An early morning view from Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
Published on November 3, 2026 at 11:38 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
Voters in St. Johns County, with one of Florida’s fastest-growing populations, overwhelmingly supported a measure Tuesday that could raise taxes to protect more land from development. According to unofficial election night results, 75% of St. Johns voters voted in support of the conservation measure.
Its passage means the local government has another tool in its toolkit to buy up environmentally sensitive land before home builders can.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Taxes won’t automatically increase. Instead, the voters gave the county government the ability to issue bonds up to $100 million to fund the Land Acquisition Management Program.
The county could then increase property taxes by up to 0.15 mills, up 15 cents per $1,000 of a home’s taxable value, to pay off the bond debt.
The measure had strong support from St. Johns County’s environmentalists. Among them is Matanzas Riverkeeper Jen Lomberk.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
She says she’s thrilled that the referendum passed, but not surprised.
“St. Johns County voters have been saying for years that land conservation is a priority for our community,” Lomberk says. “It’s very heartening that now we have the voter data to back that up.”
The vote comes even as Florida voters passed constitutional Amendment 3 — the measure that will greatly increase property tax homestead exemptions — with support from roughly 65% of St. Johns voters, according to Tuesday night’s unofficial numbers.
“I think that it sends a signal that people want to pay less for property taxes, but they want the property taxes they are paying to be used for things they genuinely care about,” Lomberk says. “Namely, land conservation.”
It’s not just in St. Johns. Conservation measures also passed Tuesday in a number of areas across the state, including in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
