Q: What is one of the items that is a priority for you on the Board of County Commissioners?
A: I plan to bring back for discussion my 14-point Land Development Code change that addresses tree protection. The reason for this is that we now have two new commissioners on the board who, when running for office, seemed to support something like this.
Q: What are some of the highlights?
A: All 14 points are common sense, really. For instance, let’s keep natural buffers so our community looks the same. If clear cutting can’t be eliminated, why not just leave a natural buffer instead of clearcutting and then having to go to the trouble of replanting (but with immature trees)? A homebuilder once told me, “Trees sell houses,” so this could be part of their marketing plan.
Q: What are some other important elements?
A: Currently, when a mature tree needs to be removed for development, the fines are very low. We need to raise the fines to the market value of replacing the tree. Also, right now developers can clear cut in advance of building, sometimes by four years. This causes the loss of wildlife habitat and ecosystem for years before building even takes place. Let’s make the land clearing take place right before development to avoid this.
I’d say, in general, let’s not lose what we have here in St. Johns County — quality of life. And a tree canopy is better for the habitat as well as our electric bills. The City of St. Augustine and other surrounding cities and counties have tougher tree protections than the county does.
Q: So what is the next step?
A: A discussion of tree protections will be on the March meeting agenda. After that, we can forward to legal and growth management any proposed changes to the land development code for their input. Then, it will come back to the Board of County Commissioners for readings and a vote.
Q: What are some of the items that will be on the agendas for February Board of County Commissioners meetings?
A: For February, we will have the proposed comprehensive plan and a new concurrency ordinance for commercial development, among other items. Even if you can’t attend our meetings, you can watch them live on GovTV, which can be accessed from the county website, sjcfl.us. Meetings are the first and third Tuesdays of each month beginning at 9 a.m.
Q: What is the best way for our readers to contact you?
A: Readers can email me at bcc4kjoseph@sjcfl.us or call me at (904) 679-2620.
