HB 0801

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Ponte Vedra Zoning District, St.
3	Johns County; codifying, amending, reenacting, and
4	repealing special acts relating to the district; providing
5	boundaries; providing for continued merger of the Ponte
6	Vedra Zoning Board and the Ponte Vedra Board of Adjustment
7	into the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board appointed
8	by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners from
9	residents and electors of the district; providing for
10	membership of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board;
11	providing for the powers, functions, and duties of the
12	board; providing that the board in place of the local
13	planning agency established pursuant to chapter 163, F.S.,
14	shall have the authority to make recommendations to the
15	board of county commissioners in certain circumstances
16	within the district; providing a location for hearings of
17	the board; providing for funding; providing for frequency
18	and calling of meetings by the board; providing
19	severability; repealing chapters 65-2171 and 95-527, Laws
20	of Florida; providing an effective date.
21
22	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24	Section 1.  Pursuant to section 189.429(1), Florida
25	Statutes, this act constitutes the codification of all special
26	acts relating to the Ponte Vedra Zoning District. It is the
27	intent of the Legislature in enacting this law to provide a
28	single, comprehensive special act charter for the district,
29	including all current legislative authority granted to the
30	district by its prior legislative enactment and any additional
31	authority granted by this act. It is further the intent of this
32	act to preserve all district powers and authority as set forth
33	herein.
34	Section 2.  Chapters 65-2171 and 95-527, Laws of Florida,
35	are codified, reenacted, amended, and repealed as herein
36	provided.
37	Section 3.  The charter for the Ponte Vedra Zoning District
38	is re-created and reenacted to read:
39	Section 1.  For the purpose of promoting health, safety,
40	morals, or the general welfare of the people of the Ponte Vedra
41	Zoning District, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns
42	County is hereby empowered within said district to regulate and
43	restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings
44	and other structures and uses of land and water; the percentage
45	of lots that may be occupied; the size of yards, courts, and
46	other open spaces; building density; and the use of buildings
47	and land for trade, industry, and residence or other specific
48	use and to adopt zoning regulations and other matters proper to
49	be regulated to safeguard the safety, health, and welfare of the
50	people in said district. For any and all of said purposes, the
51	Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns County may regulate
52	and restrict the erection, construction, reconstruction,
53	alteration, repair, or use of buildings and structures on land
54	and water.
55	Section 2.  Such regulations shall be made in accordance
56	with the St. Johns County Comprehensive Plan and designed to
57	lessen congestion on the highways; to secure safety from fire,
58	panic, and other dangers; to promote health and general welfare;
59	to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding
60	of land and water; to avoid undue concentration of population;
61	and to preserve and facilitate the development and display of
62	the natural beauty and attractiveness of roadsides. Such
63	regulations shall be made with reasonable consideration, among
64	other things, of the character of said district and its peculiar
65	suitability for particular uses and with a view to conserving
66	the value of property and encouraging the most appropriate use
67	of land and water throughout such district.
68	Section 3.  The boundaries of the Ponte Vedra Zoning
69	District as established in 1965 shall continue uninterrupted and
70	are:
71
72	Commence at the intersection of the high water line of
73	the Atlantic Ocean with the North line of Section 15,
74	Township 3 South, Range 29 East, St. Johns County,
75	Florida, said North line of Section 15 being also the
76	Northerly boundary of St. Johns County, for the Point
77	of Beginning; thence Westerly along the North Line of
78	Section 15 to the Northwest corner of Section 15;
79	thence continue Westerly along the North Line of
80	Section 16, Township 3 South, Range 29 East to the
81	Northwest corner of Government Lot 1 of said Section
82	16; thence Southerly along the West line of Government
83	Lots 1, 8, 9 and 16 of Section 16 to a point on the
84	South line of said Section 16; thence continue
85	Southerly along the West line of Government Lots 1, 7
86	and 8 of Section 21, Township 3 South, Range 29 East
87	to the Southwest corner of said Government Lot 8;
88	thence Easterly along the South line of said
89	Government Lot 8 to a point 500 feet West of the
90	Southeast corner of said Government Lot 8; thence
91	Southerly along a line parallel to and 500 feet West
92	of the East line of Government Lot 12, Section 21 to a
93	point on the South line of Section 21 ; thence
94	continue Southerly along a line parallel to and 500
