In June 2005, the St. Joe Company issued a White paper entitled, "Defining the New Ruralism." The paper outlines a basic marketing approach for the Company's many rural acres in the Florida Panhandle. It basically can be described as a marketing effort to develop and attract a growing demand for "private retreat" residences characterized by:
o Large-scale land area
o Low population density
o Interconnectedness with nature
o Community interaction by choice
o Access to essential services.
Presently, the St. Joe Company's very large land holdings in the Florida Panhandle
have led to the creation of three New Ruralism real estate products: RiverCamps,
WhiteFence Farms and Florida Ranches."
" RiverCamps are planned settlements in rustic settings, offering
personal retreats in private preserves. RiverCamps' low-density home sites
are sold fee-simple and are surrounded by a large common area preserved for
conservation.
" WhiteFence Farms, formerly called farmsteads, are large home
sites to be developed in a number of locations in Northwest Florida. WhiteFence
Farms are being designed to feel 'old farm and equestrian.' Each farm site
includes a home site for a main farmhouse along with sites for other optional
buildings such as barns, guest houses and stables.
" Florida Ranches are expected to consist of 50 to 150-acre sites
located within a 1,000 to 3,000-acre community. Florida Ranches are being
designed primarily as second-homes for outdoor enthusiasts. Florida Ranches
are being planned to offer a wide range of recreational opportunities, with
some shared sporting areas. Many may be on or near rivers and land suited
for wildlife habitation.
The St. Joe Company has such large land holdings in the Panhandle that their
developing and marketing of this approach is likely to have tremendous land
use implications. Given the "New Ruralism" approach being offered
we believe that land use planning in the region would benefit from some level
of cooperative planning relative to several competing public and private needs.
For instance:
" Costs of increases for the demand for necessary public services
- A number of rural counties will have to address the adequate and cost efficient
provision of public services and infrastructure to meet the needs and expectations
of the new property owners. These services include everything from public
services such as emergency medical and policing to potable water, transportation,
garbage, stormwater, and sewage infrastructure. The spread out pattern of
the "New Ruralism" will require a mix of public provided services
in areas where they don't exist today. Minimizing cost of necessary public
facilities and services in the "New Ruralism" areas ought to be
an important issue for discussion.
" Increase in the development of ancillary supporting private businesses
services - It is to be expected that with a marketing of large acreages
of rural Panhandle lands to relative well-to-do seasonal and permanent residents,
there will be a corresponding rise in the call for a multitude of proximate
private convenience-based services such as grocery and hardware stores, restaurants,
recreational and entertainment facilities, gas stations, cleaning and household
management services, etc. Planning to avoid a sprawling pattern of business
placement in the "New Ruralism" areas ought to be an important issue
for discussion.
" Impacts to existing/historic land uses. For instance:
o In Gulf, Calhoun, Liberty, Washington, Bay and Walton counties the United States military has a portion of their large Gulf of Mexico Joint Gulf Range Complex that historically has depended upon the low density and intensity lands of the Florida Panhandle for training and testing of our nation's armed forces. Added "New Ruralism" development will compress the area available for such testing and training and will likely increase nuisance complaints. Through careful planning and directing of development patterns this issue may be minimized.
o "New Ruralism" can result in a reduction of hunting, fishing, boating, canoe and kayak access areas that traditionally have been available to local residents, but now which are being closed or reduced as the land is subdivided and "gated" to accommodate "New Ruralism" ownership. Nevertheless, the multi-county Panhandle area is large, and through a cooperative planning approach it may be possible to preserve/provide benefits to existing and future residents.
o There will likely be a propensity for other working landscapes/agricultural areas to be converted to this "New Ruralism" pattern of development as land values increase a lure existing land owners to also try to capitalizes on this new land marketing approach.
o There can be a loss, or locking out, of regional greenway and trail development opportunities. For instance, the Florida Trail, a nationally significant addition to hiking trail development in the United States may find potential route development in the Florida Panhandle blocked as various areas are marketed and sold under the "New Ruralism" precepts. Like-wise, careful, cooperative planning of the "New Ruralism" approach regionally may open the door to greenway and trail development.
o There may be a loss or significant reduction of intact natural areas and existing large animal habitat and Panhandle-specific biologically rich natural lands. A once relatively unbroken rural landscape, supportive of natural wildlife, may be subdivided by a multitude of smaller property owners to be cleared, fenced and managed under less wildlife friendly patterns. Underlying native biological resources may literally lose ground. Careful regional-scaled planning could avoid this outcome.
The marketing of "New Ruralism" in the Florida Panhandle, like many things may have both good and less positive consequences relative to existing and other chosen uses of the land.
1000 Friends of Florida is a proponent of a Panhandle future that can, we
believe, be built around a framework of linked conserved greenspace that will
sustain the region's natural resource values, working rural landscapes and
provide significant economic returns in the years to come. As the "New
Ruralism" pattern of development is marketed by St. Joe and others across
the Panhandle we hope that through proactive and cooperative planning that
some of these identified problems can be avoided or minimized and that a basic
framework of linked conserved greenspace is maintained.
