BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
GREEN COVE SPRINGS— Expanding broadband internet services and updating the land development code were two of the goals Clay County commissioners said they wanted to accomplish in the upcoming year.
Commissioners Wayne Bolla, Betsy Condon, Jim Renninger, Mike Cella and Kristen Burke held a strategic planning workshop on Dec. 14 to talk about their priorities.
During the workshop, moderated by JAX USA’s Anna LeBeasch, each commissioner spoke about his or her top priorities for 2022. The commissioners then sorted the goals between one of four broad categories: major projects, planning and zoning, infrastructure, policies and procedures and other priorities.
Broadband
Bolla, Condon and Renninger all mentioned the expansion of broadband internet, particularly into the rural areas of the county.
Condon said the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the importance of the technology, explaining that homebound workers and students could not get their work done without broadband access.
Bolla and Renninger said that fast internet is essential in attracting commercial activity to the county.
Land development
Commissioners Condon, Cella, Renninger and Burke said commissioners should look at updating the county’s land development code and procedures for zoning and planning.
Condon said that the two planning districts that have seen the most activity lately: the Lake Asbury Master Plan and the Branan Field Master Plan, were developed in 2005 and 2006.
“We’re a very different county, a very different world today,” she said. “I don’t know that really back then they thought about what is the infrastructure that needs to be put into place including roads and working with DOT.”
Condon also said the county needs to coordinate with the Clay County Utility Authority about water and sewer service.
She added that Clay County needs a comprehensive road plan, noting that most of the county’s 250 miles of unpaved roads lie within her district.
Cella also said commissioners should update the land development code. He said he would like to see the county’s 40-foot minimum lot frontage increased and would like to see less clear cutting of trees when new subdivisions are being built.
Cella also said he would like to see a county land conservation plan.
“There’s no better time than this particular time to go after land that stays as a greenway,” he said, “particularly waterfront property.”
He also said the county should inventory and evaluate its own current land holdings.
“The county has a huge number of parcels that we own,” he said. “(We should) study potential liquidation or trading of those possible properties if we can do that to the county’s benefit.”
Cella said county officials should work to improve the public’s access to Black Creek and the St. Johns River by improving and expanding boat ramps.
“That seems to be an area that is really growing,” he said. “Folks want access to the river and the creek and why not? It’s a beautiful place to be, but we don’t have that ability at this point to do that.”
Burke agreed that the county needs to improve the Governor’s Creek boat ramp, north of Green Cove Springs on U.S. 17.
“It’s an eyesore for the over 20,000 people that come through every day, and we can do much better in the presentation if we work together,” she said.
Renninger noted that housing developers are clear cutting land when building new subdivisions and said county officials should intervene.
“It’s horrible to see all these long-term trees, aged trees just being clear-cut to make it easy to develop,” he said. “I think we ought to have some kind of control over that, some kind of say as to how we want the county to look in the future.”
Renninger also said that just like in other areas of the country, affordable housing is hard to come by in Clay County.
“The median price of a home in Clay County is $310,000,” he said. “So, when you talk about a new teacher, a new firefighter a new police officer, a new anybody, how can you afford a $310,000 home when you started out your career?’
Burke cited the county’s lack of a stormwater management plan.
She also criticized what she said were loopholes in the county’s land development code that allow developers to manipulate county officials.
Other priorities
Bolla said he wanted to see an expansion of security cameras in the county to reduce crime, especially within subdivisions.
He said that St. Johns County has a crime rate that is nearly half that of Clay County and that prior sheriffs have told him the difference is the high number of surveillance cameras across the river.
Bolla also said the county should get out of the animal adoption business, outsourcing that program to non-profits. He noted that the county spends $900,000 a year for its share of supporting the health department while the animal services budget exceeds $2 million.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. I’m not anti-animal here, but is running an animal adoption agency one of the core values of the county? I don’t think so.”
He also said the county should deal with the growing number of feral cats in the county.
“We’ve presently got an estimated thirty to sixty thousand feral cats running around Clay County,” he said. “The American Audubon Society estimates that cats kill over a billion birds a year in the U.S. and a breeding pair of feral cats potentially is going to end up with thousands of offspring running around over their lifetimes.”
Cella also wants to upgrade the county’s animal services ordinance, strengthening penalties for animal cruelty and forcing pet store operators to register with the county.
“I wouldn’t shut them down,” he said, “but I want to make sure that they’re not buying puppy mill dogs to be offered for sale.”
Bolla also said the county needs more adult activities like shows and restaurants.
“We spend a lot of money for sports venues for our children, which is a great thing,” he said, “but i was told by one businessman about him expanding his operation here and he said there’s just not enough to do for the adults here in Clay County to attract them to come here.”
Bolla recommended the county underwrite high-level shows at the Thrasher-Horne Center and incentivize the development of more high-level restaurants in the county.
Cella said he would like to see the county increase public awareness of the importance of keeping the county clean.
He added that providing affordable recycling and garbage collection services to residents will be a challenge in the near future.
Renninger said reducing blight and crime in the Wells Road area is critical to the county.
He noted that in the last six months, two murders, an armed robbery and a bomb threat have occurred along the county’s northern border with Jacksonville.
He said one possible solution is the establishment of community redevelopment areas.
Burke also mentioned CRAs as a way to enhance improvements in Green Cove Springs.
Renninger said the county should explore a nuisance ordnance to protect homeowners from disruptive neighbors.
“No one should have to live next door to a problematic property,” he said, “and that problematic property may be visual, it may be biological, it may be acoustic.”
Renninger also recommended the county develop a special events ordinance and regulate businesses more.
“We have no idea who is serving our constituents,” he said. “Are the roofers certified? Are the window replacement companies reputable?”