95	feet West of the East line of Government Lot 1,
96	Section 28, Township 3 South, Range 29 East to a point
97	on the South line of said Government Lot 1; thence
98	Easterly along the South line of said Government Lot 1
99	to a point on the East line of Section 28, said line
100	being also the West line of Section 27; thence
101	Southerly along the West line of Government Lots 4 and
102	8, Section 27, Township 3 South, Range 29 East to the
103	Southwest corner of said Government Lot 8; thence
104	Easterly along the South line of Government Lots 8 and
105	7, Section 27 to a point on the West line of Section
106	43, Township 3 South, Range 29 East; thence Northerly
107	along the West line of said Section 43 to the
108	Northwest corner of Section 43; thence Easterly along
109	the North line of Section 43 to a point on the East
110	edge of existing marsh land, said point being
111	approximately 200 feet West of the West right-of-way
112	line of State Road A-1-A (as established in 1965);
113	thence Southerly following the East edge of existing
114	marsh land when said East edge is 150 feet or more
115	West of the center line of State Road A-l-A (as
116	established in 1965) and following a line parallel to
117	and 150 feet West of the center line of State Road A-
118	l-A (as established in 1965) when the East edge of
119	existing marsh land is nearer than 150 feet to the
120	center line of State Road A-l-A (as established in
121	1965), to a point on the South line of Section 36,
122	Township 4 South, Range 29 East, St. Johns County,
123	Florida; thence Easterly along the South line of said
124	Section 36, Township 4 South, Range 29 East to a point
125	on the high water line of the Atlantic Ocean; thence
126	Northerly along the meanders of the high water line of
127	the Atlantic Ocean to a point on the North line of
128	Section 15, Township 3 South, Range 29 East, St. Johns
129	County, Florida and the Point of Beginning.
130
131	Section 4.  The Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns
132	County shall provide for the manner in which such regulations
133	shall be determined, established, and enforced, and from time to
134	time amended, supplemented, or changed. However, no such
135	regulation or restriction shall become effective until after a
136	public hearing in relation thereto, at which parties in interest
137	and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. At least 15
138	days' notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be
139	published in a paper of general circulation in St. Johns County.
140	Section 5.  Such regulations may from time to time be
141	amended, supplemented, changed, modified, or repealed. In case,
142	however, of a protest against such change signed by the owner or
143	owners of 20 percent or more, either of the area of the property
144	included in such proposed change or that immediately adjacent in
145	the rear thereof extending 150 feet or more therefrom, or of
146	those directly opposite thereto extending 150 feet or more from
147	the street or road frontage of such opposite properties, such
148	amendment shall not become effective except by the favorable
149	vote of a super majority of all the voting members of the board
150	of county commissioners and upon its due consideration of a
151	recommendation made to the board of county commissioners by a
152	majority of all the members of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and
153	Adjustment Board.
154	Section 6.  The prior establishment of the Ponte Vedra
155	Zoning and Adjustment Board and the abolishment of the Ponte
156	Vedra Zoning Board and the Ponte Vedra Board of Adjustment by
157	Resolution 95-135 of the St. Johns County Board of County
158	Commissioners are hereby ratified and reaffirmed.
159	Section 7.  The members of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and
160	Adjustment Board shall be appointed, reappointed, or removed by
161	the Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns County as
162	necessary to maintain seven active members on the Ponte Vedra
163	Zoning and Adjustment Board. Only qualified electors domiciled
164	in the Ponte Vedra Zoning District shall be appointed to the
165	Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board.
166	Section 8.  Appointments to the Ponte Vedra Zoning and
167	Adjustment Board under section 7 shall be for 4-year terms,
168	unless a shorter term is required to enable the Board of County
169	Commissioners of St. Johns County to ensure that no more than
170	two scheduled terms expire in any given calendar year. No member
171	of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall serve more
172	than two full consecutive terms. A member whose term has expired
173	shall be allowed to continue to serve until said member's
174	successor has been appointed and has commenced service on the
175	Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board. Members shall serve at
176	the pleasure of the board of county commissioners.
177	Section 9.  The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board may
178	as necessary adopt rules of procedure by which it shall carry
179	out its duties under this act, county ordinances, and the laws
180	and Constitutions of Florida and the United States of America.
