Developer outlines 252-unit Crest Uley plan; staff flags Timber to Tides and frontage requirements

Bentley Nelson, principal of Crest Residential, told the Nassau County Development Review Committee that the Crest Uley proposal covers about 24.41 acres and would include 252 multifamily units, three‑story buildings, a future commercial parcel retained by ownership and amenity spaces including pocket parks, a dog park and pickleball courts.

Nelson said the team has "taken a deep dive into the Timber to Tides overlay" and that the submitted plan shows buildings pulled back from Courtney Isles Way and a roughly 1.75 parking ratio. Planning staff confirmed the site includes about 6.23 acres of wetlands or conservation on the west side and advised the applicant to show building elevations and other details at the first site engineering plan (SEP) submittal.

Drew Pearson of the planning department walked the applicants through key Timber to Tides standards—from frontage and transect requirements to architectural and landscape standards—and warned that other Land Development Code (LDC) provisions will apply where the overlay is silent. Pearson reiterated that T5 transect rules include items such as a 2.0 maximum floor area ratio and frontage/setback standards and that the stricter standard governs when codes conflict.

County staff reminded the applicants that the project will need frontage improvements along Courtney Isles Way to meet the Main Street Type B cross section in Article 45, including on-street parking and multi-use trail components where required. Staff also noted SEP submission requirements: elevations of all sides, pedestrian circulation plans with 6-foot sidewalks (10-foot trails where applicable), landscape plans demonstrating 60% shade coverage of parking at species maturity, lighting and signage plans, and stormwater designs sized for a 100-year storm top-of-bank.

Caleb Pierce (Development Services) added that a traffic impact analysis is required under BOCC resolution 2019-174 and that the applicant should coordinate a transportation call with the county engineer (Andrew Avant) to scope that study. Pierce and planning staff also encouraged early in-person or virtual follow-ups to work through overlay details before SEP submittal.

The committee recommended applicants use the PBSP (preliminary binding site plan) path if they wish for an intermediate approval step, but staff clarified that PBSP is optional and that the standard SEP timeline is three weeks for first-review comments and two weeks for subsequent reviews. DRC approval must be obtained prior to breaking ground.