Monticello Pines
May 13, 2008 by Black Coffee & Bourbon
Tonight at the Local Planning Meeting reprenatives from Monticello Pines (formerly Monticello Plantations) were present to discuss their preliminary plat prior to the formal review in June. This development is planned for the large piece of land behind the Winn-Dixie and be accessible via U.S. 19 and Coopers Pond Road. Although the land is zoned for over 700 homes the developers plan to only build about 450.
Our engineering consultant, Robert George, went over their proposal with us and pointed out areas where additional work was needed before they would be in compliance with several of the city’s regulations. It appears that the issues are minor and the developers plan to have them resolved by our June meeting.
The larger issues for Monticello Pines appear to be with the county concerning acess to Coopers Pond Road. This is a county road, and the new subdivision will increase the usage of the road which will push it into a new use category. As it stands, the county planner is recommending that the new subdivision not be allowed to connect to Coopers Pond Road. The traffic consulant indicated that he would be meeting with the county in an attempt to resovle this issue prior to our next meeting.
Overall, from the plans we reviewed it appears that Monticello Pines will be a quality development. The developers indicated that the looked to both Southwood in Tallahassee and Celebration near Orlando for inspiration. There will be cottage lots, manor lots and esate lots mixed in the development which will allow for a wider pricepoint of homes. They also plan to utilize alleys to have rear access to the lots in an effort to promote traditional neighborhood design. I hope the housing market improves so that this development can be successful, and I am looking forward at reviewing the revised preliminary plat proposal in June.
Oh great!
I’ve been paying attention to the Real Estate Market in Monticello. I can’t imagine that any more houses need to be built in Jefferson County right now!
98% of the properties we looked at are still on the market 11 months after we first saw them.
I can only hope that the public school conditions will change if this goes through….
What is the minimum lot Size? Sq FT?
The preliminary plat is the first step for Monticello Pines. Once final approval is given I think they have 2 years to start building or they have to start the process over. Maybe the market will be better by then.
The minimum lot size will be 75 by 120 (i think) and the largest ones will be 1 acre.
Public Schools.
The disparity between haves and have nots is huge.
The public schools are a shambles and the diversity is nonexistant.
Please give me some idea of what Jefferson County plans to do with their public education!
Will there be charter schools?
I agree with you, the public schools are not great, but they are working hard to improve them. Our elementary school has improved since I moved to the county. Its kind of a chicken and the egg argument. People won’t send their kids to the public schools because they are not the best, but they won’t improve until more people in the community have a vested interest in the public schools. It’s a mess.
I am not sure how to solve the diversity issue. It seems like most affluent people send their kids to the private school in the county, Aucilla Christian Academy, while the poorer kids are stuck in the public schools.
There will be a new charter school next year. It will operate in the old middle school.
Can you please give details on charter school?
We are fretting over sending our two daughters to Jefferson County Public Schools or Aucilla Christian.
We were planning to homeschool next year if necessary.
My wife is a Florida Certified elementary ed & deaf ed teacher.
She would love to know if there are any opportunities in the charter school.
Once we get moved up there, I hope to become more politically aware. I suspect that you have more than a passing interest of the goings on in Monticello. Are you on a planning board or the commission?
The chicken and the egg thing is true, but once you have children, you don’t feel so motivated to experiment with your own children.
thanks for your follow-up.
I tried to google the charter school and got nothing. There was an article about it in the paper a few months ago. Aside from that, I have not heard much about it. Maybe the school board would have more information? I’ll see if I can find any more info on the new school.
I am on the Monticello Local Planning Agency. We get to review the developments within the city limits and make recommendations on them before they go to the City Council for approval. It is a pretty cool experience and I have enjoyed being on it.