The Clay County Planning Commission on Oct. 7 voted to approve a small-scale comprehensive-plan amendment (Comp Plan 25-0012) and a companion planned-unit development rezoning (PUD 25-0005) that will allow construction of up to 51 single-family homes on about 16.34 acres at the intersection of County Road 218 and State Road 21 (Blanding Boulevard).

Staff and the applicant said the site, currently designated rural residential and zoned agricultural-residential, sits inside the county's urban service boundary and qualifies as infill development. Jenny Bridal, Zoning Chief with the Planning and Zoning Department, told commissioners the county's review under Section 163 of the Florida Statutes concluded the project 'is not creating sprawl' because it directs growth toward infrastructure and is surrounded by similar densities. Bridal recommended approval of both the land-use change and the PUD.

Frank Miller, the applicant's representative, described multiple plan revisions after meetings with the Middleburg Citizens Advisory Committee and neighborhood residents. Miller said the project now caps density at under four units per acre (about 3.3 units/acre), limits lots along the northern edge adjacent to existing homes to 60-foot widths with single-story houseforms, and includes type-B landscape buffers, wetland mitigation areas and larger lots on the north side. 'We withdrew the higher-density request and reapplied for urban fringe and a PUD,' Miller said, noting the design reduces earlier proposals from roughly 69–70 lots to 51.

Residents who live adjacent to the site urged commissioners to weigh traffic, drainage and privacy concerns. Crystal Galinis, who said she lives at 2157 Pine Tree Lane next to the proposed development, told the commission: 'There are houses on one side and much larger lots on the other. There's a lot of speeding down the road' 'and we're very concerned that the added traffic is going to make it a bigger safety concern.' Another nearby resident, Bridal Daughtry, said Pine Tree Lane already has surface undulations and localized flooding; she asked whether the county would be responsible for road upgrades if traffic increased.

Miller and staff said infrastructure and engineering reviews remain part of the permitting process. Miller noted the project will pay county mobility/transportation impact fees (he estimated the development would generate 'close to $200,000 in mobility fees' for 51 homes) and said any required improvements 'would be addressed during construction-plan review' by the county and by the St. Johns River Water Management District for stormwater and pre/post runoff limits. Staff's review also cited an ITE trip-generation estimate of about 60 peak-hour PM trips from the completed development.

The Clay County School District provided a student-generation estimate: the 51 homes would likely generate about 26 students; district staff said elementary-level capacity exists to absorb the projected students.

Commissioners repeatedly acknowledged traffic and drainage concerns in the area, including backups near the Pine Tree Lane/County Road 218 intersection and the nearby Everett Avenue/218 signal. Several commissioners also cited the positive role of the Middleburg Citizens Advisory Committee; Bridal said the CAC recommended approval 7-0 and multiple commissioners noted the applicant had reduced density in response to community comments.

After discussion, the Planning Commission voted to approve the comprehensive-plan amendment and then the PUD. The record shows the motions carried with all commissioners present voting in favor.

Planning staff noted additional technical approvals remain: engineering and construction-plan review, submission of stormwater and water/sewer plans to the county and the St. Johns River Water Management District (for the district's permit), and any right-of-way or turn-lane work determined necessary during permitting.

The commission's approvals are advisory; final action will be taken by the Board of County Commissioners at a later meeting, as the chair reminded the public.

The commission's decision advances a previously contested proposal that applicants said moved from higher-density townhome concepts to a lower-density PUD after repeated community meetings and revisions.