St. Johns County is reviewing a proposed age-restricted community, Serenesee at Moses Creek, along U.S. 1 South.
Green Community Development LLC of Atlanta plans a 39-lot subdivision using sustainable building elements and methods at 6521 U.S. 1 S., northwest of County Road 206.
The development would comprise 19 acres, preserving 5.31 acres of wetlands with 0.2 acre of wetland impacts for access to uplands.
The community is proposed for residents age 55 and older.
Serenesee will be gated and provide 3 acres of recreation open space, including a dog park.
The conceptual layout depicts the majority of the lots to the west inside an unpaved, but stabilized, grass one-way loop road with a community common area in the center. Garage access will be from the rear of those homes.
The applicant seeks to deviate from county development requirements by using a 10-foot-wide unpaved roadway, using the grassed roadway and masonry walls instead of perimeter buffers in those locations.
The site design will use retaining walls to reduce the area needed for stormwater retention along with reduced paving. Added buffers will be provided along U.S. 1.
Developer representative Thomas Hammond said common and landscaped areas will be maintenance-free to homeowners. The developer is considering including maintenance for building exteriors.
House sizes will range from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet and will be priced from the mid-$300,000s.
Homes will be built using sustainable design principles and recyclable products with a lifetime warranty for being fireproof, termiteproof, moldproof, nondecaying and carbon-reducing.
Roofs will have a collection system to use rainwater for irrigation, Hammond said.
The applicant considers Serenesee a pioneering development in St. Johns County that has been accepted and developed in other states.
St. Johns County Growth Management staff plans a preapplication meeting with Green Community Development and property owner Cypress Estates of St. Augustine LLC to discuss the development.
