ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A new Florida state law is reshaping the future of large-scale development in St. Johns County by allowing eligible agricultural landowners to skip the traditional rezoning process.
The legislation introduces an “Agricultural Enclave” certification. This new process accelerates the timeline for developers looking to convert vast rural areas into residential or commercial spaces.
The law took effect just eight days ago, and local officials report that real estate developers are already moving fast. St. Johns County has already received six applications for the new designation.
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The Agricultural Enclave certification provides a fast track to development rights that historically required lengthy, multi-staged zoning amendments.
“If they’re certified through a process, that means they ultimately can get density or units—residential units, or even potentially commercial units,” said Michael Robertson, Director of Growth Management for St. Johns County.
Once a landowner submits an application, county staff face a strict 30-day deadline to review the paperwork. Staff must verify if the land meets specific state criteria, focusing heavily on its current usage and surroundings.
“Is it developed? Is it not developed? Their agricultural status,” Robertson explained, regarding the baseline evaluation criteria.
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Following the 30-day review, the application moves directly to a public hearing and a final vote by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners.
Though the law is just over a week old, major land players are already on the change. Among the six applications currently under review, Heritage Development has submitted proposals for two separate agricultural parcels. Together, these two sites total more than 1,000 acres of land.
If approved, these sites could accommodate significant future development, fundamentally changing the landscape of the county’s more rural corridors.
Despite the streamlined path to securing development rights, county officials stress that landowners will not have a free pass to build without oversight.
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Robertson emphasized that an enclave certification does not exempt a project from local building codes, environmental regulations, or infrastructure requirements.
“Some that do want to develop, they’ll still have to come in through the county and meet county code,” Robertson said. “Think of roadways; roadways still have to be built for developments.”
The law applies only to specific, large-scale agricultural properties. Currently, they don’t have a timeframe for when, if approved, the property would need to start building.
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