Letter: Please cover the next Fish Island PUD meeting

Letter: Please cover the next Fish Island PUD meeting

Gregg A. Feldman
Anastasia Island, FL

Dear Historic City News editor,

I noticed there wasn’t any coverage of the City of St. Augustine Planning and Zoning board’s most recent meeting on July 3rd to determine if a PUD should be granted to DR Horton to develop the Fish Island peninsula; south of the SR-312 bridge on Anastasia Island.

Many issues were yet to be resolved including the increased traffic on SR-312 and surrounding roads, tree preservation, active eagle nesting, environmental concerns including habitat loss, run-off and flooding potential to surrounding neighborhoods, and historical site preservation.

At a subsequent meeting scheduled for August 7th, where the development may be approved, further discussion will be included concerning the overall scope of the project and the developer’s need to prove that the development will enhance the community, as required when granting a PUD, the price point of the homes to be built, and other remaining issues.

This is one of the last remaining pieces of land that has unique vistas when traveling east on SR-312 over the Mickler-O’Connell bridge. DR Horton plans on building over 170 homes, each on 40′ wide lots, removing 85% of the tress and basically destroying this unique piece of land.

I urge you to please cover the meeting on August 7th at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Alcazar Room, as this decision is vital to preserving this beautiful piece of land — one that makes St. Augustine such a special place.

Do we really need another developer to come in and destroy our, and our children’s, heritage?

Editor note: If you are not able to attend the upcoming meeting, or missed the initial meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board, the meetings are live streamed and available for later viewing by visiting citystaugtv.com