As the St. Joe Company is a principal land owner in this region, and has moved to market their land under the "New Ruralism" model, we wish to emphasize that there are continuing opportunities to bring many interests together to guide change in northwest Florida in a way that protects the natural values of the Panhandle while accommodating growth. The key to accomplishing this is whether affected interests---the St. Joe Company, local and state governments, the military, other land development and marketing companies and landowners, sportsmen, environmental groups and other community members -- can sit together, identify issues and work toward mutually beneficial actions and solutions.
Additional Background on Impacts to Existing/Historic Land Uses
1. Reduction of traditional hunting, fishing, boating, canoe and kayak access areas that have been available to local residents - Many of the 800,000 plus north Florida acres that the St. Joe Company owns and had managed for timber production over years past had traditionally been opened to the local residents for outdoor recreational use (hunting, fishing, hiking, etc). Many of these historical uses are being terminated or modified as the land is being reprogrammed and subdivided for sale under the "New Ruralism" marketing strategy.
Thus, the previous patchwork of large timberlands managed as local wildlife
management areas for generations may now give way to RiverCamps, WhiteFence
Farms and Florida Ranches wherein access is more limited.
2. The Joint Gulf Range Complex - Historically, Eglin Air Force Base, Tyndall Air Force Base and the Pensacola Naval Station have each located within the Panhandle due to the mix of land use and natural resources available and/or the low population densities. The mix of natural resources are exemplified by the proximity of the Gulf of Mexico (which has long been mapped out for use as the Joint Gulf Range Complex, see map) and the undeveloped rural and forested areas in the Panhandle anchored by Eglin AFB, Blackwater State Forest and Conecuh National Forest (originally carved out from the Choctawhatchee National Forest Land) in the west and the Apalachicola River and National Forest and Tate's Hell State Forest in the east.
The low density rural lands between these two large anchoring areas continue to provide an excellent opportunity east of the Mississippi River for important national defense training and modern weapons development and testing.
In the Panhandle, the reliance on this training and testing airspace area has been possible and linked to the rural, low density and intensity of land use across the landscape below. Low level aircraft flights through this airspace and the noise associated with it is a historic norm since the 1940's. In November 2003, the U.S. Department of Defense entered into an agreement with the State of Florida and the Nature Conservancy establishing the Northwest Florida Greenway Partnership. This agreement was the first step to protect a 100 mile corridor of land stretching from the Apalachicola National Forest to Eglin Air Force Base from land development density and intensity increases that would detract from the Joint Gulf Range Complex's Florida Panhandle overland operations.
Increasing land development densities and intensities results in an increase in nuisance complaints from the growing local constituencies and eventually affects the performance of desired military mission.
3. Propensity for working landscapes/agricultural areas to be converted to this "New Ruralism" pattern of development - As appears to be the case throughout so much of Florida; increasing land values are threatening the continuance of past agricultural operations. To the agricultural community, "New Ruralism" could represent a form of rural sprawl having similar land value escalation effects as have had the sprawling suburban communities at the expanding fringes of our mega-urbanizing areas (e.g., Miami-Dade-south Florida, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville). The "bottom line" is that without some forethought (perhaps a regional-based "old rural" versus new ruralism zoning framework or a "rural land stewardship" approach), large areas of Panhandle land currently used for rangeland, agricultural or silvaculture may instead, be propelled toward conversion to a "New Ruralism" pattern of development in response to increasing land market values.
4. Potential loss of developing regional greenway and trail opportunities. - The Florida Panhandle has numerous developing greenways and trails. A short list of the developing larger projects might include: The cross-Panhandle portion of the Florida Trail; the Gopher, Frog and Alligator Trail (GFA) out of Sopchoppy to Carrabelle (and likely Apalachicola); the Beach-to-Bay trails in Bay County's West Bay, Pine Log State Forest, the Econfina Creek Springshed and Panama City area, trails through Blackwater Forest and Eglin Air Force Base; and connecting trail possibilities through Gulf County Calhoun to Jackson and Bay Counties. Without concerted cooperation and careful landscape level planning potential trail corridor linkages may be lost as "New Ruralism" subdivides and sells off land to form RiverCamps, WhiteFence Farms and Florida Ranches. A regular and active committee of affected stakeholders could serve to minimize this problem.
5. Possible loss of intact natural areas such as corridors for large animal passage and Panhandle specific biologically rich natural lands. The undeveloped and rural Panhandle has been identified as one of our nation's important biodiversity hotspots. Many plant species endemic to the area are present.
The underlying assortment of natural features (creeks and rivers, springsheds, coastal areas, expansive wetlands and forests) supports a rich background of native plants and animals. Development of multiple islands of RiverCamps, WhiteFence Farms and Florida Ranches, various other private clone developments and the varieties of spin-off supporting infrastructure and services may impinge upon and reduce these existing natural landscapes to a point where the rich biodiversity is lost. Again, careful regional/sub regional landscape planning should be performed to minimize such impacts to the natural resources and federal, state and local land acquisition, easement and rural stewardship projects should actively be developed and acted upon. Higher level state leadership and direction would benefit these processes as might a standing committee (ies) of stakeholders.