Following a unanimous denial recommendation by its planning and zoning agency, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners voted Nov. 4 to deny a proposed residential community zoning that sought to bring 205 single-family homes off County Road 214.
The property’s Planned Rural Development designation was created in 2006 for a residential project that did not materialize and expired in 2016.
The request sought to reinstate the PRD for the community, called Tocoi River Estates, and extend the commencement period from five to eight years.
Dozens of area residents spoke out against the development, citing traffic concerns, limited access to emergency services, drainage issues and incompatibility with the surrounding farmland.
One resident called the project “Mount Flushmore.”
Jacksonville-based Aegis Gibson LLC is the Tocoi River Estates developer. First Coast Venture LLC owns the roughly 1,000-acre property.
According to the application, about 90% of the land — about 928 acres — would remain reserved for agricultural and silvicultural uses.
Douglas N. Burnett of St. Johns Law Group, representing the applicant, told the Planning and Zoning Agency the request largely mirrored the previously approved PRD, with updates to modernize its language.
Tocoi River Estates, originally called Water Lily, was envisioned as a mixed-use development with 3,000 homes and 385,000 square feet of commercial space.
The Planning and Zoning Agency unanimously denied recommending approval of that version April 3 and again when it was revised Sept. 22.