprehensive plan are
considered, but the settlement doesn't hinge on approving the
amendments, Deputy County Attorney Dan Bosanko said.
Federation attorney Thomas W. Reese said Nocatee's plans already
meet most or all the criteria in the proposed amendments.
Once Nocatee's legal challenges are resolved, developers said
they'll apply for the last batch of permits needed, including ones
from the St. Johns River Water Management District and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.
The Davis family, who owns the Nocatee land and also has a
controlling interest in the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain, first
announced plans for Nocatee in March 1999.
Feeling pressured
O'Steen said the family decided to develop a comprehensive plan
for its undeveloped timberland in the fast-growing area of the
county after experiencing pressure to contribute pieces of it for
things such as roads, schools, parks and utility easements.
The Davises didn't want their land developed haphazardly and
piecemeal, Barbour said, so they came up with Nocatee.
"We do believe we've done by far the best thing for the community
and that was the goal of the Davis family," O'Steen said.
There have been dozens of public and private hearings since the
project was announced, including meetings with nearby property
owners and several groups and organizations. Several development
studies have been conducted and community reaction was sought
through polls, newsletters and a Web site.
"There's been a tremendous amount of public input on Nocatee,"
Skelton said. "We're very proud of the plan."
About $100 million worth of road improvements over the next 25
years are planned for the Nocatee area, including building a
four-lane parkway just north of County Road 210.
A 2,400-acre preserve along 3.5 miles against the Intracoastal
Waterway will be donated to St. Johns County, which in conjunction
with the Audubon Society will build a nature interpretive center. A
non-motorized boat ramp also will be built along the Intracoastal
Waterway, O'Steen said.
Greenway preserves
Another 5,600 acres will be preserved as greenways with hardwood
pines in them, and about 300 acres of land has been set aside for
parks, Barbour said. The Davises also donated land on the Nocatee
property to the county for a public park.
The Davises will donate land to Duval and St. Johns counties'
school systems for nine public schools in Nocatee, eight of which
will be in St. Johns and one in Duval. The family also will donate
land to the Diocese of St. Augustine for a Catholic high school in
St. Johns and to the First Coast Independent School Foundation, a
Jacksonville non-profit that raises money to build private schools,
to construct a kindergarten through 12th grade facility in St.
Johns.
Land also will be donated for public facilities, such as police
and fire stations and libraries, O'Steen said.
Nocatee will have its own utility company, Barbour said, but JEA,
Jacksonville's main utility, will provide water and sewer services.
