ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — How to deal with an influx of people is the subject of another growth management meeting Tuesday in St. Johns County.
St. Johns is one of the fastest growing counties in the country and the influx of people affects traffic, water and the environment. Dozens of people turned up for the two-hour meeting and some strong feelings were displayed during the public comment period.
County Commissioner Henry Dean tells First Coast News several points made during the public comment portion stuck out to him. The first has to do with problems on the road.
"We are so far behind in our roads that it's creating just unbelievable traffic congestion," Dean said. "Frankly, as a pitch, I will tell you that that's one reason we are proposing a one cent increase in the sales tax to deal with that backlog."
Dean says he believes the county may have to look at setting time limits on large construction projects.
"The current law and the current process in St. Johns County and most other counties, frankly, is when a project a large project is approved like a PUD for a large shopping center or an industrial park, that really has no termination date," Dean said. "So time can pass, five, ten, fifteen years. New residents come in and they find out that a new business or a facility is going in next door and they had no notice, no input because the decision for that project, including a number of uses, was made 10 or 15 years before they even moved to St. Johns County."
Dean wants to have another growth management workshop in the fall.
View the First Coast News stories on the previous growth management workshop here.
A see why some residents say: "Do something! Now’s the time," here.
