The 8,000-home development called Reserve at Haw Creek in Bunnell may proceed, but it will have to respect the city’s minimum requirement of 60 percent of open space.
Rejecting a developer’s claim that his due process was violated or his veiled threat to build more apartment buildings if his request was rejected, the Bunnell City Commission on Monday voted 3-2 to deny an exception that would have allowed reducing open space at the Reserve at Haw Creek from 60 percent to 50 percent. The result was a remarkable display of the power of persuasion as the arguments of a commissioner and members of the public clearly influenced at least one, and possibly two commissioners to switch sides along the way.
Northeast Florida Developers has submitted plans to build the 6,000-to-8,000-home development (up from 5,000 to 6,000 just a few months ago) on 2,800 acres west and south of the urban center of Bunnell. Chad Grimm, who represents the company, argued to the city’s planning board last November that the exception, or variance, was necessary to allow for more single-family homes, which is more profitable. Otherwise, the company would have to make up in height what it lost in spread–meaning that it would have to build more apartments…