Pacetti's Marina, RV Park, Fish Camp to Make Way For Condos

The latest condo development plan is announced for the Pacetti's Marina, RV Park and Fishing Resort on Trout Creek in northwest St. Johns County that has been operated by three generations of Pacettis since 1929.

Pinkham Pacetti announced his plan to ask the county to amend the comprehensive plan to allow as many as 300 condominium units where there now are mobile homes, campers, a restaurant and a bait shop. The process could take a year or more.

The change will displace scores of people who live in campers and mobile homes on the 23 acres along the county's only deep-water access to the St. Johns River. Some elderly residents have lived in the RV park for years and now are fearful and uncertain about their future.

Pacetti's Marina, RV Park & Fishing Resort sprawls along the north side of Trout Creek. Pacetti's wife's family bought the land in 1929. During the decades that followed, they incorporated a fish camp, a shop for cypress boats, a restaurant for anglers, motel units, a park for campers. They have the only gas dock between Jacksonville and Palatka, Pacetti said.

Pinkham Pacetti, who owns and operates Pacetti's with his wife, Linda, is ready to retire after running the family business since 1974.

Mostly, the place was famous for the beautiful water, and the Spanish moss dangling from ancient oaks. People such as St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon boated on it for years. Armingeon attended the meeting out of concern for the impact of development on the waterway.