Massive Jubilee project in Pace has residents worried their rural lifestyle is in jeopardy

A long stagnant development in Pace may finally be moving forward, which is causing concerns for neighbors worried the project may disrupt their rural lifestyle.

A preliminary plat for the first phase of the Jubilee project in the Pace area has made its way to the county's hands. The phase's plan includes about 260 homes on 260 acres.

This is just one segment of the 2,700 acres included in the entire Jubilee project, which sits between Willard Norris Road and Luther Fowler Road.

Plans for Jubilee began taking shape in the mid to late 2000s but were derailed by the tumultuous times of the Great Recession. Then plans popped up in about 2016 to potentially donate the land to the county but never came to fruition.

Now, county Planning and Zoning Director Shawn Ward said he is working closely with the project managers for Jubilee on the logistics of moving forward on the other phases, which include community assets like schools, shopping and dining areas, and a medical park.

Meanwhile, nearby residents are pushing back on the project, with many citing the fact that the area is zoned for agriculture.

Plans to donate land to county: Legal dispute delays land donation to Santa Rosa

Background on the project: What happened to the Jubilee development in Santa Rosa County? | In The Know

"Traffic is bad. We get a lot of cut-through coming up our road and our parallel road coming off Luther Fowler (Road). So I'm very concerned about more density, more traffic and more flooding issues," nearby resident Dave Lear told the News Journal.

"Those different types of establishments need to be zoned in areas appropriate for that," said April Andrews, another area resident.

According to the residents, a large factor in their pushback is also the point that the project is being classified as an alternative subdivision, meaning that the homes here could sit on lots smaller than one acre.

"So that land development code allows for what we call an alternative subdivision. It basically says that if you have 260 acres, you can put 260 homes on that 260 acres. It does not regulate the lot sizes," Ward said.

Right now, the phase one proposal is with the county's Planning and Zoning Department, and Engineering Department. Those departments are reviewing the preliminary plat and will give feedback to the project's engineer in a couple of weeks. Clearing the land and setting infrastructure can only take place once the construction plans are OK'd by the engineering department.

Ryan Fowler lives near the project's site and moved to the Pace area from Gulf Breeze with the intent to live away from congested subdivisions and live on a larger, and quieter piece of property.

"So, it just makes it easy for a developer to buy (agriculture) land and build without setbacks or any kind of minimum lot size," Fowler said, adding that even though plans are in the works he does not feel like it is a lost cause to fight against the project's future.

Ward said because the project is so large, there is consideration among county officials right now to hold both a Board of County Commissioners meeting and a Zoning Board Meeting for projects exclusively attached to Jubilee.

"So, they have a large variety of different uses. So, what that means is we will have public hearings in order for them to utilize that property with those proposed uses," Ward said. "And those public hearings will have to go to the Zoning Board and to the Board of County Commissioners."

And Ward compared the project to others in Florida like Seaside in Walton County, and Celebration near Orlando.

"The thought is that this would be a location for living and work where you did not have to leave your neighborhood, basically," Ward said.

However, the residents here want their commissioners to fight for their rural lifestyle.

"We need our Board of County Commissioners to advocate on our behalf and request that (the plans are) changed," Andrews said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace Jubilee development phase one under review by Santa Rosa County