Opinion
By Peter Procko, 4-18025
To whom it may concern at Keep Nassau Beautiful:
Thank you for your time and efforts in trying to keep Nassau beautiful!
I was a proud resident of Amelia Island for many years, and in fact was the co-chair of the anesthesia department in the original Nassau County Hospital.
I now live in Yulee, central to the Timber to Tides initiatives (T2T). Basically, as I see it, the T2T initiatives hope to replace “conventional zoning” to, “…reduce dependency on the automobile.” It promotes bicycles, walking, and equity! (DEI?) Sure sounds great, but in my opinion, actually, it’s not. It appears to be just an elaborate disguise to increase the density of our population to benefit a very select group of individuals.
It is a very confusing mess of information, I know, and if I may, I’d like to address this “Timber to Tides” initiative, now under some final reviews by county officials.
Fresh from the latest planning and zoning board (PZB) hearing, here is my personal take on some of the highlights from that hearing:
- It has strong support from the planners who planned it. Additionally, a very smart fellow affiliated with the North Florida Builders Association supports it (Surprise!) He is a for-profit developer (Suprise!) He is also an appointee within the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee of Nassau County (Really big surprise!)
- It has some support from “stakeholders”….A stakeholder is an individual or group with an interest or incentive in a venture’s success or failure. So, money… (Surprise!) Personally, I’m no stakeholder, I’m just a retiree looking to have a quiet life in Nassau County.
- I’ve not been able to find any significant support for the initiatives from other “regular” Nassau County residents. There are over 100,000 of us here now. Again, I can’t find that even 1% of our population even understands this T2T mess, let alone support it.
- An official on the PZB actually said this at last Tuesday’s hearing…, “We cannot control the growth in this county.” What? WHAT? A zoning board is a crucial component of the local government structure that oversees land use regulations and ensures the orderly development of communities. They help assure that growth and development are balanced with the needs and desires of the community. Existing zoning rules and regulations guide and control the use of the lands within our community. (“Cannot control?” I don’t think they even know how to manage well at this point.)
- The number one concerns of regular folks here is congestion. A true and obvious concern for us, but not addressed so clearly within the information I can find. No real solutions but the prominent suggestion to walk and ride your bikes more. The construction of many new bike paths is addressed as an important part of this initiative. As you and I already see hundreds of folks traveling by bikes to and from work each day along SR200/A1A, surely this must be a logical step to help decrease additional congestion. Ironically, none of the PZB officials rode their own bikes to Tuesday night’s meeting, that I saw. Surely though, new residents of Yulee will walk or bicycle their way over the Thomas Shave bridge to visit or work on the island.
- The blatant congestion, the railway delays, the failed and hazardous intersections, all along the SR200/A1A corridor, are not factors accountable to Nassau County Officials, apparently…as, “we don’t own it.” It is the FDOT’s issue and their problem! Wildlight, William Burgess, Pages Dairy Road….apparently, the liberal policies of increasing densities through zoning manipulations hold no sway in that issue.
Through the replacement of conventional zoning, it seems to me the true initiatives of T2T are simply to increase densities in upcoming housing developments with less oversight for developers. No need to apply/argue/prove your case for zoning changes! The hell with due process! More people in less space equates to easier build-outs, cheaper costs, and higher profits for developers and “stakeholders”, no? Already, just in my own neighborhood, attempts were made, with the blessings from our planning department, to increase zoning densities from low to high so they could build a densely packed, 188-unit housing project right next to Yulee Elementary School and near an active railway crossing. It would have increased daily automotive trip generations by 350% from its original zoning restrictions. But, there was a bike path!
All Nassau County residents should be more aware of this dramatic and disturbing manipulation of the conventional rules and regulations concerning developmental growth.
I do not support the T2T initiatives and I question both the source and true beneficiaries of its implementation.
Maybe you should too.
Next hearing is Monday, May 12 at 5pm, before the County Commissioners, at the James S. Page Governmental Complex in Yulee– 96135 Nassau Pl, Yulee, FL 32097.
I encourage all to attend and be heard.
Peter Procko, Yulee, Fl
Editor’s note:
https://www.nassaucountyfl.com/1397/Timber-to-Tides-Design-Overlay-T2TDO
This includes plan drafts.
Tentative Adoption Schedule:
- April 15, 2025, 6:00 PM – Planning and Zoning Board – 1st Public Hearing
- May 12, 2025, 5:00 PM – Board of County Commissioners (1st reading) + Transmittal – 2nd Public Hearing
- June 23, 2025, 5:00 PM – Board of County Commissioners (2nd reading) + Consideration for Adoption – 3rd Public Hearing
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
