PSL kicks can on Crosstown land use | St. Lucie County

PORT ST. LUCIE – The City Council here voted unanimously May 26 to continue a developer’s request to switch from residential to commercial uses on a Tradition Crosstown parcel in hopes of finding a legal method of prohibiting another gas station west of I-95 that could further slow down traffic flow on the Parkway.

Planner Bridget Kean introduced the proposed 16th amendment to the Tradition Master Planned Unit Development that night.

“This is a request to amend the Tradition MPUD for 9.4 acres of property,” she said. “The Tradition MPUD is approximately 3,038 acres and is located south of Crosstown, west of I-95 and then north and south of Tradition Parkway. The property has a land use of new community development and the zoning is MPUD. The surrounding uses to the north is a convenience store and gas station and the self-storage facility; to the south is the Heritage Oaks residential community; to the east is single-family residential community; and then to the northwest is the Verano development.”

Kean proceeded to describe both the PUD development plan and the current residential entitlement.

“The development plan in the PUD divides the project into major sub-areas,” she explained. “Those include residential, mixed use, village center and town center. On top of that, each sub-area is divided into parcels for planning purposes and each parcel designated for certain uses. This project is for undeveloped land at the southwest corner of Crosstown and Fairgreen Drive. A conceptual site plan was submitted in 2006 for approximately 106 townhome units. This application does reclassify the 9.48 acres as parcel 11A and designates 11A for commercial and other uses in the future.”

Mayor Shannon Martin was the first to admit there was confusion among Tradition residents as to the actual zoning on the parcel in question.

“I know there’s a lot of controversy,” she said looking toward staff. “This portion is not open-space tract or open space recreation and is currently designated as residential, correct?”

“Correct,” Kean replied. “The plat for this property for some reason did designate it as open space, but then it said open space for future development. It was always intended to be part of Phase C of the Heritage Oaks. It’s just a little confusing because of the legal description.”

Mayor Martin acknowledged that she and her colleagues had received photographs of wildlife currently on the land from adjoining homeowners.

“I want to make sure that’s clear because it’s called open space tract, but that doesn’t mean it’s zoned as open space recreation or conservation,” she explained. “So, right now if nothing changed, residential could be put upon this 9.48 acres?”

“It was always intended for development in the PUD,” Kean answered. “This item did go before the Planning & Zoning Board April 7, and the board voted to table the development. They had concerns about the future development and traffic. Staff did recommend a conditional of approval to require the future development of the property to install an architectural wall and enhanced landscaping along the east and southern boundaries of the property. At the May 5 Planning & Zoning Board meeting, the Board did recommend approval with a number of conditions.”

Vice-Mayor Jolien Caraballo then posed the question that colored the rest of the Council discussion that evening.

“If we approve commercial, could this potentially have a gas station on the property by-right?” she asked.

“It can have whatever the commercial uses are in the MPUD,” Kean responded. “That is one of the permitted uses.”

Mayor Martin, however, alluded to a form of potential relief.

“Since this is quasi-judicial, I was told that we can carve that out,” she said.

Kean deferred that idea to City Attorney Richard Berrios, who first spoke of the legal parameters set by the quasi-judicial hearing process.

“What you have is a latitude to attach certain suitable conditions,” he said. “Carving out the gas station might be one of them. Typically we work with our criteria when we do MPUDs. If there’s anything that one of you five feel isn’t in line with with one of those criteria, you can use that as a basis for a quasi-judicial determination.”

That prompted an additional clarification question from Vice-Mayor Caraballo.

“My one concern is a gas station on the corner and the fact we’re trying to eliminate traffic on Crosstown,” she said. “Are you saying with an MPUD we can carve out certain uses?”

“If you find that the placement of a gas station interferes with any of those criteria, you can use that in your determination,” Berrios replied.

After a handful of public speakers expressed concerns about potential noise from the commercial plaza and some wished for residential instead, both Councilmen Anthony Bonna and David Pickett expressed a preference for commercial since it would create less traffic than the approved townhome project and not require a third ingress and egress point mandated by the comp plan for residential.

“My concern was the traffic ingress and egress from Circle K [and] what do we have on the other side and how that is going to affect the traffic onto Fairgreen,” the latter said. “I’m in support of limiting what can go there.”

After further discussion, the Council voted unanimously to table the item until June 22 so staff could research the legality of carving out the gas station use on the property.