Real‑estate attorney urges Pine Island down‑zoning, cites private investment and donations

Kevin Dukes, a real‑estate attorney with the law firm Harvey and Batty, told the Natural Resources Committee during the public‑comment period that a proposed down‑zoning for the property known as Pine Island would permanently remove roughly 100 residential units and return most of the land to low‑density preservation. "Under the Pine Island down zoning plan, 100 residential units or houses will be removed from the landscape, permanently removed," Dukes said, and described the proposal as aligning with the county's rural and green‑space goals.

Dukes told the committee the plan would not require taxpayer funding and would include an initial private donation and investments. "We're not asking for any taxpayer dollars, but we're making investments into the local community on St. Helena through the proposed transfer of a parcel of land in the Corners community and the donation of initially $3,000,000," Dukes said. He also said the project would bring what he described as $100,000,000 in private investment and a projected 35 to 70 permanent jobs plus construction employment during the build‑out.

Dukes said the down‑zoning would reduce density and vehicle trips compared with the currently allowed development and cited shoreline and impervious‑surface protections in the proposal. He asked the committee to engage in the development‑agreement process so the parties could "lock in" protections he called beneficial for the community. The comment occurred during the public‑comment segment; no formal action on the Pine Island rezoning was recorded during this meeting.