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Fish Island development: Victory!

May 18, 2008

The issue of building a development on Fish Island has been coming up -- and getting voted down -- over and over for many months. At the Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) meeting in St. Augustine on May 16, the board declined to hear the latest arguments from Fish Island Development LLC. The issue will now presumably be heard by the St. Augustine City Commission -- most likely at its June 9 meeting. Stay tuned!

May 16, 2008 - At the Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) meeting in St. Augustine, which was held primarily to consider a response to the Bert Harris action of Fish Island Development, LLC. the PZB adjourned the meeting without taking any action to respond to the action. This was a victory for the folks who oppose the dock. The issue will now presumably be heard by the St. Augustine City Commission, probably at its  June 9 meeting.

We owe a big vote of thanks to Deborah Andrews, Esquire, who spoke eloquently and persuasively in favor of the PZB taking no action. Also speaking in front of the PZB in opposition to the dock were Darlene Schmitt, Georgeanne Gillespie and Brian Paradise.

We will need a good turnout of activists at the meeting of the City Commission when they consider this issue.

On February 22, 2008, Circuit Court Judge Michael Traynor ruled that the St Augustine Planning and Zoning Board and the St. Augustine City Commission had legally sufficient reasons to deny a permit to developers to build a dock at Fish Island which would have extended into the Matanzas River. The City will still have to fight the developers in a nearly $9 million lawsuit in which the developer claims $2.7 million in value loss and $6.2 million in loss of future marine sales. However the ruling of Judge Traynor should bolster the ability of the City to successfully defend the lawsuit. >Read more in the St. Augustine Record.

The Sierra Club had recommended that the Commission should deny the new application. Read the Sierra Club's letter to the St. Augustine Commission supporting our recommendation to deny the permit for this development; also see background information below. The matter went before the Special Magistrate again for a new hearing this December 17, 2007 at 1:45 p.m. in Judge Traynor's chambers, on the third floor of the Courthouse. A decision was not made until February 20, 2008.

On October 22, 2007 the St. Augustine City Commission, on a 5-0 vote, unanimously denied the new modified application of the Fish Island dock.

On October 11, 2007, there was a hearing before a special magistrate in St. Augustine regarding the Fish Island dock proposal, which was turned down unanimously by the City Commission and the Planning and Zoning Board. City officials agreed to let the developer try again with a slightly different plan.

On June 11, 2007, the St. Augustine City Commission, on a 5-0 vote, backed the decision by the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board to deny the application of a developer to build a 1,200 foot- long dock across the marshes at Fish Island (proposed dock pictured at left). Opponents of the application, including the Sierra Club, had argued that the construction of the dock would cause various environmental damages to important fish habitat and wetlands and would destroy one of the last unspoiled vistas in the area.

In May 2007, the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board voted down the application by a vote of 6 to 0.

Thanks to everybody who made contributions to pay for the legal fees in fighting the application. Thanks also to the various persons who testified at the Planning and Zoning Board Hearing including Ken Bryan, Gina Burrell, Bill Hamilton, Paul Johnson, Jose Nunez , Sarah Owen, Brian Paradise, Darlene Schmitt, and other citizens.  Thanks also to Ken Wright who provided excellent legal representation to the opponents to the dock.

Background Info:

A developer applied for a permit to construct a pier leading to a floating 1,080 foot long, 100-slip marina in the Intracoastal Waterway at the Matanzas River, adjacent to the State Road 312 bridge. The developer expects the City of St. Augustine to give away publicly owned wetlands and marshes to facilitate this private enterprise.

The Matanzas River in this location is completely unspoiled and scenic. Recreational use by fishermen, and others seeking quiet recreational beauty would be compromised.

The proposed project can be expected to have adverse impacts on marine habitats for various species such as brown and pink shrimp, red drum, summer flounder and bluefish. Additionally, the area serves as nursery habitat for commercially and recreationally important species.

The developer is making no provision for sewage pump-out for the marina. Sewage spills and other marina debris would go directly into the river. Turbidity and bottom scouring from hundreds of boat propellers will cause lasting damage the ecosystem of the area. Any damage to the bridge or navigation of the ICW from docks or boats during tropical storms could result in taxpayer bailout.