Liberty County commissioners approved a rezoning for a massive tract of land north of Islands Highway and just east of I-95 that could result in hundreds of new homes.
Laurel View Properties sought rezoning for 1,062 acres from a mix of zonings to a planned unit development. Most of the land lies within the unincorporated county, but 14 acres are within Midway city limits. The Midway City Council will have take up that rezoning request separately.
Under the proposal for the tract, most of it will become residential, with a little over 500 acres projected to be a variety of homes at different prices.
The proposed development would occur in stages, starting with entrance road construction and a traffic signal at the intersection of Islands Highway. The first phase is expected to be done in two to three years and the total buildout is expected to take seven to 10 years.
A traffic study, which is required by the unified development ordinance, will have to completed.
According to the developers, their plan is devised to focus on the natural character of the area, with walkability, connectivity, outdoor recreational and common areas. Commercial development will provide community shopping and services, along with regional and interstate commercial, retail, restaurant and service and a regional medical component.
Marian Elaine Smith, who represented the developers at the commissioners’ meeting, said she was proud and excited to be a part of the development and the development team.
“They have patience. They are exceptionally thoughtful,” she said. “Never in my more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience have I been involved with a developer who gave this much time and consideration to developing a project.”
The lakes and wetlands will be open for public access, developers stressed. There is six miles of frontage along the Jones Creek and the marsh. Smith said they conducted more than 20 meetings with leaders and nearby residents on what they wanted to see happen on the tract.
The development is proposed to have biking and walking trails, along with recreational lakes and ponds, a deep water marina, an ADA-accessible playground and a dog park.
“The lake is really important,” Smith said. “It will be pretty to look at but we want people out there. One big thing is public access. We want to make sure this is not just creating a community of new houses but this becomes the center of an already creative amazing and historical existing community.”
A spine road will wrap around the northern edge of the Tradeport East industrial park and continue to the eastern end of the tract, eventually tying back into Sunbury Road. The entrance road will be tree-lined, Smith said, with a median and views of the lake.
“We have lofty goals of creating a space,” Smith said. “I think this a great place.”
County commission Chairman Donald Lovette said he was pleased to see a developer willing to accommodate residents’ requests.
“With the public access — you don’t have to pay to get behind a gate that’s awesome in itself,” he said.
The developers’ conservative estimates put its developed value at almost $909 million, with projections of $15.3 million a year in property taxes and $11 million a year generated in sales taxes. Water and wastewater services are being worked out with the Liberty County Development Authority.
Concerns over traffic, water, wastewater and stormwater were brought forth, with Susan Inman of the coastal advocacy group 100 Miles urging commissioners to put in stronger protections for nearby residents and to place a greater focus on stormwater runoff.
“This is a transformational rezoning of heavy growth that will directly affect the region as a whole, specifically those who live on the east end of Liberty County,” she said. “We need to be proactive with this large change.”
The planned number of homes, perhaps as many as 1,800, could be a problem because of the number of impervious surfaces that will bring into the area.
“This can be a problem when you build in or near flood zones, near wetlands or a tidal river, especially if we continue having heavy rains and strong storms and increasing sea level rise,” she said. “More impervious surfaces will increase the flooding we experience.”
Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission director Jeff Ricketson reminded commissioners that with the PUD rezoning approved, commissioners will have to approve each phase of its development.
“We will take careful note and as we develop it, we will have those things as a reminder,” Lovette said.