Way of life in Pace 'about to go to pot.' Resident voice concerns over Jubilee project

About 75 people piled into Gather at Alyssa's in Pace on Monday night to hear from the development group planning the massive Jubilee project proposed as a community development district.

A CDD is an insular, special-purpose structure that provides a way to manage and finance infrastructure required to support the development of a community.

According to Florida statute, this would give the community area special localized power over water management, sewer and wastewater management, bridges, roads, public transportation mechanisms, conservation areas, recreational parks and school buildings, among other items.

Everything we know about Jubilee:Jubilee project could bring a slice of Seaside and Celebration to Pace. What we know:

The latest local Pace news:Santa Rosa's tackling gridlock on Woodbine Road, but it'll get worse before it gets better

The Jubilee development is a roughly 2,700-acre project planned to include housing, schools, a medical campus, commercial areas and more. It will sit north of Pace, mainly between Willard Norris and Luther Fowler roads.

Plans for Jubilee began taking shape in the mid- to late 2000s but were derailed during Great Recession. Plans popped up in 2016 to potentially donate the land to the county but never came to fruition.

In February, a preliminary plat for the first phase of the Jubilee project made its way into the county's hands. The phase's plan includes about 260 homes on 260 acres.

Amazon facility coming to Santa Rosa:What do we know so far?

Amazon's secret is out:But what other companies are coming to Santa Rosa?

A phased development plan indicates the Jubilee project will take about a decade to fully build out.

During the Monday event, Ron Reeser chief executive officer of the Eagle Group — which owns the Jubilee group — presented the case as to why the residents in the area should support the project as a CDD.

"It's to help us pay for growth. Like we said, it's a self-taxing district with a highly transparent board of directors," Reeser said.

Reeser also stressed that he believes the use of a CDD will allow the county to have more money at its disposal.

"So, all that money that's flowing to the county to spend for maintaining those streets is now over here in the county's coffers to take care of traffic or stormwater or whatever the problems are," Reeser said. "And so, keep that in mind because that's something that we want the commissioners to continue to understand is the CDD is giving them more money to spend on the rest of the county."

But a number of county residents turned out to the meeting to raise concerns about the nature of the project. Questions aimed at Reeser and his group ranged from concerns over stormwater runoff to some residents taking issue that the project is encroaching on rural land.

"I remember when you guys (started) this, because I was living here when they first talked about Jubilee. And I was in construction. And I thought it was great. And I wish you had done it then because now what we're stuck with … the infrastructure, the water, the roads, the schools, everything that's happening," said county resident Tim Remmie. "And everybody wants to move to Santa Rosa County."

Other residents who spoke, like Sherry Chapman, took issue with another element of the development group's proposal.

"You're coming in, throwing it in our lap, and making it look like it is absolutely the Land of Oz. When we all know that our way of life — the reason that we moved here — is just about to go to pot. So that means we've got to get up and move," Chapman said. "We talked about all this infrastructure and stuff like that, but you're putting in a government within a government within a government at the end of the day. So, think about that. We are Republicans in this town. We don't want more government."

And others, like Jerry Couey, had concerns about issues peripheral to the project itself.

"Until we have infrastructure, and I mean, a four-lane Willard Norris (Road) and a four-lane Berryhill (Road), we're in trouble," Couey said.

In all, the estimated infrastructure construction cost for the project sits just under $177 million. 

Monday's meeting was the first of two CDD town halls hosted by the development group. The other will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the same location.