St. Johns County commissioners deny residential development east of Pacetti Road

A request to rezone land to build up to 1,682 residential units east of Pacetti Road didn't make it past the County Commission.

Commissioners voted recently to deny the request to rezone about 734 acres from Open Rural to Planned Unit Development.

The development, called Adler Creek, was proposed for "east of Pacetti Road, west of the future CR 2209, and south of Scaff Road," according to county documents.

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The developer offered, among other benefits, to reserve a 100-acre public high school site and build County Road 2209 from State Road 16 to connect with Adler Creek Parkway, which the developer would also build.

Those two roads would go from State Road 16 to the southern section of Pacetti Road at a cost of over $27.02 million. It was touted as a feature that would "relieve traffic congestion on Pacetti Road and at its intersection with State Road 16 and International Golf Parkway."

Commissioners Sarah Arnold and Christian Whitehurst voiced concerns about permitting, right of way acquisition and timing of construction of the road connection.

Only part of the connection from State Road 16 to Pacetti Road was planned to be built before residents started to move in, though the developer agreed to guarantee the funds for the entire connection, project attorney Ellen Avery-Smith said.

Commissioners voted 4-0 to deny the rezoning. It wasn't clear how Commissioner Paul Waldron voted. He was attending by phone, and his vote couldn't be heard.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Proposed development near Pacetti Road in St. Johns County gets denied