An update on Citizens v. Riverstone & Nassau County

This litigation, like most, has gone through a period where there has been little to report. Nevertheless, we would like to bring you up to speed on where we are.

In the summer of 2021, Nassau County passed an ordinance limiting new construction on Amelia Island to 45 feet high. That is 10 feet higher than similar restrictions in the city of Fernandina, which limits heights to 35 feet.

Riverstone, owners of a pristine parcel near the south end of the island, filed suit against the county, alleging that the new restriction was improper. Riverstone wanted to build structures 85 feet high on the land.

The new County Attorney, Denise May, negotiated with Riverstone, and the resulting agreement not only permitted Riverstone to go higher than the existing grade, but also gave it a long list of valuable concessions, including narrow setbacks, lighted billboards along A1A, and permanent exemptions from new tree ordinances.

An angry, overflow crowd showed up at the County Commission meeting in the late spring of 2022, where the commission rejected the proposed settlement.

That April, Ms. May came back with the same sale settlement plus a promise to pay Riverstone $250,000. This time, four of the commissioners accepted her terms.

Another angry, overflow crowd appeared in opposition, and that gave Riverstone the green light to proceed.

Within 30 days, citizen groups sued the county to stop the agreement from going into effect. Nassau County immediately asked Riverstone to join with it against the citizens, which the courts allowed.

Citizens Against Runaway Development (CARD) was formed the day after the settlement was signed – which meant it could not be part of the lawsuit. However, the Amelia Tree Conservancy, also a part of the suit, took over from CARD and accepted citizen donations, which have been generous.

After that came the long process of document exchanges among the parties.

Meanwhile, Peter King, the former head of the county’s planning staff, prepared a long list of improprieties in the agreement, and the Nassau County/Riverstone team took his deposition in July. Depositions of the opposing team have not yet been scheduled.

Riverstone and Nassau County have moved to set the case for a non-jury trial. It is anticipated that the court will order the parties to mediation as part of an order setting the case for trial, likely in the first quarter of 2025.

Citizens wishing to donate may go to Amelia Tree Conservancy and click on “donate.”

We will do our very best to keep you posted as events develop. Your county government will not do so.

(Lyn Pannone is the president of Amelia Tree Conservancy, and Corky Hoffman is the president of Citizens Against Runaway Development.)