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Commission sends Cruz property large-scale land-use amendment to state; zoning companion included for review
Summary
At first hearing commissioners voted to transmit a proposed large-scale land-use change and companion rezoning for a 123-acre Cruz parcel; the application would consolidate split agriculture land-use/zoning into a single Ag-B/AG-5 designation for most of the parcel and will be reviewed by Florida Commerce and state agencies.
Baker County commissioners voted at first hearing to transmit a proposed land-use amendment (Ordinance 2025-29) and the companion rezoning (Ordinance 2025-30) for a 123-acre parcel owned by Kevin and a co-owner Cruz to Florida Commerce and state review agencies.
County planning staff described the request as a consolidation: the parcel currently has mixed agricultural land-use categories (Ag A and Ag B) and split zoning (AG-10 and AG-7.5). The applicant proposes changing most of the property to a single Ag-B land-use and AG-5 zoning to eliminate internal mismatches. Planning staff said the large-scale land-use amendment would cover 113 acres for transmittal; the zoning application covers the larger parcel area.
Staff highlighted factors the commission raised at a previous hearing: the presence of smaller lots within a one-mile radius (including a nearby 42-lot subdivision with 2.5-acre lots), drainage and a FEMA flood/ditch area crossing the parcel, and questions about future subdivision potential if the board approves a lower minimum-lot size. Staff said that any future development would require the usual subdivision review and that conditional or planned zoning would be separate processes.
Applicant Kevin Cruz spoke during public comment and said his primary purpose is to simplify the parcel for his family: "I'm doing this is to keep my family from having to deal with it when I'm gone." Cruz said he has no plans to develop a subdivision and described drainage challenges on Bill Davis Road that affect his property.
Commissioners debated whether to prefer AG-7.5 (which some commissioners previously indicated they would support) or AG-5 (which allows 5-acre minimum lots). Commissioners noted that approving AG-5 could make 5-acre subdivisions feasible in the future and that subdivision proposals would return to the board for approval under subdivision and road-paving standards.
The board voted to transmit the land-use amendment to Florida Commerce and to include zoning documentation for agency review. Florida Commerce will circulate the application to state agencies (water-management district, DOT and others) and return comments before the county considers final adoption at a later hearing.
