Plans for a 205-home development in St. Johns County were halted this week after the Board of County Commissioners voted against rezoning a parcel off County Road 214. The unanimous vote on Tuesday followed recommendations from the county’s planning and zoning agency, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
The controversy focused on a request to reinstate a lapsed Planned Rural Development (PRD) designation for Tocoi River Estates, which would have extended the project’s commencement window from five to eight years. Initially planned as a mixed-use suburban development, the project had not progressed since the designation was first approved in 2006 and expired in 2016.
The rejection came amid vocal community concerns. Residents near the proposed development cited potential traffic issues, limited access for emergency services, drainage problems, and conflicts with the area’s agricultural character. One local resident reportedly nicknamed the project "Mount Flushmore," as per the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Despite developers’ plans to preserve roughly 90% of the approximately 1,000-acre property for agricultural and silvicultural use, the project did not receive the necessary approval. Douglas N. Burnett of St. Johns Law Group, representing the developer, had previously highlighted similarities between the failed Water Lily project and the new Tocoi River Estates proposal, as reported by News4Jax.
Aegis Gibson LLC, the Jacksonville-based developer, and property owner First Coast Venture LLC must now contend with the commissioners’ decision to deny the PRD reinstatement, effectively putting the Tocoi River Estates project on hold.
