FORT PIERCE – The St. Lucie County Commission voted unanimously Oct. 21 to deny a Meritage Home request to rezone a 43.3-acre parcel in White City to planned unit development over concerns with increased density, native tree removals and compatibility due to the rural nature of the community that’s feeling growth pressures on all sides.
Senior Planner Thad Crowe provided a comprehensive overview of the request to change the RS-2 Zoning – which allows only two dwelling units an acre – to planned unit development so Meritage Homes could match the underlying land use, which allows five units per acre.
“It’s an area in transition,” he said of the land wedged between U.S. 1 and Oleander Avenue. “This is a large, vacant tract of land in an area gradually transitioning into more suburban use. If you start at U.S. 1 and work your way westward, you’ll see intensive uses along U.S. 1 give way to larger residential lots moving towards the St. Lucie River. It’s challenging for the county to handle this transition when you have existing neighborhoods and everyone’s affected by it.”
Although a site plan was not on the agenda that day, Crowe provided a few details of what commissioners might see in a potential Tidewater II development.
“The west portion is proposed for 74 detached single-family [homes] on 60-foot-wide lots, an amenity parcel, landscape buffers and a five-acre conservation area along Oleander,” he explained. “The eastern portion is the townhome component of Tidewater II: 94 proposed units; 60 are 20 feet by 80 feet; and 34 of those lots are 24 by 80 feet. Again, there’s a stormwater pond, an amenity parcel and landscape buffers.”
Afterward, Meritage Homes Vice-President of Land Development Jeff Alexander and his contracted Land Planner Leah Heinzelmann both addressed the Commission, with the former emphasizing the quality of the homes built by the company since 1985.
“We focus on things like energy efficiency, water efficiency and indoor air quality and we are an 11-time Energy Star Partner of the Year,” he said. “We build our homes to a higher standard. The Tidewater community that’s active right now is an affordable for-sale townhome community. These are three-bedroom, two story townhomes. There aren’t many places in South Florida where you can buy the American dream for under $300,000, and that’s what we tried to do at Tidewater I.”
Heinzelmann, in turn, provided more details and the reasoning behind the rezoning request.
“The Tidewater II site is residential urban,” she said of the underlying land use. “This allows for five dwelling units an acre, which is consistent with the surrounding commercial and MXD uses along U.S. 1. The current zoning is designated as RS-2, which allows for two dwelling units an acre. We are requested a proposed zoning change to PUD, with a maximum of five dwelling units an acre for Tidewater II, which is consistent with the underlying land use. This rezoning gives a maximum of 3.9 dwelling units an acre for the proposed PUD master plan.”
Meritage Homes’ contracted Land Use Attorney Bob Raines also addressed the Board, telling its members he believed St. Lucie County residents needed to focus more on a project’s quality and less on density and the number of units.
“I’ve heard some residents say just do straight zoning and half-acre lots and that would be more acceptable,” he said. “If you do a straight zoning, you may win that battle, but I think you’ll lose the war. The concerns the residents have set forth and the concerns we’ve heard from you won’t be addressed through straight zoning. Under straight zoning, you’re not going to get the Oleander Corridor protected like the residents want; the tree preservation won’t happen to the same extent under straight zoning; and straight zoning won’t address the drainage issues and flooding concerns.”
Six residents also opined on the request, with most opposed to the density increase although admitting Meritage representatives had modified the proposed development to please them. Oleander Avenue resident Steve Holden owns a five-acre parcel near the southwest corner of the Tidewater I townhome development and referred to White City as “a very unique and special part of St. Lucie County.”
“High-density housing just threatens that Old Florida atmosphere that the residents enjoy in White City,” he said. “I think it will adversely affect the quality of life of the residents in this very special place.”
One of his neighbors, Pam Roberts, insisted she wasn’t against development but rather the proposed change itself.
“They can use their land the way the master plan had proposed the land,” she said. “We do disagree with them wanting to revise it because it puts additional stress on our already stressed infrastructure.”
Realtor Maysoon Salah told the Board she’d sold so many of the Tidewater 1 townhomes that she became enamored with the quality of construction and purchased one herself.
“I really appreciate how competitive their price was for what they offered in terms of the build,” she said. “I love the idea that this community creates enclosure. The environmental protection feels like Abacoa [in Jupiter]. Being able to leave your home and walk in nature is an excellent quality of life.”
Chairwoman Janice Fowler launched the subsequent Commission deliberations, admitting her own study of the staff report left her concerned with the narrow lots and loss of native tree habitat because she had hoped for at least a few half-acre lots.
“Here’s the clincher for me,” she said as she read from the report. “Flexibility is also needed for the townhome component, which is not allowed under any conventional zoning district. For me, there would be an effect on property values. It is not an orderly and logical development pattern to have the townhome component mixed in with single-family residences.”
Commissioner James Clasby concurred, citing from the same report and peppering staff about their recommendations for more native tree preservation and further density reductions.
“Based on the findings we’ve read into the record just now, including staff statements that further reductions, tree preservations and infrastructure improvements are still needed to meet the standards of our land development code, I would move to deny the Tidewater II PUD,” he said.
Before he could get a second, however, Attorney Raines came to the podium to cross examine Planning Manager Kori Benton in an effort to get an acknowledgment the Meritage PUD would meet the county’s criteria.
“In your professional opinion, does the project before you meet the code requirements?” he asked.
“The report is seeking modifications and updates to the preliminary plan as presented,” Benton replied.
Raines reworded the question at least two more times, before becoming exasperated with the answers, which were never a yes or no.
“I believe this plan would not have gotten this far without the fact that it would be consistent with the comprehensive plan and the land development code,” he exclaimed. “You have an excellent staff. I understand the recommendations being made and the modifications being requested, but that’s not the same thing as being not consistent and in violation of the code and the comprehensive plan.”
Vice-Chairman Larry Leet then seconded Commissioner Clasby’s motion for denial.
“I believe if you increase the lot size, your potential buyer isn’t going to be the working class, which is going to cut down on the traffic on Oleander,” he said. “I’d love to see a couple of streets go in there and acre-sized lots and bring in some older clientele.”
A last-minute effort by both Commissioner Cathy Townsend and Chairwoman Fowler to get Alexander to withdraw the application for further tweaking failed. The latter, however, insinuated he’d be back with a less negotiable plan and told them to call call the motion on the floor.
“What I’m hearing is that the Commission is looking for larger one-acre lots,” he said. “The bottom line is, we are only eight units higher than what the current density would allow. If we’re looking for larger lots, straight zoning is the way to go.”
The County Commission then voted unanimously to deny the rezoning request.