{"id":339222,"date":"2026-07-14T02:55:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T02:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/339222\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T02:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T02:55:06","slug":"how-floridas-live-local-act-is-shaping-the-future-of-causeway-cove-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/339222\/","title":{"rendered":"How Florida’s Live Local Act is shaping the future of Causeway Cove project"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT PIERCE, Fla (CBS12) \u2014 A proposed redevelopment at Causeway Cove Marina<\/a> in Fort Pierce is moving forward, but city leaders say a state law leaves them with little say over whether the project ultimately moves ahead.<\/p>\n

That message was repeated throughout a Fort Pierce Planning Board<\/a> meeting Monday, where officials stressed the discussion was informational only.<\/p>\n

The proposal would dramatically transform the area surrounding Causeway Cove Marina on Seaway Drive. According to city records, the project would include 913 residential units, two hotels totaling 407 rooms, more than 72,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, 218 marina slips and five buildings ranging from 11 to 17 stories tall.<\/p>\n

City staff spent much of the meeting explaining how Florida’s Live Local Act<\/a> limits the role local governments can play when certain affordable housing developments meet state requirements.<\/p>\n

See also: Could Palm Beach County beaches soon charge for parking? Here’s what’s proposed<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we normally see in a public hearing where there’s a discussion, if something is liked, not liked, if there are ways to improve it or not improve it, concerns \u2014 that is not what happens under the Live Local Act,\u201d Fort Pierce City Attorney Sara Hedges told board members.<\/p>\n

City officials said the proposed Causeway Cove project qualifies under the Live Local Act, a state law that allows certain affordable housing developments to move through an administrative approval process without a local vote if they meet statutory <\/a>requirements. <\/p>\n

To qualify under the Live Local Act, about 40% of the apartments \u2014 at least 366 units \u2014 would be required to remain affordable for a minimum of 30 years.<\/p>\n

Traffic was a major focus of the review. City staff said multiple agencies and consultants took a close look at how the development could affect nearby roads, leading to required improvements at U.S. 1 and Seaway Drive.<\/p>\n

Still, some Planning Board members questioned whether the state law was intended to be used for a development of this scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest overriding concern, I think, for all of us is I personally don’t believe that the Live Local Act was designed for this at all,\u201d Planning Board member Christopher Widing said during the meeting.<\/p>\n

Project documents show developer G Flash GP Inc. hopes to begin marina and site work before the end of the year. If everything stays on schedule, the project would be built in phases over the next decade, with final construction expected in 2035. <\/p>\n

Throughout the meeting, board members raised concerns about traffic, growth and the limited role local leaders have in the process. But several members stressed their concerns are ultimately with state law \u2014 not city staff<\/p>\n

Widing encouraged residents frustrated with the process to contact their state representatives, saying the law governing the project was created in Tallahassee rather than by local officials. The board later closed discussion on the item without a vote or public comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE, Fla (CBS12) \u2014 A proposed redevelopment at Causeway Cove Marina in Fort Pierce is moving forward,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-339222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}