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CLAM committee recommends adding 85 willing parcels to seven priority projects
Summary
The committee voted to recommend adding 85 willing parcels to existing CLAM priority projects — including expansions to Piney Island, Orange Bluff, Lofton Creek, Baldwin Bay, White Oak, Cary State Forest Expansion and the Greenway Trail Extension — directing staff to include them in project files for future negotiations.
Nassau County's CLAM committee on July 17 voted to recommend adding 85 willing parcels to seven existing priority conservation projects, directing staff to incorporate the parcels into the county's acquisition project files and to pursue negotiations as capacity and funding allow.
The committee motion approved additions to established projects: one parcel to Piney Island; 11 parcels to Orange Bluff; 10 parcels to the Lofton Creek view-shed; 11 parcels to Baldwin Bay; 23 parcels to White Oak; 20 parcels to Cary State Forest expansion; and 9 parcels to the Greenway Trail Extension. Committee members and staff repeatedly emphasized that these nominees are "willing sellers" and that willingness to talk is not an agreement to sell.
Josh McBeth, Senior Planner with Strategic Advancement, described the outreach that produced the 15 owners and roughly 85 parcels and displayed maps showing how the new parcels would extend and connect existing priority project boundaries. McBeth said the additions would not trigger an immediate re-ranking of the county's entire list; instead staff will add the parcels to the existing projects and pursue negotiations under the committee's direction.
Ramesh Butch, conservation acquisitions director for the North Florida Land Trust (a contractor for Nassau County), told the committee that willing sellers create new negotiation opportunities and that state or federal partners sometimes can take responsibility for long-term management if a property fits a state optimum boundary. Butch noted that management responsibility and long-term costs are factors the county must consider when deciding whether to pursue an acquisition.
Committee member Peter Simmons moved to accept staff's recommendation to add the parcels; a second was recorded and the committee carried the motion by voice vote. The meeting record does not include a roll-call vote or a numerical tally.
Staff emphasized these points in discussion and during public explanatory remarks: - Being labeled "willing" means owners have expressed interest in talking to staff; it does not guarantee sale or price agreement. - Parcels will undergo standard due diligence (appraisal, title review, environmental review) if the county pursues an acquisition. - Funding is limited; McBeth said the county had roughly $5 million in the CLAM fund and other potential funding sources but does not expect to pursue all 85 properties at once.
The committee directed staff to update maps, prepare parcel detail pages and, where appropriate, initiate outreach and negotiations. Staff said it would present more detailed site reports and ownership information during the re-ranking process later this year.
The motion passed by voice vote. No recorded yes/no/abstain tallies were provided in the transcript.
