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Case Study 2

Testing the Land Use Framework for Deliberation in Port St. Joe

By Mandy Sunshine Baily

Port St. Joe, a small town of about 3,400 people, is located in the Florida panhandle along the Gulf of Mexico at the site of a deep-water natural harbor. The town, settled in 1835, has a history of storm surges and hurricanes, with the most recent being Hurricane Michael in 2018. Thanks to community contacts at Florida A&M University (FAMU), Port St. Joe was selected as a site to pilot test the CIVIC land use issue guide.

Audience and Community

During the mid-20th century, Port St. Joe thrived economically with national and international shipping trade. However, during the early 1970s, shipping began a steady decline and by the mid-1980s most shipping activity had ended. The St. Joe Paper Mill and Box Plant and the Arizona Chemical Company were the primary users of the port. The buildings that housed these companies “were razed so that the land can be reclaimed for further use” (http://www.portofportstjoe.com/port-history.cfm). In sharing a bit of local history with the forum participants, a CIVIC team leader mentioned that these two significant employers hired African American laborers who moved into North Port St Joe. The community even had a Black beach during the segregation era. But since then, these two companies have closed shop, the community has deteriorated, and opportunities for residents have disappeared.

Port St. Joe maintains a historically African American neighborhood and has long supported a separate business district and housing areas in keeping with the norms of racial segregation. The Black portion of Port St. Joe is sometimes referred to as “North Port St. Joe." According to a participant at another forum, the “North” addition to Port St. Joe is not looked upon favorably by many in the Black community, as “North” was added after racial integration in the early 1970s to further racial delineation. Community heritage has continued to suffer from lack of funding and commitment to economic improvements, particularly the mixed-use corridor of Martin Luther King Boulevard.

CIVIC Activities

The deliberative forum was convened by CIVIC Team members, some with long-standing connections to the community. The forum was held virtually (over zoom) due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Participants included a Port St. Joe city commissioner, Port St. Joe resident representing the local Planning and Redevelopment Board, a Port St. Joe realtor, and a Port St. Joe resident. As there was a large storm moving through the area during the forum, one attendee was unable to retain Internet connection and was forced to leave the session early. When asked “what concerns do you have about land use in your community?” each person’s responses were recorded by the facilitation team and included:

  • In the Martin Luther King (MLK) corridor—the original business district of Port St. Joe—property owners need help to develop properties, they’re concerned about taxes, how to acquire funding to move forward with developing properties—not just for individuals, but larger community betterment. People being priced out but still want to improve property—what type of home can hold value? North Port St. Joe is a Black community. Need for education on what to do if taxes go up. People worried about taxes going up, they don’t understand they need tax money to make positive changes. It’s happening already, they need to learn how to deal with it, because “it’s not the Forgotten Coast anymore, they found us!”
  • My primary concern is family housing, old unlivable structures, and lack of affordable housing available to encourage people to live and work here. I want the community to understand the importance of generational wealth, of our kids being able to have opportunities. As for the MLK corridor – business development won’t be what it was, it needs to expand elsewhere, I don’t [want] North Port St. Joe to become a retirement/“old” community, how do we attract families? How do we provide work to get them to stick around? This goes for Port St. Joe in general, not just North Port St. Joe.
  • Researchers and others [wanting to assist in improving North Port St. Joe] need to coordinate before coming to the area so that they do not exhaust communities! Can they collaborate better?
Outcomes

When asked in closing about how they felt about the discussion, participants stated:

  • I enjoyed it! Informative, it’s how problems are solved…great for community to join in. Still a long way to go, but time to broaden the circle so can make stronger attempt at change in the community.
  • We started development discussions in early 1980s… community interest has dwindled over time, folks are not motivated, can’t blame everything on Covid. We can reach out and invite others who may not feel empowered or are afraid of appearing foolish. If we can invite 5 more folks, if we get more skin in the game, that’d help with networking if the whole goal is to make community better!
  • Pandemic concerns had restricted in-person meetings, but there are plans to hold additional forums in the North Port St Joe area in the future. Utilizing the CIVIC framework to begin the engagement process around a community issue seemed to work quite well.

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