TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) as described below:
APPLICANT:
Starlight Homes of Florida, LLC
Attn: Mr. Jacob O’Keefe
3820 Mansell Road, Suite 400
Alpharetta, GA 30022
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Little Cedar Creek. The project site is located west of Interstate 95, south of Owens Road, and east of Ranch Road, in Sections 19 and 24, Township 1 North, Range 26 East, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Interstate 95 north to Airport Road. Go west along Airport Road and take a right onto Ranch Road. The project is in the southeast quadrant of the Ranch Road/Owens Road intersection.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude : 30.235831
Longitude: -82.001900
PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: To provide housing.
Overall: The applicant’s overall project purpose is to construct multi-family housing and associated infrastructure, within norther Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida.
BACKGROUND: A Department of the Army (DA) permit was issued to Mr. Bill Doyle of Fernandina Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2007, authorizing the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into approximately 4 acres of waters of the United States to construct multi-family housing on the proposed project site. The DA permit was set to expire on November 17, 2011; however, on April 27, 2010, a permit extension was granted until November 17, 2013. The DA permit is now expired and no work in waters of the United States occurred under the previous DA permit authorization.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCCS, 1999) suggests the ±62-acre project parcel contains approximately 5 acres of wetlands, including 1.7 acres of mixed wetland hardwood (6170), 2.3 acres of wet prairie (6430), and 1 acre of mixed scrub-shrub wetland (6460). The remainder of the site contains 57 acres of forest regeneration (4430). The land use cover types estimated by the applicant are approximately 21 acres of coniferous plantation (upland) and 41 acres of wet coniferous plantation and mixed hardwood-coniferous swamp (SJRWMD jurisdictional wetland). The site is bound by Little Cedar Creek to the south, Owens Road to the north, Interstate 95 to the east, and Ranch Road to the west.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant is proposing to discharge dredged or fill material into 5.35 acres of wetlands to construct multi-family housing and associated infrastructure.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION: The applicant has designed the proposed project to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment by placing the footprint of housing and infrastructure within upland areas on the site.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant is proposing to purchase 3.4 Joint Credits from the St. Johns Mitigation Bank to offset the loss of 5.35 acres of wetland functions and services.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area, and other interested parties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any federally listed threatened or endangered species or their designated critical habitat.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The Corps has determined the proposal would not require consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, because the site does not contain EFH.
NAVIGATION: The proposal is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The Corps has determined the proposal would not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the Corps’ regulatory program. The jurisdictional line has not been verified by Corps personnel, nor has the Corps finalized its agency review of the applicant’s proposed mitigation.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing, via electronic mail, to the Corps’ project manager, Leah M. Fisher, by electronic mail at leah.m.fisher@usace.army.mil within 21 days from the date of this notice.
The Corps decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact to the associated wetlands. This is based on an analysis of the applicant's avoidance and minimization efforts for the project, as well as the compensatory mitigation proposed.
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the Corps’ project manager, Leah M. Fisher, by electronic mail at leah.m.fisher@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (916) 557-6639.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, the National Marine Fisheries Services, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, environmental groups, and concerned citizens generally yields pertinent environmental information that is instrumental in determining the impact the proposed action will have on the natural resources of the area.
EVALUATION: The Corps’ decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people.
We are soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other Interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered and used to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this determination, comments are used to assess impacts to endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: The applicant has a pending application with the Saint Johns River Water Management District (Environmental Resource Permit 92438-5).
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.
REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Any person may request a public hearing. The request must be submitted in writing to the Corps’ District Engineer within the designated comment period of the notice and must state the specific reasons for requesting the public hearing.
CLICK HERE for Public Notice and Graphics: /Portals/44/docs/regulatory/Public Notices/2025 01 January/West Branch/20250128-SAJ-2004-02369-Duval-0219-LMF.pdf?ver=hucDWhGCpDVOapq3XDUqvA%3d%3d