John Lawrence Newsletter – October 2026 
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Agricultural Enclave Law
Area events
County Updates
What a beautiful end of September we experienced with cooler temperatures here in NE Florida. It was nice to open up the house, “let the fresh air in”, and watch the Jaguars beat the Patriots while sitting outside!
When people ask me what has been my biggest surprise selling real estate in NE Florida, I tell them it is how many customers move here from other parts of the state. South and West Florida do not have the climate that we usually enjoy from November to February. One thing I have missed from living in the Midwest is the change of seasons and “Fall Color”. I told a customer the other day we have fall color … but sometimes it shows up in December or January!
We truly live in a great part of the country and are able to enjoy “outdoor living” year round. It can really lead to an active and healthy lifestyle that many parts of the country are not able to offer! When we complain about all the people moving here, I guess we can take solace in the fact that it is a beautiful place to call home!
Please visit my YouTube channel by clicking this link @johnlawrencerealtor and hit the SUBSCRIBE button. It does not cost anything and would be a huge favor that would really help me out!
I am hopefully providing some helpful information for you in the First Coast Report. If you ever have any suggestions for content or any questions to ask, please let me know.
Agricultural Enclave Law
You may have been hearing about St. Johns County commissioners voting to deny a second massive development seeking approval for Agricultural Enclave Certification. In a special meeting, commissioners voted 3-2 to deny a pair of applications from St. Augustine-based Heritage Development Group. The applications call for the certification of 615 and 551 acres, respectively, off State Road 207 on either side of Interstate 95.
The applications were the first to come before the board as part of a new state law — Senate Bill 686 — aimed at fast tracking residential development on land that has been used for agricultural purposes and is adjacent to developed parcels.
The bill revises the definition of “agricultural enclave” to clarify that they may include one or more parcels. It also includes additional criteria for determining whether a property may qualify as an agricultural enclave under state law and limits agricultural enclaves to lands within counties having a population of 1.75 million or less.
At an Aug. 19 meeting, commissioners voted 3-2 to accept the applications, the majority agreeing that the applicant had met the specific standards required by the law, which went into effect on July 1 and sunsets in two years. “I think that we kind of hastily approved the first two applications that we heard down off State Road 207,” Christian Whitehurst said at the meeting. “There were a lot of concerns about the perimeter boundary. There were a lot of concerns about traffic. As we all know, S.R. 207 is way over capacity in many areas.”
This happened less than two weeks after commissioners voted against certification of an application in the Palm Valley area that would allow up to one home per acre on 4,462 acres. The application from The PARC Group went before the commissioners three times. Commission Chair Clay Murphy voted against approval and against denial at one hearing before being the deciding vote for denial at the third hearing.
It will be very interesting to see how these arguments play out here in St. Johns County and state wide over the law that some have said takes away home rule from local governments. There are seven more applications active in the county. The next one scheduled to go before commissioners is for Adler Creek, a development on 594 acres east of Pacetti Road and Gran Lakes. It’s tentatively scheduled for the Oct. 20 Commission meeting.
October 2026 … Area EVENTS
NOTE: These are clickable links that will take you to the event page
Oct. 1 – Sugarland @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre (St. Augustine)
Oct. 2 – Downtown Palatka Wine Stroll (Palatka)
Oct. 2-4 – Jacksonville Home & Pato Show @ Prime Osborn Center – (Jacksonville)
Oct. 3 – 6th Annual Island Hop Craft Beer & Spirits Fest (Fernandina Beach)
Oct. 3 – Croctoberfest @ Alligator Farm – (St. Augustine)
Oct. 3-31 – Sykes Family Farms Corn Maze & Activities – (Elkton)
Oct. 4 – Taste of Latino Festival @ Francis Field – (St. Augustine)
Oct. 7 – Boz Skaggs @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre (St. Augustine)
Oct. 9 – Atlanta Rhythm Section & Firefall & Florida Theatre – (Jacksonville)
Oct. 10 – 67th Annual St. Johns County Cracker Day @ Fairgrounds (Elkton)
Oct. 10 – Barktoberfest @ Mocama Beer Company (Fernandina Beach)
Oct. 12 – Edwin McCain @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall (Ponte Vedra Beach)
Oct. 16-17 – Beaches Oktoberfest – (Jacksonville Beach)
Oct. 16-18 – Pink n’ Pickle Pickleball Tournament – (Palm Coast)
Oct. 17 – 2nd Annual Clay County Barkfest @ Clay Co. Fairgrounds – (Green Cove Springs)
Oct. 17 – Palatka Farmers Market / Pumpkin Palooza – (Palatka)
Oct. 17-18 – NAX Jax Air Show – (Jacksonville)
Oct. 23-26 – 39th Annual Taste of Amelia Weekend – (Fernandina Beach)
Oct. 24 – Crescent City BikeFest – (Crescent City)
- Oct. 24 – Ancient City Kids Day @ Francis Field – (St. Augustine)
- Oct. 24 – 5th Annual Witches Paddle of Melrose – (Melrose)
Oct. 30 – Boo on The Avenue – (Palatka)
- Oct. 30-31 – Hall of Terror – (Palm Coast)
St. JOHNS COUNTY UPDATE
Silverleaf Sportsplex is set to include five multipurpose fields with synthetic turf, three multipurpose fields with natural grass, areas designated for tailgating, ticketing, and food trucks. The Shearwater Community Park and Library is set to include space for recreational programs and to support the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections and St. Johns County Public Library System services, courts for pickleball and basketball, a recreational field, a splash pad, and two playgrounds.
Parks and Recreation is requesting funding to allow for master planning, design and construction of a 31 acre site located on the San Sebastian River for a public boat ramp & passive recreational elements.
The Loop is a 260-mile paved multiuse trail project underway in northeast Florida. FDOT has appropriated over $25 million in SunTrail grants to SJC to complete the remaining 5 sections within county limits of the Loop. Segment 1 is on Allen Nease Road from the existing trail crossing on Vermont Blvd to CR214. Segment 2 is on CR214 from Allen Nease Road to Prairie Lake Drive. Segment 3 is on CR214 from Prairie Lake Drive to Holmes Blvd.
CR 210 area includes Widening from Greenbriar Road to Cimarrone Blvd., Roadway Improvements from I-95 to US1, CR 210 / US1 Interchange, and CR 210 Improvements I-95 to E. Pappy Rd.
The project at Stratton Blvd at SR 16 Intersection Improvements and Signalization is nearly complete.
The Wildwood Sidewalk project is in design phase as The Wildwood Drive corridor has experienced substantial growth recently. New subdivisions have built the adjacent sidewalk but there are still numerous gaps in the sidewalks. This project will construct approximately 9,000 LF of sidewalk on the west side of the Wildwood Drive.
The SR 16 and International Golf Parkway intersection is undergoing major changes to help alleviate the traffic delays experienced at this location.
JOHN’S VIEWPOINT
Valued Friends and Customers … Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletter!
September was a good month as I was able to close on a listing in Shearwater. We got this property under contract quickly in July. We moved through the inspection and appraisal periods and were waiting to close. The buyer then experienced an issue with divorce proceedings and the deal fell apart. I was able to negotiate an agreement regarding the binder deposit, and we also agreed to a future deal after the divorce was finalized. We took the property off the market and I was able to help the out of town seller remove all the furniture, repair and paint the home, and do a thorough final cleaning of the home. When we put the home back on the market, we got under contract and closed quickly with the help of Action Title!
We also closed on a home in the historic area of St. Augustine that was a 1031 property exchange and will be a great short term rental property for the new owners!
MY ACTIVE LISTINGS
