What Enclave Means for Nocatee Buyers After Davis Denial

By Brian Sacks, SRES®, Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · October 2, 2026

Key Takeaways

• The St. Johns County Commission voted 3-2 on September 15, 2026, to deny the 4,462-acre Davis agricultural-enclave application north of Nocatee, finding the parcels did not meet the statutory definition under Florida SB 686.
• Florida SB 686, signed April 24, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026, gives counties 90 days to approve or deny an agricultural-enclave application; no action results in automatic certification.
• The PARC Group, representing the Davis family, stated it plans to appeal the denial, so the September 15 vote is not necessarily the final word on these 4,462 acres.
• St. Johns County Commission Chair Clay Murphy announced on September 22, 2026, that the county intends to challenge SB 686 in court, though no injunction has been confirmed as of October 2026.
• Nocatee-area buyers should request parcel-specific planning and zoning records in writing before purchasing, because the Davis denial does not resolve the status of adjacent or nearby parcels.

What exactly happened with the Davis enclave application north of Nocatee?

Here is the short version: the Davis family, through an entity called BR4700 LLC, filed an agricultural-enclave certification application on July 1, 2026, the same day Florida's new SB 686 agricultural-enclave law took effect. The application covered 4,462.09 acres, just below the law's reported 4,480-acre statutory maximum.

The commission's first attempt to act, at its September 1, 2026 meeting, ended in a 3-2 deadlock on a motion to deny. That mattered because SB 686 reportedly gives a county just 90 days to approve or deny an application. Miss the window, and the application is automatically certified. The clock kept running.

Two weeks later, on September 15, 2026, the board voted 3-2 to deny. The stated reason: the parcels did not satisfy the statutory definition of an agricultural enclave under the new law. According to the Jacksonville Daily Record, The PARC Group, identified in reporting as representing the Davis family and as the developer behind Nocatee itself, said it plans to appeal.

So what does the enclave certification process mean in practical terms? Under the reported statutory density framework, SB 686 allows up to roughly one single-family unit per gross acre for qualifying agricultural enclaves. At 4,462 acres, certification could have created a theoretical capacity of around 4,462 units. That is a development-capacity implication, not a guarantee that any specific number of homes would have been built. The denial removes that particular pathway, for now.

What is SB 686 and why does it matter here?

Florida SB 686 expanded an existing process allowing certain agricultural land surrounded by or adjacent to developed areas to seek certification for single-family residential development. Signed April 24, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026, the law limits a county's ability to apply its ordinary local zoning framework to qualifying enclaves, which is exactly why St. Johns County pushed back hard. The county's objection, as stated by Commission Chair Clay Murphy, is that the state law restricts the county's ability to enforce its own land-use rules.

On August 4, 2026, the county had already directed its attorneys to consult outside counsel about a possible challenge or injunction against SB 686. County Attorney Richard Komando reportedly cautioned that filing a lawsuit would not itself stop enclave reviews. A court would need to issue a temporary injunction for that to happen. As of October 2026, no confirmed injunction or final court ruling has been reported.

Could the county's legal challenge stop other enclave applications?

Possibly, but not automatically. A successful legal challenge to SB 686 could limit or invalidate the law's application across Florida, which would affect any pending or future enclave applications statewide. But that outcome requires a court to rule in the county's favor, and potentially to issue a temporary injunction while the case proceeds. Neither has happened yet. Buyers should not assume the legal challenge will succeed or that it will resolve quickly.

What enclave means for Nocatee buyers doing due diligence right now

This is the part I want every buyer in this corridor to hear clearly. The Davis denial tells you one thing: this specific certification application was denied on September 15, 2026. It does not tell you the status of every parcel north of Nocatee, and it does not freeze the land permanently.

I have worked with a lot of buyers in Nocatee and the surrounding communities, and the most common mistake I see is treating a single news event as a complete answer to a complex land-use question. It is not. Here is what I tell every buyer who asks me about nearby parcels:

• The denial and any appeal are separate tracks. The PARC Group has stated it plans to appeal. That process could run for months or longer.
• Other development paths still exist. A denied enclave certification does not eliminate the possibility of a future rezoning petition, comprehensive-plan amendment, or development agreement through the county's ordinary land-use process.
• Existing entitlements on nearby parcels are unaffected. Land that was already approved, permitted, or entitled before this application is not touched by the Davis denial.
• Infrastructure and utility commitments are a separate question. Road extensions, utility-service boundaries, and concurrency approvals are tracked separately from enclave certifications.
• The county's legal challenge is not yet resolved. Until a court rules, SB 686 remains in effect and other enclave applications could still be filed statewide.

What should you actually ask and verify?

Before you make an offer on any Nocatee-area home where nearby land use matters to you, ask in writing whether the specific parcel you are buying is affected by any of the following:

• An active or pending enclave application
• An approved development order or development agreement
• A pending rezoning or comprehensive-plan amendment
• Planned road or utility extensions that could bring new density nearby
• An appeal or court case challenging a land-use decision

The right places to check are the St. Johns County development-application database, planning and zoning agendas, Board of County Commissioners meeting minutes, and the applicable court docket if an appeal has been filed. Your specific situation depends on your specific parcel. That is exactly the kind of due-diligence conversation I walk my clients through before we ever write an offer.

If you are also comparing communities in this part of St. Johns County, it is worth understanding how different master-planned neighborhoods handle things like CDDs and HOA structures, and proximity to undeveloped land. The numbers and structures vary more than most buyers expect. I covered some of that in my comparison of Del Webb Ponte Vedra vs. Del Webb Nocatee, which gives you a feel for how differently two communities in the same general area can be structured.

And if you are relocating to Northeast Florida and trying to get your arms around a region where Nocatee, Rivertown, Silverleaf, and a dozen other master-planned communities all sit within a short drive of each other, working with someone who knows the land-use landscape here is not optional. It is the difference between buying with confidence and buying with blind spots. A Northeast Florida relocation specialist can map out what is built, what is approved, and what is still in play.

If you want to know where the Davis land sits relative to specific Nocatee villages or communities like Coastal Oaks, Twenty Mile, or Anthem Ridge, that is a conversation worth having before you buy, not after. I am happy to pull the map and walk through it with you.

If you found this helpful, I'd love for you to read what other buyers and sellers have said about working with me on Google and Zillow.

The bottom line for Nocatee-area buyers in October 2026

The 3-2 denial of the Davis agricultural-enclave application is significant news for northern St. Johns County. But it is one data point in a complicated, still-moving land-use picture. An appeal is planned, a county legal challenge to SB 686 is in motion, and other development pathways on nearby land remain possible.

The right move is to verify parcel-specific records before you buy, not assume the news headline settles the question. That is the kind of local, transaction-specific due diligence I do with every buyer I work with in this market.

Common questions

Keep reading

• Nocatee, FL: Why It's Northeast Florida's Top Community
• Del Webb Ponte Vedra vs Del Webb Nocatee: Which One?
• Why Use a Northeast Florida Relocation Specialist
• 55+ Communities in St. Johns County: Find Your Fit