By Kate Kimmel
Nassau County commissioners approved amendments this week to three separate ordinances addressing tourist tax spending, public nuisance enforcement, and economic development incentives, changes that collectively expand how tax dollars may be used and clarify the county’s enforcement and incentive policies.
Tourist Development Tax updates
The most immediate financial shift came through amendments to the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) ordinance, which eliminate the existing “Trade” spending category and reallocate those funds to other uses. The changes allow a portion of TDT revenue to be used for beach lifeguards, following recent changes to state law that explicitly permit local governments to fund certified lifeguard services using tourist tax dollars.
As part of the reallocation, $500,000 was moved to lifeguard funding, with $300,000 designated for Fernandina Beach and $200,000 for the county, Commissioner John Martin said.
The ordinance also restructures TDT spending categories into marketing, arts and culture, leisure and recreation, and administrative uses, consolidating several activities that were previously funded through separate or differently labeled categories.
Assistant County Manager Marshall Eyerman said the changes are intended to provide greater flexibility while remaining consistent with state law. The Tourist Development Council approved the revised framework at its Dec. 10 meeting.
“The Tourist Development Council and our partners agreed that this is a good refresh to have at this time as we continue to move forward with encouraging tourism through this County,” Eyerman said.
Regulation of nuisances
Commissioners also adopted amendments to the county’s nuisance ordinance that expand definitions and strengthen enforcement authority. This marks the first changes to the ordinance since 2015, Assistant County Attorney Elizabeth Moore said.
The revised ordinance broadens the definition of litter, adds a formal definition of public nuisance, and updates vehicle-related language to include inoperable vehicles and trailers. It also clarifies that county code enforcement officers may include law enforcement officers and explicitly authorizes Nassau County Code Enforcement to enforce nuisance violations.
The ordinance establishes that the presence of litter, vermin-attracting materials, or accumulations of dead or dying vegetation may serve as prima facie evidence that a property owner or occupant caused the condition. It further outlines coordination procedures between the county and the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office for nuisance investigations, training, and enforcement actions.
Economic Development Grant Program updates
A third set of amendments updated the county’s Economic Development Grant program, primarily by adding definitions, tightening eligibility requirements, and clarifying oversight procedures for ad valorem tax abatements.
“We’ve been working with the economic development board and developers in the community and seeing how we can amend this to encourage and support more economic development from the non-residential side,” Eyerman said. “What we’ve done is modified what used to be a single path of doing this and broke it up into different industries.”
The ordinance defines what qualifies as new investment, new jobs, small businesses, and speculative industrial space, and requires that projects be located within designated target development areas and approved target industries.The targeted development areas were marked to encourage new businesses to establish themselves within the new “Timber to Tides” corridor along SR200/A1A, Eyerman said.
Under the revised framework, grants may be paid over a period of up to 10 years and are tied to annual performance benchmarks, with applicants required to submit yearly reports demonstrating compliance.
Large-scale projects creating at least 100 jobs and investing more than $100 million may qualify for alternative grant terms, but only with unanimous approval from the county commission. The Economic Development Board will continue to review applications and make recommendations, though final decisions remain with the commission.
kkimmel@nassaunewsline.net
