about my county st johns county florida

This is Part II of a Three-Part Series on the current conflict in St. Johns County.

Read Part 1.

The Background

This rift between the Commissioners has been building for a long time, and in reality, it does boil down to the perception of over-development in St. Johns County.

Back in 2021, I joined with residents to oppose a large hotel on Vilano Beach, and we were successful in stopping that development. We were successful, in large part, because we worked with the County to identify the issues. We learned some lessons from folks who successfully opposed development in the Guana Outpost. Since then, several community groups have found that they could successfully oppose development by working with the County.

Somewhere, working with the County morphed into Fight for the County. A continual theme on social media has become the Commissioners are in the pocket of developers.  Their voting record and personal ties to developers is offered as proof wrapped up in nasty allegations of corruption.

Corruption.  Really?

The term “corruption” is used prolifically in social media here in St Johns County, but let’s define that word: 

   “Corruption is a dishonest, fraudulent, or even criminal act of an individual or organization, using entrusted authority or power to make a personal gain or other unethical or illegal benefits.” From Cornell Legal Information Institute

So those who call our elected Commissioners corrupt are claiming that they are dishonest in their work for the purposes of personal gain.  That’s a BIG jump and not one to be accepted lightly.

It is important to remember that Commissioner Dean has been in office the longest, having first been elected in 2016. Commissioner Whitehurst was elected in 2020, Commissioners Arnold and Joseph in 2022 and Commissioner Alaimo was appointed in 2022.  But the overwhelming growth of St Johns started well before any of them took office. 

The accusations about corruption maintain that these individuals are in the pockets of developers, and that they are voting in favor of development and against the wishes of residents. Commissioners must base their votes on the comprehensive plan and while listening to residents is part of the process, it is not the only deciding factor.  When developers tried to put a huge hotel on Vilano Road in 2021, the Commissioners listened to residents because we did our homework and pointed out the disconnects in the intention of the comprehensive plan.

This isn’t a new issue

It is very important to remember why St. Johns County development is where it is. 

Between 2000 and 2008 SJC approved multiple PUD’s/DRI’s totaling more than 100,000 single family units.  Then the deep recession hit.  Construction came to a halt.  

In 2013/14 the economy recovered, and residential development returned and has remained quite robust for the past 10 years.  The vast majority of homes constructed over the past 10 years were approved prior to 2008.  

This rapid growth strained the infrastructure, which has struggled to keep up.  The current Board of Commissioners is acutely aware of this, and now includes infrastructure as a requirement for development.  

They have initiated a $500 million infrastructure building program, but it will take time to catch up.  

In Part III, I will share thoughts about the responsibility that we, as residents, have to learn the facts by being engaged with our local government.

Read Part III