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Branan Field land use change approved by BCC

By Nick Blank  nick@claytodayonline.com
Posted 8/10/22

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – At a meeting Tuesday night, Clay County commissioners heard of a land use change that could pave the way for potential homes in the Branan Field area between Middleburg and …

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Branan Field land use change approved by BCC


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – At a meeting Tuesday night, Clay County commissioners heard of a land use change that could pave the way for potential homes in the Branan Field area between Middleburg and Orange Park.

A change of more than 2,320 acres of land to Rural Suburbs category would allow manufactured dwellings in those areas. According to county documents, the Rural Suburbs land use category is meant to preserve the rural character of an area. Development is defined by lots five acres or larger and whether they are served by wells and septic tanks.

County Zoning Chief Mike Brown said the issue was discussed at a previous meeting and was a county-led initiative. The Planning Commission approved the measure unanimously on Aug. 2.

The code change also prohibited building housing in “recorded subdivisions.” About 1,090 acres in the Branan Field Master Plan area are not within existing subdivisions and could be impacted by the proposed code change.

“Those would not be included in this change,” Brown said.

About 157 acres of the 1,090-acre figure are vacant.

“Those acres are undeveloped. That’s really what would be most likely impacted by this change if adopted,” he said. “There’s potential that anything in those 1,000-plus acres could be utilized if adopted.”

Commissioner Kristin Burke asked about the five-acre minimum lot size for the homes. Board Chairman Wayne Bolla asked how much an acre would cost.

Brown added that manufactured homes currently are allowed only in Agricultural, Agricultural/Residential, Residential Estate and Residential Mobile Home Park zoning districts. He said the land use change could expand more housing to areas with a rural settings with larger lot sizes.

Brown said there have been a lot of requests for manufactured units and called the change quick, logical and providing relief. Brown and county staff stressed the demand for housing.

“The increase in housing costs in the recent past, this is an alternative and we see the demand in housing,” Brown said. “We see the demand to come in and do more manufactured units.”

The item was continued.

In other business, more details about the county’s federal disaster relief spending from the American Rescue Plan Act were reviewed for the 2022-2023 budget. 

Stormwater projects and a county health plan were both $3 million. An infrastructure study and Indigo Branch drainage improvements were both budgeted at $1.5 million. Two other high-cost items were work management cloud service Workday for $850,000, and adding Clay County Courthouse cameras and security for $800,000.