MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — Residents of Middleburg are speaking out after they say multiple development plans around the city could threaten their way of life and have devastating impacts on the environment.
One of those plans is a 250-acre RV Park, Firefly Riverbend, located along Black Creek, an area prone to flooding. Plans outlined in a flier include a splash pad, a tiki bar, an event stage, and more.
Lindsey Seubert, the founder and lead organizer of a coalition called “Save Black Creek,” says the land isn’t suited for development, and locals in the area will see the impact firsthand.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“Lazy Acres over there, and Sunrise Farms, those roads, they flood out as it is,” Seubert said. “Everybody’s concerned that with these developments, they come and they add landfill, they deforest, they put in retention ponds, expecting that to just hold all the water, but really all the water still washes out and floods everybody else around these properties.”
But she says flooding is only a piece of the equation. She says the road’s infrastructure will not be able to handle the influx of people in such a high-density area — not to mention the noise that comes with them.
“Us locals that live around the area, we have farms, we have lives, we have to be up for work and everything,” Seubert said. “It’s oppositional to the rest of the rural and suburban properties around the area, and there’s no buffer for that kind of noise.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
She says she’s been reaching out to city officials since last year, but is always met with a response along the lines of, “We can’t say what somebody can do on their property as long as it’s by code.”
“It’s just pretty much like a statement that says, ‘well, they met all the checks in the boxes, everything’s good,’ but our initial concerns are not addressed,” Seubert said. “It feels like we’re not even being considered at all.”
To make their voices heard, Seubert started a petition. She says it garnered over 1,000 signatures in under 24 hours. She’s also created a Facebook group.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“I moved out to Middleburg for the peace, the quiet room to grow, raise my family, and you know, a safer environment, not in the city,” Seubert said. “If one of us were to go and want to build a water park in our front yards, or try to rezone a conservation area, we already know they would stop us every step of the way. For the developers to be able to do it, and just get away with it with no problem, it’s kind of frustrating.”
Seubert says the community will continue to fight for transparency.
Action News Jax has reached out to the city commissioner of the area, as well as Firefly Riverbend, and is waiting for a response.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.