St. Johns County leaders host first community meeting on strategic plans for development

ST. JOHNS, Fla. — St Johns County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. And tonight, county leaders hosted the first community meeting at Pacetti Bay Middle School to discuss its comprehensive and strategic plans for development to try to stay on top of the growth.

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Dozens of people came out to voice their concerns to help direct county leaders on how to move forward with development.

“You tell us what you want St. Johns County to look like,’ St Johns County Board Chair Sarah Arnold said.

As one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, Arnold says it’s important to hear from the people who are living through this growth.

“We’ve seen a huge influx of people and the strain that it’s putting us through – we’re trying to play catch up,” Arnold said. “We’re trying to at the same time, preserve what we have.”

In tonight’s presentation, county leaders showed how St. Johns County is expected to see a lot more growth in the coming years.

This is why 25-year-resident Isabelle Renault came out tonight.

“I want to see this community grow,” Renault said. “I want to see future jobs for my children, I want to see housing for my children, I want to see transportation. So those things are important to me as a resident, and that’s why I’m here.”

The county is updating its comprehensive plan, which is a 50-year vision that is required by the state to be evaluated every seven years. On the other hand, the strategic plan is a short-term plan looking ahead for five years.

“The strategic plan is about how I want you to think about our government and the services that we provide for you guys,” Arnold said. “The comprehensive plan is going to be more of a blueprint for our county and what we want our home to look like.”

This meeting transformed into an interactive classroom. It was an effort to have community members share their thoughts on certain topics like the economy, land use housing, transportation, and infrastructure.

“We just want to stop the overgrowth until we have the infrastructure, and then build and expand.,” St Johns County resident Vanessa Sizemore said. “…And right now we have so many infrastructure problems with the traffic, the overcrowding in schools, it’s just unsustainable.”

Tonight’s presentation showed how the top three main issues include the environment, infrastructure, and traffic congestion.

“Growth is good,” Renault said. “It just needs to be managed and have everything in place to support it.”

Tonight’s meeting is the first of three this week – the next two are set to happen tomorrow and Wednesday night.

If you can’t make the meetings this week, you can share your thoughts online or at public kiosks located throughout the community. For more information, you can click HERE.

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UPCOMING MEETINGS:

• Feb. 20, 6 - 7:30 p.m. at Pacetti Bay Middle School Auditorium, 245 Meadowlark Lane
• Feb. 21, 6 - 7:30 p.m. at Southeast Branch Library, 6670 US 1 South
• Feb. 22, 6 - 7:30 p.m. at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, 1050 A1A North

PUBLIC KIOSKS:

• Anastasia Island Branch Library, 124 Sea Grove Main St.
• Bartram Trail Branch Library, 60 Davis Pond Blvd.
• Hastings Branch Library, 6195 S. Main St.
• Main Branch Library, 1960 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd.
• Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library, 101 Library Blvd.
• Southeast Branch Library, 6670 US 1 South
• St. Johns County Utility Department, 1205 State Road 16
• St. Johns County Permit Center, 4040 Lewis Speedway
• St. Johns County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View

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