Concerned Friends of Fernandina

Concerned Friends of Fernandina is a grassroots citizens group formed to inform and involve residents wanting to

preserve the small town identity of Fernandina Beach and its natural beauty.

"With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed." -- Abraham Lincoln

(A) Tarpon Villas Archive page:

01 Dec 04 Update

Tarpon Estates is back on the front burner. The property on Tarpon Avenue, previously known as the Williamson Property, is back with a new name and new players. The project is now called Ocean View Villas with Ron Flick of the Compass Group as the developer for the project. The property is owned by Seaside Tarpon View LLC with Anne Coonrod listed as the registered agent for this foreign limited liability company.

At the 12/1 PAB (Planning Advisory Board) meeting, there was a request for a Vacation of Right of Way on Dolphin Street, an unopened street that borders the southern side of this property. The request (VA2004-85) was removed from the agenda due to a determination that improper notice was given since the published Public Notice didn�t provide the location of the property and there was no sign posted on the property itself. CFOF supported this action, as it is very important that the Public Notice easily identify the affected property. We believe that many people who reside in the North Beach Area didn�t realize there is a new name for this property and were not aware of this potential action.

The Board voted to move this item to the January 12, 2005 meeting of the PAB in order for the public to be properly noticed. By asking the city to vacate the street, the property owner would be given half of the unopened road, thus making the property larger which in turn allows more units to be built.

When Ms. Williamson initially sold this property to Anne Coonrod, there was a great deal of public input against the destruction of the dunes on the property. A lot of promises were made by representatives for Ms. Coonrod, which included the �possibility� of preserving the largest of the dunes. Unfortunately, Ms. Coonrod then sold the property to Seaside Tarpon View LLC and the process will now begin anew.

CFOF understands that the FL DCA has rejected the City�s designation of this property on the FLUM as �residentail� instead of �recreational� and the City Commission will once again have to decide the Land Use designation. Please keep in mind that the request to vacate the Dolphin Street right of way is a separate issue from the land use designation of this property.

________________**________________

30 Jun 04

State stalls Tarpon project

MICHAEL PARNELL, News-Leader

The state has rejected an amendment to the city's land use plan that would have allowed construction of eight townhomes on Tarpon Avenue across from Main Beach and adjacent to Fort Clinch State Park.

Over vociferous public opposition, Fernandina Beach Commissioners approved a land use amendment and rezoning last year for the 0.84-acre parcel west of Tarpon and just south of the Ocean Park condominiums.

But the state Department of Community Affairs, which must approve local land use amendments, said there is insufficient evidence that the land should be zoned residential rather than recreational, City Manager Bob Mearns told commissioners in a memo Friday.

Because the property is in the Coastal High Hazard Area, the owner has to prove the land previously was zoned residential and that the city's change of the zoning to recreation was accidental, Mearns said.

Prospective owner Anne Coonrod told commissioners last fall the parcel was misidentified as recreation on the city's future land use map because of "a scrivener's error." The property was donated in 1926 by the state to the city, which turned it over to the American Legion in 1948, and platted for five residential lots, she said.

The parcel was purchased for $88,000 in August 1997 by Marilyn Williamson, who said she was told by a city planner when she bought the property it had been mistakenly identified as recreation instead of residential. She has a letter from the planner to that effect.

Mearns told commissioners a review of records did not reveal a mistake in the recreation designation. But commissioners voted in November to amend the land use designation and rezone the property to allow for the townhomes.

Coonrod purchased the property for $1,050,000 in December. She sold it to Seaside Tarpon View LLC of Cumming, Ga., for $1,250,000 on April 2, according to property appraiser's records.

mparnell@fbnewsleader.com

_________________**_________________

Back to Top

Concerned Friends of Fernandina