Clay County postpones vote on five industrial rezoning requests after traffic and conservation concerns

The Clay County Board of County Commissioners on March 25 postponed consideration of five related comprehensive-plan and zoning applications that would reclassify roughly 86 acres near County Road 209, Bayard Road and County Road 226 for heavy industrial use, voting to continue the items so the county and applicants can complete traffic studies and negotiate a developer greement.

The items, grouped as pairs of comprehensive-plan and zoning requests (agenda items 23 through 27), were the subject of a multi-hour hearing that included presentations by county planning staff, an applicant representative and several residents who live on County Road 209 South and nearby roads.

Why it matters: The proposals would create a contiguous industrial area next to a large conservation parcel managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District. Residents said truck traffic and narrow county roads would endanger safety and harm the rural character of the area, while the applicant said industrial jobs near the new State Road 23 (Beltway) interchange are needed and the site is well‑suited for controlled industrial development.

Planning staff told commissioners the five separate applications would convert about 86.22 acres from agricultural or agricultural/residential designations to industrial and noted required buffers and landscaping standards for industrial abutting residential uses. Richard Smith, the county engineer, told the commission that County Road 226 is currently only 18 feet wide and recommended that, if development proceeds, County Road 226 be widened to a 24-foot standard (two 12-foot lanes) and that Bayard Road be improved to a 24-foot all‑weather standard so intersections properly align.

Residents urged denial. Michael Boykey, who identified himself as a County Road 209 South resident, told the commission: "Allowing the zoning change with the density increase is a slap to the face of the landowners that tried to keep their land freedom in the nineties." He and other speakers cited tight two‑lane roads, recent traffic incidents involving commercial vehicles, concerns about well water contamination and the absence of city water and sewer for the site.

The applicant and supporters said the site is a logical place for industry because of its proximity to the Beltway interchange and adjacent existing industrial parcels. Attorney Kelly Hartwig and another representative told the board that industrial development would be designed to contain stormwater on site and that the owners are willing to record a deed restriction or developer greement limiting residential uses if the board requires it.

Board action and next steps: Commissioners voted 4-0 to continue items 23 through 27 to a later meeting and directed staff to arrange traffic studies and to work with the applicants on a developer greement that would identify specific road improvements and use restrictions. Commissioner Burke moved to continue the items; a second was entered on the record. The county engineer estimated the cost to widen and resurface County Road 226 could be in the low millions (rough, preliminary estimate $1.5'.0 million) depending on scope and procurement method; Smith said there is sufficient right of way to widen without acquiring private property.

The board and staff said they expect the developer greement to set triggers tied to development intensity (for example: when a project reaches a given square footage or trip count) that would require the applicant to fund or construct intersection improvements or signals. Staff told the board developer agreements and traffic analyses would be returned to the commission for approval before rezoning is finalized.

What was left unresolved: The applicants did not present a master plan showing building footprints, square footage or a finalized trip-generation table, so the traffic study will use typical ITE trip generation rates for likely industrial uses. The Live Local Act, a Florida statute allowing some industrial lands to be used for affordable housing, was discussed; the applicants said they would record deed restrictions if requested, but county attorneys advised such covenants could be challenged and that a voluntary developer greement is the usual local approach.

The postponement preserves the board—ntity ecision until the county receives the traffic analysis and a draft developer greement. The applicants indicated they would return with the requested materials and staff will identify a date for the matter to come back to the board.