FORT PIERCE \u2013 Plans for a massive, new mixed-used development on South Hutchinson Island meet all existing state law requirements, Fort Pierce city planners have concluded, leaving local government no apparent leverage over the 43-acre project.<\/p>\n
Now it appears a grassroots challenge focused on state lawmakers could be the only remaining roadblock to a five-building, high-rise project designed to include housing, a hotel, commercial space and a marina.<\/p>\n
Kev Freeman, city planning director, told the Fort Pierce City Commission Monday that provisions of a state law known as Live Local allow the developer to sidestep some traditional density, height, zoning and land use standards because it promises to maintain at least 40 percent of the residential units as \u201caffordable housing\u201d for the next 30 days.<\/p>\n
While commissioners have expressed unanimous opposition to the plan for Causeway Cove, they suggested Monday that they have no options, save a questionable legal battle that could cost local taxpayers millions with no guarantee of a favorable outcome.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Michael Broderick, who along with Mayor Linda Hudson lives on South Hutchinson Island, observed that G. FLASH General Partners Inc., West Palm Beach, headed by Ashton DePeyster, a Palm Beach philanthropist and real estate developer, had done \u201can excellent job\u201d of designing the plan to meet all the nuances of the state law designed to promote affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to listen to this being the salvation of the city (tax base),\u201d Broderick said. \u201cThis is an improper development at an improper location. This is one of the worst written laws of this state. It\u2019s going to be a nightmare out there (South Hutchinson Island) and this city has no control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeman said the city already has consulted with regional and state transportation officials with concerns about the ability of Seaway Drive to accommodate the traffic counts and emergency evacuation plans the development will impact. He said the state has set requirements for driveways, turn lanes, a water taxi connection between Causeway Cove and downtown Fort Pierce, installation of a new public transit stop and providing shuttle service to the beaches. Those are not expected to present roadblocks to development.<\/p>\n
Live Local provisions require approval of Causeway Cove building heights that meet the highest levels found in commercial\/residential buildings located within a mile radius of the proposed location. Freeman said that means state law allows the proposed structures to rise 200 feet.<\/p>\n
According to Freeman, the city has no choice but to \u201cadministratively approve\u201d the plan\u2013without public hearings\u2013because it meets the state\u2019s criteria.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said he does not believe \u201cthe city can\u2019t do anything,\u201d arguing Fort Pierce should challenge the state\u2019s \u201cinterpretations\u201d of the Live Local Act.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Arnold Gaines, himself an attorney, said state law is preeminent over contradictory local statutes and he warned other members to \u201cbe careful about throwing out hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Curtis Johnson Jr. attached blame to state lawmakers, saying, \u201cWe need to help our citizens understand this was done by people they put in (state) office\u201d and he lauded city planners for \u201cdoing their job and doing it correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hudson said she agrees with community sentiment opposed to the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I want a dense development like this? I do not,\u201d she said. \u201cThe property should be developed but not this way. If you\u2019re looking for your local government to stand up for you and stop this plan, you\u2019re looking in the wrong place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broderick suggested local citizens may take up the flag of opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t taken into account the will of the people,\u201d he said. \u201cCitizens are going to rally together and take action on their own. The will of the people has not been felt yet. The citizens of Fort Pierce are pissed off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broderick did not elaborate on what specific citizen actions could be contemplated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE \u2013 Plans for a massive, new mixed-used development on South Hutchinson Island meet all existing state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172,563],"class_list":["post-368729","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","tag-st_lucie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368729","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=368729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}