ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A sliver of waterfront property is the spot where one man wants to build what some people are calling a 'motel/boatel.'
It would be a marina with cottages that people could stay in overnight. However, the neighbors say the space is too small for this kind of project.
"I’ve lived here for 8 years in this home," Elizabeth Ostrander lives just down the road from where this project is proposed.
The applicant's attorney is James Whitehouse. He told First Coast News Wednesday that after getting input from the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board the day before, the plan will now aim to have 10-12 boat slips and a matching number of cabins or "motel rooms."
The land is a little more than an acre on May Street, near the western base of the Vilano Bridge.
"I don’t want this. I think traffic will increase substantially," Ostrander said. "I don’t’ want an extra 50 people on the end of my street in short term rentals."
She and other neighbors told city leaders they’re worried the project is too dense for the small piece of land, would bring in too many cars to the two lane road neighborhood and that the marina would be too big for the site and could harm the environment.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Board had some concerns about the project. So board members sent the applicant back to the drawing board. One of the concerns deals with the entrance into the project, which is a little road called East San Carlos.
"It’s definitely a back alley. It’s narrow," Ostrander walked down the road that is barely two lanes. The other entrance option is on May Street which is the road that leads to the Vilano Bridge, and it is often congested.
"The congestion is already bad with the traffic as it is," Ostrander said.
Whitehouse said his client will revise the plans and work off neighbors' concerns to bring a new plan to the city next month.
As for Ostrander, she knows something will be built on the lot "but this idea doesn’t fit the land," she said. "It’s a good idea. It just doesn’t work there."