NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The small-town feel of Hilliard could soon be a thing of the past, or so some residents feel.
This as a developer is looking to have over 50 acres of land rezoned to bring approximately 170 homes to the area.
That development would be located on the east side of Pine Street, North of Herny Smith Road.
A portion of that development would sit behind Debora Mayo’s property.
“Well, actually I’m all for it with the exception of our infrastructure,” Mayo said. “It’s very poor. They need to build up the infrastructure before they start bringing in massive amounts of housing development.”
Mayo said bringing such a large development the town needs to improve things like their roads and add more sidewalks. She also said the town needs to improve drainage in the area.
She fears if nearly 200 homes are built behind her, it would lead to flooding.
Mayo feels that way because she experiences flooding in her yard now when rainwater drains from the homes that are beside her.
“Oh it can get a foot deep,” Mayo said. “It looks like a real pond. And it goes all the way into my front yard.”
While Mayo isn’t completely opposed to the development, Melyssa who lives in the subdivision next to Mayo, is.
“Hilliard doesn’t need a huge complex like that,” Melyssa said.
And Melyssa isn’t alone in her feelings. A post on Facebook has over 100 residents commenting the same way.
Some said they don’t want their town of nearly 3,000 people, which has only one stop-light, to lose its small-town charm and safety.
“How do I know who is moving in there and what impacts it has on my children and their safety,” Melyssa said. “I think we’re good the way we are. I’d like to leave it how it is.”
Melyssa and others said for those reasons they plan to let the town council know how they feel, with hopes the development plan gets canceled or is forced to be reduced in size.
News4JAX reached out to the town for comment on the proposal.
LeeAnne Wollitz, the Land Use Administrator, said “We will have three public hearings concerning the project. The first one will be in front of the Planning and Zoning Board on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. The second and third will be before the Town Council on Jan. 16 and Feb. 20 both at 7 p.m.”
News4JAX asked her when a decision on the development be made and she said it would typically happen at the Feb. 20 meeting.