UPDATE: The land swap proposal was withdrawn shortly after the release of this article.
Read the full notification of withdrawal here.
ORIGINAL: St. Johns County leaders and residents are continuing to speak out against a proposed land swap that would transfer 600 acres in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area into private hands.
On Wednesday, the state Acquisition and Restoration Council will decide whether to recommend trading 600 acres of land in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area for just over 3,000 acres along the Florida Wildlife Corridor in various parts of the state.
The proposal unveiled last Tuesday, sparked immediate condemnation, with protests held over the weekend.
State Representative Kim Kendall (R-St. Augustine) sent a message to all members of the Florida Legislature, calling on lawmakers to oppose the proposal.
“This goes against the spirit of the law, the legislation we just passed to prevent development in state parks and this really shouldn’t be happening,” said Kendall on Saturday.
Even White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a resident of nearby Ponte Vedra, spoke out condemning the land swap in the Jacksonville Tributary.
St. Johns County Commissioner Sarah Arnold told Action News Jax that local leaders are planning a press conference Tuesday morning to continue pressuring the Governor and Cabinet, who will ultimately determine whether to approve the trade.
“I would say the same thing we said with the state parks argument, parks are for people. This land, this conservation land is for the residents of this county and this state,” said Arnold.
It’s unknown exactly who is behind the trade.
The Upland, LLC is the party listed on the ARC proposal, but there are suspicions the company could be tied to Dream Finders Homes.
Dream Finders is a client of Driver, McAffee, Hawthorn & Diebenow.
The firm partners with Contega Business Services and offers the company’s services to its clients.
Contega is listed as the registered agent for The Upland, LLC and Steven Diebenow signed off on the formation documents for the company.
Dream Finders also recently developed a community in Colorado called “Uplands” and CEO Patrick Zalupski is associated with six LLC’s tied to that development, though none exactly match the company named in the land swap.
Despite all the apparent connections, Dream Finders Homes has denied any involvement in the land swap or The Upland, LLC.
“Even with the state parks, we were at least able to look at renderings, the plans and we knew what we were up against, what they were hoping to do,” said Arnold. ”This time we know nothing and that in and of itself with the very short timeline that we’ve been given to fight it is terrifying.”
Arnold said she’s also hoping to get the board of county commissioners to come out in formal opposition to the plan during Tuesday night’s commission meeting.
She and other local residents will head to Tallahassee Wednesday to share their concerns with ARC in person.
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