GREEN COVE SPRINGS — The final reading of an ordinance that would allow for the development of nearly 112 acres on the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 17 and State Road 16 was taken off the City Council agenda Tuesday night to allow the developer and the city to get more answers on how the project would affect the city.

The Council agreed to re-consider the proposal at its July 16 meeting.

Owners HLM Investments and Louis L. Huntly Enterprises of Orange Park requested that the zoning be changed from mixed-use to industrial on Feb. 6. Council didn’t approve the first reading until its last meeting on June 4, but only with the stipulation that issues like land uses, site designs, buffering, and traffic studies, which are part of the city’s Future Land Use amendments, be addressed.

In Phase I of development, Huntley wants to turn the abandoned industrial building into 119,000 square feet of manufacturing space, 231,200 square feet of retail space, including one gas station with a convenience store, 264,000 square feet of warehouse space, 130,500 square feet of light industrial space and a train-delivery system.

The city asked the Florida Department of Transportation to conduct a basic study of how the project would impact traffic at the already busy intersection. The agency responded with information that was not favorable to Huntley.

It read: “FDOT has reviewed the transmitted City of Green Cove Springs 24-01ESR Comprehensive Plan Amendment pursuant to Section 163.3184(3), Florida Statutes. The proposal is anticipated to have significant adverse impacts on both US 17 and SR 16 near the project site. FDOT agrees with the City of Green Cove Springs staff condition of approval, requiring the completion of an Access Management Plan and Traffic Impact Analysis prior to the approval of a subsequent development order for the project.”

In other business,  the City Council approved the Fun in the Sun Community Event, removing demolition debris from 713 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and 502 Cypress Ave., payment of $296,588.67 to Besch and Smith Civil Group for continued work on constructing sidewalk and stormwater projects as part for the West Street Community District Business Grant, an approved a total of $24, 968.22 for a total of six extra days of work by Besch and Smith to construct a sidewalk and work on the stormwater portion of the West Street CDBG Stormwater and Sidewalk Improvement Grant.

The City Council meets at City Hall on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.