County Commission appoints new Planning and Zoning Agency member, bypassing PZA's recommended candidate

A divided St. Johns County Commission appointed Elizabeth “Beth” Tate to the Planning and Zoning Agency on Nov. 3, passing over a different candidate recommended by the agency.

Tate's appointment vote saw commissioners first vote 3-2 to reject PZA-recommended candidate Krista Dubé and then vote 4-1 to approve Tate's nomination. Commissioners Ann Taylor and Krista Joseph protested the majority's decision, which particularly upset Taylor.

"I'm just extremely disappointed that the PZA took a lot of time and effort on this," said Taylor, the lone commissioner to vote against Tate's appointment. She also noted Dubé had a recommendation letter from Greg Matovina, the outgoing PZA member whose place she would have taken.

But Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said the decision was simply a matter of him knowing Tate well and not knowing much about Dubé. Reached for comment, Commissioner Clay Murphy echoed that rationale and expressed "full confidence" in Tate.

"I've known Beth Tate for years, and I think she is probably the most qualified out of all the lists that I went through. She's nonpartisan. She’s very fact-based. She’s been writing a blog about things like this for a long time, and she’s really got a lot of common sense," Murphy said.

The blog he mentioned is Tate's Substack, St. Johns County Pulse, where she regularly writes about local issues affecting the county. Some of her recent posts discuss agricultural enclaves, offering a glimpse into her views on one of the county's most hotly-debated local issues since SB 686 took effect in July.

In one post published in July, Tate says that the law leaves the county little choice but to certify agricultural enclaves, even if it does not like them.

“County Commissioners cannot simply decide that a proposed development is too large, too controversial or inconsistent with the county's existing growth plans,” Tate wrote. “If an application satisfies the requirements established by the Legislature, the county must certify the property as an agricultural enclave.”

In another post from September, Tate seems to express skepticism at the commission's decision to deny the 4,462-acre N. Palm Valley Rd. agricultural enclave application.

However, Tate says her Substack posts were simply intended to explain the law, not advocate for or against the commission's strategy of denying some enclave applications and allowing the disputes to proceed toward court. She described it as "education, not advocacy."

“We obviously don't like it because it's eroding local control,” Tate said of SB 686. But she said she was “intentionally not taking a position one way or the other” on the county's approach. Her goal, she said, is to lay out the facts so readers can research the issue and reach their own conclusions.

Responding specifically to Tate's articles on SB 686, Murphy agreed with Tate's assessment.

"I am against 686 as it adversely effects St. John's county more than any other county in the state. But she is also right that we don't have the legal right to go against the law," said Murphy, who added that commissioners still had good reason to be skeptical of the ag enclave applications they had denied. "That being said, I listened to all the testimony and felt there was credible substantial evidence presented to question the measurements used to qualify."

Tate is the CEO of The Kesly Group LLC, which operates two area beauty salons, and previously was Citigroup's managing director and chief audit executive.

Dubé is a former United Airlines international purser and flight attendant who has been active in Fruit Cove Estates land-use and development advocacy. The PZA recommended Dubé in a 6-1 vote after 19 people applied for the opening.

Reached for comment, Dubé said "it was a tremendous honor to receive his nomination."

Moments before the commission voted down her appointment, Dubé addressed commissioners from the podium, where she pledged to be an impartial board member who understood “the importance of listening to residents while respecting private property rights.”

The PZA meets regularly to review land-use and development applications and makes recommendations to the County Commission, which has final authority.

Tate's term runs through Nov. 3, 2030.