Miniature-golf project Nothing Putt Fun & Games can move forward in St. Johns County.
Rejecting a recommendation from the county Planning and Zoning Agency, the five-member Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 20 in favor of a rezoning request that will allow operation of a 16,000-square-foot building with an indoor course, restaurant and arcade. Food trucks and an outdoor course are planned.
The facility is proposed on 2.78 acres of a 4.5-acre site at 7250 and 7280 U.S. 1 N., about a 3.5 miles south of International Golf Parkway.
Barrett Tennant is overseeing the project through Nothing Putt Fun & Games LLC.
In addition to the rezoning, the county is reviewing civil engineering plans for the project, which are revised to lower the proposed building from its original two-story design to one.
The two-story design would have made it among the only commercial buildings at that height along U.S. 1. Tennant said the reduction to one story would allow for trees to better separate the site from surrounding residential neighborhoods.
“We listened to the community on that,” Tennant said.
The land for Nothing Putt Fun & Games comprises two parcels owned by St. Augustine-based Reit LLC. Tennant said he hopes to close on buying the property by March 31 and break ground by the end of the year with an estimated construction timeline of about eight months.
Tennant called the location ideal due to its proximity to St. Augustine and particularly the Palencia master-planned community, which has a median household income of $115,574, according to the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty website. Palencia is about a mile north of the Nothing Putt Fun & Games site.
On Dec. 18, the county Planning and Zoning Agency voted to recommend denial for the rezoning and a request for a special use permit to serve alcohol. Its recommendations are sent to the commission for consideration of projects, but they are not binding.
PZA recommended denial
The Planning and Zoning Agency voted 5-2 to recommend denial, with agency board members Richard Hilsenbeck, Chuck Labanowski, Greg Matovina, Robert Olson and Judy Spiegel voting to deny. Henry Green and Meagan Perkins voted to advance it.
Opponents of the project cited concerns about traffic, noise and environmental factors.
“The biggest problem that I have with this application is the impact on the wetlands. Almost 68% of this property is wetlands, and you look like you’re impacting all of them,” Spiegel told Christina Evans of Gulfstream Design Group, a representative for Tennant. “It looks like every square inch is going to be packed in there.”
During the commission meeting, Gulfstream President Matthew Lahti told the commission board that applicable state and federal agencies involved in environmental, wetland and flood plain impacts were permitting the project.
Project support
Commissioners said the project would add a family-friendly entertainment option to the area.
“I can honestly say that I hear from so many residents in that area — Palencia, Las Calinas, Kensington — that they are very much interested in more entertainment-type things like this, that they really want some place to go,” Commissioner Ann Taylor said.
Taylor also said she preferred a project like Nothing Putt Fun & Games over other options that could be built at the site based on its current zoning, including a three-story hotel, a hair salon, a dry cleaner or small offices.
“And I really appreciate that it’s going to be one story,” she said. “I also appreciate that you’re going to be putting in some trees right now.”
Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said the property is already zoned for development and that Nothing Putt Fun & Games is a good addition to the community.
“By right, this is a great community use,” he told Tennant.
“Having considered everything that’s been presented, having considered some of the concerns of the community, which are legitimate concerns, I think that this is going to be a quality-of-life enhancement for the community. I think you’re going to meet all the standards of the St Johns River Water Management District as it relates to moving the water as is required by law, so I’ll be voting in favor of this.”
The water management district is reviewing an application for an environmental resource permit, required in Florida for most construction that could affect surface water flow, wetlands or water quality.