The Nassau County Vision 2050 process carries on as the county is asking for the public to weigh in yet again.
What the Vision 2050 team is referring to as draft “Community Building Blocks” have been established through the gathering of public opinion for Vision 2050. County leaders are asking the community to weigh on these building blocks through an online survey. The County Insider announced the launch of the most recent survey on May 24.
It is available to take at www.surveymonkey.com/r/nassaubuildingblocks. Holly Coyle, economic resources coordinator for Nassau County, told the News-Leader the survey should be available through August.
The survey asks for input on the following draft building blocks: Authenticity, balance, connectivity, livability, opportunity, resiliency and stability.
County leaders have considered public input as a driving force to build Vision 2050. The beginning phases of the vision-building process were all about gathering public and community leader’s input to build the vision. The draft Community Building Blocks are the result of these efforts.
The Vision 2050 website, www.nassaufl2050.com, says “The DRAFT building blocks were identified through community engagement, and a review of the County’s plans, studies, and existing conditions. Each building block represents an overarching community value, and collectively these values will be used to guide the recommendations and strategies for the Vision Plan.”
The county has said gathering public input will be ongoing throughout the 18-month process.
Director of Strategic advancement in Nassau County Brandy Carvalho told the News-Leader earlier this month that the previous Vision plan, Vision 2032, didn’t have nearly as much community input. Carvalho said said it’s critical to get these perspectives from the public.
“It’s somewhat of a bonding experience, too, because you talk to people and you’re like, this is our community, too, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been here 60 years or six months, we’re all here together now, and so how can we make this the best place for everybody. You’ve definitely seen communities lose their identity, and we’re going to evolve, I mean Nassau County evolves, things do change, but you’re doing it in a way that everyone’s in it together and everybody feels like it’s a natural positive evolution, not forced.”
Carvalho also explained the purpose of the Vision 2050 plan and how it will be implemented next year. She said a draft for the plan will be unveiled in December of this year, and they hope to “tie it up and put a bow on it” in spring of 2025.
“We take that Vision 2050 plan and it heads to our super-smart people that work in planning and they revise our comprehensive plan, and that’s kind of the bible for growth and development within the county. That’s when it starts to get very technical, and what you can do and how you can do it,” Carvalho said. “It’s a multiyear process to get that done, but this is really the foundation for it.”
Public Information Officer Sabrina Robertson for Nassau County told the News-Leader in an email a Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) comprised of representatives from the county's Planning and Zoning Board was established to evaluate the information collected and use it to develop/recommend changes to the Comprehensive Plan that include input from the collective community. They held a meeting on April 30 to provide a presentation on community engagements thus far, project status and existing conditions related to the Nassau Vision 2050 initiative.
To view the most recent PAC meeting, or future meetings recorded live, visit www.nassauclerk.com.
The Vision 2050 website also states that county leaders still will be out at popup events gathering feedback on the draft Community Building Blocks.
Some of the popups county leaders set up in May were Wild Storytime on May 16 at The Book Loft; Nassau County Employee Wellness Expo on May 17 at Yulee Sports Complex; Cocktails for the Garden on May 18 at Main Beach Park; and Mocama Market on May 19.
To stay up to date on Vision 2050 and to look for any scheduled popup events, visit
https://www.nassaufl2050.com/engage. Popup events for June have not been posted as of Thursday morning.
In other Nassau County news, the county announced the Library Advisory Board will meet on July 9 and also announced a couple meeting cancelations for the beginning of June. The Planning and Zoning Board meeting scheduled for June 4 is canceled, and the Amelia Island Tree Commission meeting scheduled for June 5 also is canceled.
For members of the public who wish to attend a Monday commissioner’s meeting, the county recently adjusted the start time for Monday meetings from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. The altered start time came into discussion back in February at the Winter Strategic Planning Session and was approved at the May 15 BOCC meeting. Wednesday meetings will still start at 9 a.m.
The 5 p.m. start will go into effect for the next BOCC meeting scheduled for June 3.
Also affecting the public’s participation in BOCC meetings, on May 15, the commissioners moved general non-agenda public comment to the end of the meetings and updated the Rules of Decorum. The updates clarify that public participants who want to address the board will fill out and present a speaker card to the deputy clerk before the agenda item they want to speak on.
The revisions also added new language and rules clarifying how speakers are to address the board. It says comments will be directed to the board as a whole, not an individual, and that speakers not use “abusive or obscene” language when addressing the board.
On May 24, the county gave notice that consideration of a real property purchase and sale agreement between the county and Wildlight LLC will occur at the regularly scheduled June 10 meeting. The notice states that copies of the agreement are available at the county manager’s office at the James S. Page Governmental Complex.
The Development Review Committee met May 28 to review a couple pre-applications, including an Anthemnet/Verizon Cell tower pre-application, seeking a committee meeting to discuss the construction of a monopine cell tower with an additional non-exclusive easement for a parking space and driveway out to the public right-of-way on Old Nassauville Road; and another pre-application seeking a committee meeting to discuss the construction of two single family homes on Gregg Street.
The Development Review Committee will meet again June 4.
For updates on meetings open for the public to attend and other updates in the county, visit https://www.nassaucountyfl.com/.
achandler@fbnewsleader.com