181	Section 10.  The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board
182	created pursuant to this act shall not be a local planning
183	agency or land development regulation commission as referenced
184	in chapter 163, Florida Statutes, with the powers and duties
185	thereof except that, notwithstanding any provision of chapter
186	163, Florida Statutes, the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment
187	Board, in place of the St. Johns County Local Planning Agency,
188	shall have authority to make recommendations to the board of
189	county commissioners as to whether land development of any
190	parcel of land located wholly within the Ponte Vedra Zoning
191	District is consistent with the St. Johns County Comprehensive
192	Plan.
193	Section 11.  The powers, duties, and functions of the Ponte
194	Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall also include the
195	following:
196	(1)  Any land use decision, recommendation, or other action
197	that is made or taken by the St. Johns County Planning and
198	Zoning Agency for unified title parcels of land located wholly
199	outside the Ponte Vedra Zoning District shall be made by the
200	Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board for such parcels of land
201	located wholly within the Ponte Vedra Zoning District, except as
202	otherwise provided for in this act or by provisions of the Ponte
203	Vedra Zoning District Regulations, as amended from time to time,
204	provided that:
205	(a)  Such decisions and actions shall be made by both the
206	planning and zoning agency and the Ponte Vedra Zoning and
207	Adjustment Board for parcels of land portions of which are
208	concurrently located in both of these areas, with
209	inconsistencies to be resolved by the board of county
210	commissioners; and
211	(b)  The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall in
212	no case be vested by county ordinance with less authority than
213	that held by the planning and zoning agency in regards to lands
214	under their respective jurisdictions.
215	(2)  Such other powers or duties granted by county
216	ordinances or resolutions.
217	Section 12.  All quasi-judicial hearings of the Ponte Vedra
218	Zoning and Adjustment Board shall be held in the county seat at
219	a location designated by the county administrator.
220	Section 13.  The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board
221	shall be provided with reasonably necessary staff support and
222	funding by St. Johns County.
223	Section 14.  The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board
224	shall hold regular monthly meetings and may hold other meetings
225	at such other times as the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment
226	Board may determine. The chairperson, or in his or her absence
227	the vice chairperson or acting chairperson, of the Ponte Vedra
228	Zoning and Adjustment Board may administer oaths and compel
229	attendance of witnesses and production of evidence by subpoenas
230	which may be served by the sheriff of the county. All meetings
231	of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall be open to
232	the public. The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall
233	keep minutes of its proceedings.
234	Section 15.  All appeals of all final actions by the Ponte
235	Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall be heard by the Board of
236	County Commissioners of St. Johns County in a de novo hearing.
237	However, the record of the hearing of the same case before the
238	Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall be accepted into
239	evidence on appeal subject to ruling by the board of county
240	commissioners on proper objection to particular portions
241	thereof. Such appeals shall only be heard if a substantially
242	affected party files a notice of appeal with both the Ponte
243	Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board and the board of county
244	commissioners within 30 days after the final action by the Ponte
245	Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board on the matter that is to be
246	appealed.
247	Section 16.  The concurring vote of a majority of the total
248	membership of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board shall
249	be necessary to take any official action other than to continue
250	or adjourn a meeting or hearing, except as provided herein.
251	Section 17.  Dissolution of the Ponte Vedra Zoning District
252	or dissolution, merger, absorption, or termination of the Ponte
253	Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board may not be enacted except
254	through a specific act of the Legislature.
255	Section 18.  In case any building or structure is erected,
256	constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted, or
257	maintained or any building or structure on land or water is used
258	in violation of this act or of any order or resolution or other
259	regulation made under authority conferred hereby, the proper
260	local authorities of said county, including the county or state
261	prosecutor, and any citizen residing in said district, in
262	addition to other remedies, and after seeking voluntary
263	compliance, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding
264	to prevent such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction,
265	alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance, or use, to
266	restrain, correct, or abate such violation to prevent the
267	occupancy of said building structure on land or water or to
268	prevent any illegal act, conduct, business, or use in or about
269	such premises.
270	Section 19.  It is declared to be the intent of the
271	Legislature that if any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
272	phrase, or portion of this act is held invalid or
273	unconstitutional for any reason, by any court of competent
274	jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the
275	remaining portions hereof, or if this act or any provision
276	thereof is held to be inapplicable to any person, group of
277	persons, property, kind of property, circumstances, or set of
278	circumstances, such holding shall not affect the applicability
279	thereof to any other person, property, or circumstances.
280	Section 20.  The Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns
281	County is hereby authorized to appropriate and pay out of the
282	general fund of said county annually such sum as may be
283	necessary for the purpose of defraying the expenses of zoning
284	said district and administering the provisions of this act.
285	Section 21.  All provisions of this act and ordinances
286	promulgated hereunder may be enforced by the county in
287	accordance with the provisions of chapter 162, Florida Statutes,
288	and any other applicable provisions of law.
289	Section 4.  Chapters 65-2171 and 95-527, Laws of Florida,
290	are repealed.
291	Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.