ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A hotly-contested development denied last fall will be presented once again before the St. Johns County commission.
The proposed apartment complex named MIVO, would be on the corner of U.S. 1 and Watson Road.
Last October, the project went before the commission. But that turned out to be an unusual day.
Commissioner Paul Waldron had just died the night before. White roses were placed at his empty commission chair.
So, when there was a vote on the MIVO project, it was 2 to 2.
Neighbors thought that when the commission voted, the final decision was made. The commission believed that constituted a denial for the project. However, it was actually a tie vote.
The developer's attorney says it should get another crack at building the project.
Judy Spiegel lives in the Osprey Landing neighborhood on the two-lane Watson Road and opposes the MIVO project.
"This is just incompatible. It just doesn’t fit," she told First Coast News. "It will create a bottleneck of traffic issues at Watson Road."
The application calls for seven buildings, three-stories tall, and more than 200 units. It would go on 15 acres of land. More than half of the property is wetlands and none of the wetlands would be preserved.
The developer told the county commission in Oct. 2022, that it fills the need for more homes in St. Johns County.
Done and over, right? Not so.
The developer’s attorney filed legal action, arguing his client deserves another chance before a full five-member board.
Michael Sznapstajler, an attorney for the developer, told the county commission in March, “This no way binds you to vote in favor of the project or against the project when it comes back. It is a fully noticed hearing, with the advertising and notice for public comment."
In order to avoid paying to fight a lawsuit, the county commission is letting the developer bring the MIVO project back before the board for a vote on June 20.
Spiegel told First Coast News, "We think according to the law, there was a denial. It surprised me the developer wanted to come back."
In the past few months, neighbors in the south St. Augustine area, such as Spiegel, have rallied against at least two other apartment complex projects within miles of the proposed MIVO. The same county commission has stopped those projects from moving forward.