Seminole considers paying family $3.4M to hold off developers on pasture land
As the state considers purchasing 1,314 acres of pasture land in rural east Seminole for conservation and to fill in a crucial gap in a statewide wildlife corridor, county commissioners plan to give the landowners $3.4 million to hold off a sale to developers.
Environmentalists and conservationists urged county leaders at this week’s commission meeting to hand the taxpayer money to the Yarborough family to avoid the land — long used to graze cattle — being turned into rooftops and pavement, at least for another year.
“This is not only a hole in the donut in the Florida wildlife corridor, it is a hole in the donut of your entire rural protection plan,” said Charles Lee, of Audubon Florida, in urging for the payment. “If this property would go in the direction of rooftops, the bottom line is that it is not going to be a good signal with regard to the ability to hold the line elsewhere in the rural area.”
David Axel, a real estate agent representing the family, said the Yarboroughs are looking “for a financial commitment” from the county “to keep the property off the market.”
Axel said the family has kept “willing buyers waiting in the wings” while the state’s Florida Forever conservation program decides whether to purchase the property. It’s a process that could take up to two years.
“While they are quite interested in preservation, their desire is to sell the property,” said Axel.
Commissioners Jay Zembower, Lee Constantine and Bob Dallari voted to direct county staff to negotiate an “option to purchase” contract with Axel on behalf of the Yarboroughs, including the payment. The commission is expected to vote to accept the deal on Jan. 23.
Commissioners Andria Herr and Amy Lockhart voted against the motion.
With Seminole putting up the cash as a sort-of down payment and to hold off other buyers, it would send a message to the state that the county is serious about conserving the property off Snow Hill Road, conservationists said.
The property was placed this month on the Florida Forever priority list. That list is scheduled to be considered for approval by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet in March.
However, if the state turns down purchasing the property or delays it for another year, the county would lose the money. The county also could look at purchasing the land itself for $34 million, which is what the Yarboroughs have offered. Two appraisals commissioned by Seminole in October showed the land is worth about $35 million.
David Bear, president of the nonprofit Save Rural Seminole, said the county money is a step closer to conserving the land.
“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” he said in urging commissioners to put up the $3.4 million. “We all want this land preserved for conservation. But sometimes that goal is not free. … It’s a wonderful opportunity, but there’s a cost to that opportunity.”
Lockhart said she opposed handing out that much money before the state’s Florida Forever Program opts in in March on whether it will purchase the land.
“I think preservation is great,” she said. “But I don’t think we have the money [to purchase the property]. … This county has more acreage in preservation — depending on whom you talk to — than is appropriate, frankly.”
Despite supporting keeping the land in conservation, Constantine said he felt uncomfortable moving so quickly on giving the Yarboroughs the money before the state board meets in March.
Dallari said the property is critical to the wildlife corridor and Florida’s ecosystem.
“It’s a unique opportunity for future generations,” he said. “The Yarboroughs have been patient, and they will sell to a developer. …If we wait, we miss a unique opportunity to set the stage for this wildlife corridor and for the ecosystem.”
The 1,314 acres is tucked between the Little Big Econ State Forest and the Charles H. Bronson Wildlife Management area. It sits just east of Snow Hill Road and south of Old Mims Road and continues to be used as a cattle ranch.
It is one of the last remaining parcels with development rights in a long wildlife corridor of conservation land stretching from just south of Jacksonville to the Everglades.
A longtime cattle ranching family, the Yarboroughs once owned more than 7,000 acres of rural land in east Seminole. Much of it is dotted with woods, pastureland, ponds, and wetlands.
In the mid-2000s, the Yarboroughs entered into an agreement with the state of Florida and Seminole to sell about 5,000 acres for conservation to the St. Johns River Water Management District. The sale also included two miles of land fronting the St. Johns River and five miles along the environmentally sensitive Econlockhatchee River.
However, as part of the deal, the Yarboroughs were granted limited development rights on their remaining acreage of up to 300 homes. The property sits within Seminole’s rural boundary approved by voters in a 2004 countywide referendum, which strictly limits development.
Last February, county commissioners approved a plan to build 300 homes on 1-acre lots on a portion of the property.
But after an outcry from environmentalists and residents about the commission’s decision, commissioners last April agreed to send an application to Florida Forever, the state’s conservation lands acquisition program.
Members of the Yarborough family could not be reached for comment.
“I recognize it’s a lot of money,” said Nancy Harmon, of the Geneva Citizens Association, in support of the county giving the Yarboroughs the $3.4-million “option to purchase” contract. “But let’s show the state of Florida that we want to be part of this process and save this land and protect our rural community and give our community the opportunity to see wildlife in its natural state.”
