For Immediate Release: January 21, 2003

Apalachicola, Florida – Today, a coalition of statewide and local environmental organizations joined in support of new planning initiatives and specific conditions that would allow SummerCamp, a St. Joe/Arvida development to move forward. Last July, this same group of organizations strongly opposed this development plan for inadequate environmental protection measures and an out-of date Comprehensive Plan.

St. Joe/Arvida's proposed land use amendment to the Franklin County Comprehensive Plan would allow a 784-acre, 499 unit planned development named SummerCamp on St. James Island along the Alligator Harbor Aquatic Preserve in eastern Franklin County.

St. James Island is a 60,000-acre land-area, primarily owned by the St. Joe Company and planted in pine trees, bordered by the Ochlocknee Bay, Carrabelle and Crooked Rivers and the Gulf of Mexico and includes the small rural communities of Alligator Point, St. Teresa, Lanark Village and the City of Carrabelle (SEE MAP BELOW).

This environmental coalition, comprised of the statewide growth management and environmental organizations 1000 Friends of Florida (1000FOF) and Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) and the local groups Apalachee Ecological Conservancy (APECO) and Apalachicola Bay and Riverkeeper (ABARK), opposed consideration of the original amendment to the Franklin County Comprehensive Plan for SummerCamp because the County's plan was out-of-date and therefore inadequate to guide growth and development as was being proposed by St. Joe in eastern Franklin County.

Since that time, numerous negotiations and meetings have resulted in specific changes to the SummerCamp proposal and commitments by both St. Joe and the County to work with area citizens to provide plans for future growth and development. A list of these specific changes and commitments is provided below (SEE ATTACHMENT).

"Franklin County remains as one of Florida's most sensitive nature-based areas where
plans for development, such as SummerCamp, must always be tied to long-term environmental and cultural protection," said Charles Pattison, Executive Director for 1000 Friends of Florida. "Through the negotiations with the County, St. Joe, our coalition partners and others, we believe the County's out-of-date plan can be revised to reflect current and future conditions while preserving the environment and serving the community."

"We have all worked hard over the last six months to refine and improve the plans for SummerCamp to better protect the environment and cultural heritage of Franklin County", said Paul Johnson, Special Projects Director of the Apalachee Ecological Conservancy (APECO). "More importantly, today we have set-the-stage for the County and its citizens to better plan and prepare for future growth and resource protection".

" Although there are many details and many other issues related to the SummerCamp development ( memorializing and codifying developer commitments; the process, implementation and outcome of proposed citizen based visioning; effectiveness of the comprehensive planning process to manage growth and protect community character, proposed changes at DCA, among others) we remain very concerned about, we are hopeful and very determined these and other remaining issues can be addressed in the visioning and plan update process", said David McLain, Executive Director for the Apalachicola Bay and Riverkeeper.

"We appreciate the challenges facing the County and know that these issues remain very controversial and of concern to many people in Franklin County and throughout the Panhandle", said Manley Fuller, Executive Director of the Florida Wildlife Federation. "Only by attempting to build a broad-based consensus with the public can these challenges be met."

CONTACTS:
Charles Patti son – 1000 Friends of Florida – (850)222-6277 www.1000FOF.org
Paul Johnson – Apalachee Ecological Conservancy – (850) 926-7439 www.APECO.org
David McLain – Apalachicola Bay & Riverkeeper – (850) 670-5470 www.ABARK.org
Manley Fuller – Florida Wildlife Federation – (850) 656-7113 www.flawildlife.org

PRESS RELEASE ATTACHMENT

CONDITIONS & COMMITMENTS FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY
COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AND SUMMERCAMP

Franklin County, through this land-use amendment for SummerCamp, has agreed to:
• Update its comprehensive plan (to include a visioning process involving local citizens);
• Require St. Joe to prepare a Specific Area Plan and map overlay to guide future development on St. James Island; and
• Require any future large-scale development plans (10 acres or more) in Franklin County - such as SummerCamp - to conduct an area wide assessment and analysis of long-term environmental and human impacts and prepare a specific area plan and map overlay.
Both the comprehensive plan update and special area plan for St. James Island will include "Citizen-Visioning" to ensure:
• Protection of natural resources, including water quality, aquatic habitat, shorelines, seagrass beds, fishery resources, etc.;
• Protection of cultural heritage and community character;
• Promotion of sustainable economic development;
• Promotion of emergency management plans and procedures;
• Provision of adequate public facilities and services (e.g. transportation, medical, schools, water supply and wastewater treatment, recreational facilities);
• Provision of affordable housing;
• Documentation of proposed future land uses and revision of land development regulations, where necessary.
These specific conditions for SummerCamp and commitments by St. Joe and Franklin County for visioning, comprehensive plan updating and specific area planning are memorialized in the comprehensive plan amendment for SummerCamp approved today.

The Florida State University Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the Conflict Resolution Consortium will be retained as a third party contractor by Franklin County to aide in the community planning ("visioning") and comprehensive plan updates. Further, through numerous meetings and negotiations St. Joe Company has agreed to the following specific conditions for SummerCamp:
• Eliminate the commercial marina, boat ramp and associated facilities;
• Limit the number of docks to one community dock and no private single-family docks;

• No more than 10 community piers for fishing and observation, not to moor vessels or exceed 200 feet in length;
• Establish a buoying system to mark seagrass and other shallow and sensitive near shore habitats to avoid boater impacts;.
• Provide for protection and conservation of wetlands;
• Contain all stormwater onsite and treat to Outstanding Florida Water standards;
• Warranty that no adverse impact will occur to water quality or shellfish harvesting areas in the Alligator Harbor Aquatic Preserve;
• Maintain and protect onsite native habitat and vegetation, prohibit lawns and prohibit the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides;
• Provide a Natural Study Zone Buffer for FSU Marine Lab and a conservation easement and access for marine science teaching and research;
• Prohibit on-site waste disposal and provide an offsite Advanced Waste Treatment system and warrant that the discharge effluent is in compliance with all the standards of the Clean Water Act;
• Provide a central potable water facility off-site on other land owned by St. Joe;
• Limit development seaward of the Category One Hurricane Surge line;
• Implement hurricane preparedness and evacuation plan for all SummerCamp residents;
• Withdrew proposal to relocate US Highway 98;
• Limit maximum residential dwelling units to 499, non-residential land uses to 35,000 square feet of commercial and active recreation and a 50-room lodge;
• Cluster development in upland areas to preserve over 67% of the project site as conservation and open space to include all wetlands and the 50-ft or greater if appropriate, naturally vegetated landward buffer adjacent to all wetlands and water bodies.
• Commit to a visioning process and specific area plan for all of St. James Island, to include wildlife corridors, greenways and recreational areas and other environmental protection and community amenities.

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