Nassau County P&Z approves 1-year extension for RV park site-engineering deadline

The Nassau County Planning and Zoning Board on Jan. 7 approved a one-year extension for a site-engineering plan deadline tied to conditional use CU-2023-015, a proposed recreational vehicle (RV) park on the west side of U.S. Highway 1 between Swearingen Road and Cara Drive.

The extension was approved 6-0 after staff recommended allowing additional time to complete a final development plan (FDP) and the subsequent site engineering plan (SEP) review process. Board member Henson moved to approve the extension and the board seconded the motion; the verbal roll-call vote recorded six yes votes and no nays.

County planning staff Elizabeth Beck, who presented the item, told the board the conditional use had been approved Nov. 16, 2023, subject to Nassau County Land Development Code section 28.09 and a final order containing condition 7, which requires the applicant to obtain SEP approval within one year of the final order’s effective date. Beck said the applicant submitted an FDP on April 19, 2024, and the plan had undergone two rounds of comments from reviewing agencies and departments. Because RV parks must first secure FDP approval before entering the SEP process, staff recommended the extension to accommodate the additional public hearings and review steps the FDP requires.

The applicant, Christina Hoover, who was sworn and testified that her husband generally handles engineering and permitting, said the engineering firm had revised plans and expanded a retention pond since the original submission and that the permit work had remained with the engineer. Hoover waived a full applicant presentation but answered board questions about the timeline and confirmed prior approvals and ongoing plan revisions. She said she expected the project to add lodging capacity and revenue to the county and that the owners intended to follow the county’s conditions limiting length of stay and preventing use of the park address for school enrollment.

Board members raised questions about the length of the county’s review process, and staff acknowledged that the FDP requirement for RV parks adds time beyond a standard SEP-only workflow. County counsel read the quasi-judicial procedures at the hearing’s start and reminded the board that motions should state whether the board found competent, substantial evidence in the record to support the decision. After discussion, Henson moved to approve the one-year extension of condition 7; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call.

The conditional-use approval itself contains other conditions referenced by staff, including a limit on transient occupancy: guests may stay up to four months in a calendar year and must vacate the park for at least three days before any additional period; park addresses may not be used to enroll children in the Nassau County School District. Staff noted the FDP must be scheduled for a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners after the development review committee (DRC) recommendation is complete, which must occur before SEP review begins.

The board’s approval was limited to the requested extension of the SEP deadline (final order condition 7). No changes to the underlying conditional-use approval were made at the Jan. 7 meeting. Board discussion also touched on broader process concerns; staff said code edits to streamline development review are in progress but not yet ready for board consideration.

A transcript of staff’s presentation and the applicant’s sworn remarks are part of the official record.