Q: Can you give an update on the A1A medians in Ponte Vedra Beach?
A: Now that it’s spring, we are working on cleaning the medians and adding grass and flowers. We are trying to keep them looking neat and more manicured. We’d love to do more, but it’s important to point out that these medians have no irrigation and we are reliant on Mother Nature to water the plants.
Q: What is the latest with your proposed tree ordinance?
A: We were lucky to get the tree proposal pushed forward at our March Board of County Commissioners meeting. It proposes to create more buffers and preserve more of the bigger trees, as well as longleaf pines, with some of the same regulations already in place in the northwest part of the county. We are discussing the rights of private property owners and what is fair, but honestly I’m looking at large tracts of development — especially clearcutting — not someone’s one acre lot. Staff will be bringing this back with requested changes in a couple of months for the board to discuss.
Q: Where do we stand with the Comprehensive Plan?
A: This has moved forward and we will have a red line version available for our review in May. I’m excited to see where this is going, because I’m looking forward to protecting agricultural land in the future and not developing as fast as we have been. We need to have the infrastructure — which includes not just roads, but also parks, utilities, fire stations and the like — caught up to where it should be before we continue developing our county. All five board members will discuss this at the May meeting.
Q: Can you describe your proposed new committees?
A: Another goal of mine is a quality of life advisory committee. It would be cool to have a panel look at proposed projects and identify where quality of life would make a difference to our county. The goal here is to give people the opportunity to express themselves on how the county is developed.
I’ve also proposed an agricultural advisory committee. We grow potatoes and other crops right here in St. Johns County and we don’t want to lose our food sources for the county, the state and the U.S. It’s sad to see our ag land becoming rooftops and solar panels, but I must acknowledge it’s private property. I just think it would be nice if we had some support and some incentives for farmers to keep contributing crops.
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.
