Planning board approves Ashford Mills PUD modification after traffic analysis

The St. Johns County Planning & Zoning Agency voted unanimously to recommend approval of a major modification to the Ashford Mills planned unit development, clearing changes that would allow interconnection between two adjacent commercial parcels, reduce the internal development edge and permit certain internal design departures.

Mark Shelton, representing the applicant and Kimley Horn Associates, summarized changes the proposal would make at the corner of Shearwater Parkway and County Road 210: interconnection between the two commercial PUDs, a reduction of the development edge from 20 to 10 feet, a waiver of an internal sidewalk between commercial buildings, a possible right-turn-only exit on Pine Tree Lane, and revisions to allow dumpsters within internal landscape islands. Shelton told the board there would be no wetland impacts and that the project is infill development consistent with the county comprehensive plan.

Jack Holzberg, Kimley Horn’s traffic engineer, presented the firm’s traffic analysis. He said interconnectivity would shift trips between movements at the nearby signalized intersection, adding roughly nine morning-peak left-turn trips while substantially reducing the higher-volume northbound right-turn movement. Holzberg said the added left-turn trips are a small fraction of cycle capacity and would produce negligible delay compared with the traffic reduction from redistributed right turns.

Board members asked whether environmental surveys had been updated; staff and the applicant said no protected species were identified during the applicant’s review and no new wetlands were observed. Several board members who had visited the site said recent presentations and a follow-up traffic briefing addressed their earlier concerns.

Commissioner Matovina moved to recommend approval as presented with findings and conditions in the staff report; Labanowski seconded. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.

The decision sends the recommendation forward consistent with local procedures; the board stated conditions in the staff report remain part of the approval.