Clay County commissioners are expected to decide Oct. 27 whether about 86 acres of mostly vacant land off Bayard Road, east of County Road 209 South, can be turned into an industrial park.
Quick Facts
- What: six small-scale comprehensive plan amendments and matching rezonings (COMP 26-0020 to 26-0025, ZON 26-0019 to 26-0023)
- Change: AG/AR land use to Industrial; AG zoning to IB Heavy Industrial
- Size: about 86.22 acres across five parcels
- Project: Bayard Road Industrial Park, about 10 lots, phased through 2036
- Developer or tenant: not named in the county packet
- Staff: recommends approval
- Planning Commission (Oct. 6): recommended approval
- Final hearing: Tuesday, Oct. 27, continued from Oct. 13
- District: 5, Commissioner Burke
The package is six pairs of applications. Each one has a small-scale comprehensive plan amendment and a matching rezoning (COMP 26-0020 through 26-0025, with ZON 26-0019 through 26-0023). Together they would change the land’s future land use from Agriculture (AG) or Agriculture/Residential (AR) to Industrial, and its zoning from Agriculture (AG) to Heavy Industrial (IB).
The item was on the Oct. 13 County Commission agenda as a 5 p.m. final public hearing, but staff asked to push it to Oct. 27.
Where it is
The land sits in Commissioner District 5, south of Green Cove Springs. Four parcels line the south side of Bayard Road, east of CR 209 South. Today Bayard is a dirt road. The fifth parcel, about 1.7 acres, is on the south side of CR 226, just west of CR 209 South.
County staff reports describe the neighbors as mostly conservation land. St. Johns River Water Management District property, part of the J.P. Hall Bayard Point Conservation Area, sits to the north and south. Some land already zoned industrial lies to the northwest near CR 209 South and CR 226. The CSX rail line and the First Coast Expressway are nearby.
Today, two of the parcels have homes on them: one has a mobile home and the other a single-family house. The rest is vacant or undeveloped.
Who is behind it
The applications list three property owners. The Lemen Family Declaration of Revocable Trust, through trustee William Lemen III, owns three parcels totaling about 76 acres. Robert Travis King owns about 9 acres, and John P. Hall III owns 1 acre. Kelly Hartwig is listed as an agent for the applicants.
A staff report says the applicant wants to create “an industrial park development of approximately 10 lots.” A draft development agreement calls the project the Bayard Road Industrial Park. The county packet does not name a developer, builder or future tenant for the park.
What would come with it
Under the draft agreement, the project would be built in phases over about 10 years, finishing by 2036. Before the first building could be occupied, the owners would have to:
- realign Bayard Road to meet CR 226 at CR 209 South in a squared-off intersection, with turn lanes and lighting
- pave Bayard Road to county standards
- widen part of CR 226, including the CSX rail crossing
They would also have to build sidewalks or pay into the county’s sidewalk fund. The agreement lets the county stop issuing permits if those terms aren’t met.
A traffic memo filed with the application assumes about 640,000 square feet of industrial park space. That much space would generate an estimated 2,115 vehicle trips a day. The memo expects most of that traffic to head to the First Coast Expressway interchange at U.S. 17. Under the new land use, the five parcels could in theory hold up to about 1.88 million square feet of building space.
What heavy industrial (IB) allows
Under Clay County’s Land Development Code, as read into the record at a Feb. 4, 2025 Planning Commission meeting:
- Heavy Industrial (IB) allows every use permitted in Select Industrial (IS), plus airports, landing strips and heliports, along with other industrial uses listed in the code (LDC Sec. 3-30).
- Select Industrial (IS) covers light industries, with related offices and showrooms, that manufacture, assemble, process, package, store and distribute small products such as optical devices, precision instruments and electronic equipment. It also covers research facilities and laboratories, and corporate offices with 25 or more employees (LDC Sec. 3-28).
- In 2025, county staff said homes are allowed in IB only as a conditional use, limited to an owner or operator.
- Rezoning does not approve a specific building. The draft agreement and later site plans would still govern what gets built.
County planning staff recommend approval. Their reports say the county has “an inadequate supply of industrially zoned property.” The reports also flag flood zone areas on the largest parcel, bear activity, a bald eagle nest to the northeast and historic structures mapped nearby. The site is outside the county’s Urban Service Boundary, and staff said a utility will-serve letter is needed.
What neighbors and boards said
The Springs Citizen Advisory Committee reviewed the package Sept. 9. The county’s summary records the vote as “2-4 to recommend approval,” which staff described at the Planning Commission as a denial.
On Oct. 6, the Planning Commission recommended approval. Board members asked that the development agreement bar apartments under the state’s Live Local Act before the commission hearing, and the applicant’s team agreed.
Several residents filled out cards opposing the request without speaking. Three people signed up to speak. One woman who said she has lived in the area for about 40 years raised concerns about groundwater, wetlands and drainage. She asked the board to treat CR 226 as the line where industrial development stops. A man who said he lives on CR 209 South about 5 miles away raised concerns about the wildlife corridor, truck traffic and his property value.
This isn’t the first time these parcels have come up. The same land was filed for industrial changes in 2024. In March 2025, commissioners continued those requests and asked the applicants to come back with road improvements and a development agreement.
How to weigh in
The final public hearing is set for the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the county administration building in Green Cove Springs. Residents can speak during the public hearing or contact District 5 Commissioner Burke and the other commissioners ahead of time. The agenda and staff reports are posted on the county’s PrimeGov meeting portal.
