FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. — Fleming Island’s Old Hard Road. Residents want to keep it rural. But real estate company Maronda Homes envisions 329 new properties on 63 acres here - residents oppose this.
The company submitted their idea, which is not yet a formal plan, to a local development review committee to make sure it’s up to code. Local residents showed up and sounded off at a related meeting.
“300 more homes that’s gonna be 600 more cars. Folks were not thinking. They’re definitely not thinking. They’re thinking about putting wealth in their pockets and I’m all about capitalism but this is ridiculous,” said one resident.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Residents worry the proposition will negatively impact the environment, traffic, and overburden school districts with an influx of new children.
“They’re pushing all the people who actually care about this back here, and they’re using state loopholes, to just push us all out of the way,” said another man who lives in the area.
The “loophole” the resident referred to is Florida’s Live Local Act. It allows developers to bypass local zoning for higher-density/mixed-use projects in commercial areas. Old Hard Road is zoned for residential agricultural use.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
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.