FORT PIERCE \u2013 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\u2019s feeling growth pressures on all sides.<\/p>\n
Senior Planner Thad Crowe provided a comprehensive overview of the request to change the RS-2 Zoning \u2013 which allows only two dwelling units an acre \u2013 to planned unit development so Meritage Homes could match the underlying land use, which allows five units per acre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an area in transition,\u201d he said of the land wedged between U.S. 1 and Oleander Avenue. \u201cThis 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\u2019ll see intensive uses along U.S. 1 give way to larger residential lots moving towards the St. Lucie River. It\u2019s challenging for the county to handle this transition when you have existing neighborhoods and everyone\u2019s affected by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe 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\u2019s a stormwater pond, an amenity parcel and landscape buffers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe focus on things like energy efficiency, water efficiency and indoor air quality and we are an 11-time Energy Star Partner of the Year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe build our homes to a higher standard. The Tidewater community that\u2019s active right now is an affordable for-sale townhome community. These are three-bedroom, two story townhomes. There aren\u2019t many places in South Florida where you can buy the American dream for under $300,000, and that\u2019s what we tried to do at Tidewater I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heinzelmann, in turn, provided more details and the reasoning behind the rezoning request.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tidewater II site is residential urban,\u201d she said of the underlying land use. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meritage Homes\u2019 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\u2019s quality and less on density and the number of units.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard some residents say just do straight zoning and half-acre lots and that would be more acceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you do a straight zoning, you may win that battle, but I think you\u2019ll lose the war. The concerns the residents have set forth and the concerns we\u2019ve heard from you won\u2019t be addressed through straight zoning. Under straight zoning, you\u2019re not going to get the Oleander Corridor protected like the residents want; the tree preservation won\u2019t happen to the same extent under straight zoning; and straight zoning won\u2019t address the drainage issues and flooding concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u201ca very unique and special part of St. Lucie County.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh-density housing just threatens that Old Florida atmosphere that the residents enjoy in White City,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it will adversely affect the quality of life of the residents in this very special place.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of his neighbors, Pam Roberts, insisted she wasn\u2019t against development but rather the proposed change itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can use their land the way the master plan had proposed the land,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do disagree with them wanting to revise it because it puts additional stress on our already stressed infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Realtor Maysoon Salah told the Board she\u2019d sold so many of the Tidewater 1 townhomes that she became enamored with the quality of construction and purchased one herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really appreciate how competitive their price was for what they offered in terms of the build,\u201d she said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the clincher for me,\u201d she said as she read from the report. \u201cFlexibility 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner James Clasby concurred, citing from the same report and peppering staff about their recommendations for more native tree preservation and further density reductions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the findings we\u2019ve 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s criteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn your professional opinion, does the project before you meet the code requirements?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report is seeking modifications and updates to the preliminary plan as presented,\u201d Benton replied.<\/p>\n
Raines reworded the question at least two more times, before becoming exasperated with the answers, which were never a yes or no.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cYou have an excellent staff. I understand the recommendations being made and the modifications being requested, but that\u2019s not the same thing as being not consistent and in violation of the code and the comprehensive plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vice-Chairman Larry Leet then seconded Commissioner Clasby\u2019s motion for denial.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe if you increase the lot size, your potential buyer isn\u2019t going to be the working class, which is going to cut down on the traffic on Oleander,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d love to see a couple of streets go in there and acre-sized lots and bring in some older clientele.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019d be back with a less negotiable plan and told them to call call the motion on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m hearing is that the Commission is looking for larger one-acre lots,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bottom line is, we are only eight units higher than what the current density would allow. If we\u2019re looking for larger lots, straight zoning is the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The County Commission then voted unanimously to deny the rezoning request.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE \u2013 The St. Lucie County Commission voted unanimously Oct. 21 to deny a Meritage Home request…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33939,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172,563],"class_list":{"0":"post-33938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news","11":"tag-st_lucie"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33938","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=33938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}