Placement: New Business
Action Requested: Motion / Vote
title
Request to authorize City staff to take all actions necessary before St. Lucie County Boards, including but not limited to the Board of County Commissioners, to preserve the City’s interests with respect to applications for projects involving the properties known as Rainbow Groves, Neill Farm Estates and Palermo Estates.
body
Submitted By: Teresa Lamar-Sarno, AICP, ICMA-CM, Assistant City Manager
Strategic Plan Link: The City’s Mission to plan for smart and balanced growth.
Executive Summary (General Business): Staff recommends and requests authorization to make comments, make presentations and seek intervenor status (if applicable) to preserve the City’s rights with respect to mitigation of impacts to the City caused by the proposed development projects in St. Lucie County (“County”) and adjacent to the City (Rainbow Groves, Neill Farm Estates and Palermo Estates).
Presentation Information: Staff will be available to answer questions.
Staff Recommendation: Move that the Council authorize City staff to take all actions necessary before St. Lucie County Boards, including but not limited to the Board of County Commissioners, to preserve the City’s interests with respect to applications for projects involving the properties known as Rainbow Groves, Neill Farm Estates and Palermo Estates.
Alternate Recommendations:
1. Move that the Council amend the recommendation and complete the motion.
2. Move that the Council not approve staff’s recommendation and provide staff with direction.
Background: There are a number of large-scale development projects working their way through the entitlement process in an area of unincorporated western St. Lucie County that boarders the City. The projects are known as Rainbow Groves, Palermo Estates and Neill Farms. Each of these projects has large-scale comprehensive plan future land use amendment applications pending with the County. The City anticipates that the transmittal hearings for both the Palermo Estates and Neill Farms Estates properties will be heard on August 6, 2024. The City anticipates that the Rainbow Groves adoption hearing will be heard on either July 16 or August 6, 2024. Staff is concerned that these projects are moving forward quickly in the County before the analyses are sufficient, and certainly prior to mitigating the City’s concerns which have been provided to the County staff and all the development teams.
Below is a brief overview of each of the projects.
Project Summaries
Rainbow Groves:
Summary: Applicant agent, McCarty & Associates. The application requests to change the Future Land Use designation from AG-5 (Agricultural-5) to MXD (Mixed Use Development) with associated Specific Use Areas for Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial, and Light Industrial/Commercial Land Uses, to be developed pursuant to a Planned Non-Residential Development (PNRD). A breakdown by use is shown below:
• Heavy Industrial (150.67 ac.; 3,281.6 KSF)
• Light industrial (72.47 ac.; 1,558.8 KSF)
• Light Industrial / General Commercial (22.10 ac.; 500.9 KSF)
Palermo Estates:
Summary: Applicant agent, Cotleur & Hearing. The application requests to change the Future Land Use designation from AG-5 (Agricultural-5) to MXD (Mixed Use Development) and establish MXD Sub-Area policies. Specifically, the application is seeking an amendment to allow for an approximately 235.44-acre residential subdivision consisting of 705 single-family detached, duplex, and town house residential units. Notably, there is also a pending rezoning application. The City does not know the timeframe for the rezoning to move forward.
Neill Farm Estates:
Summary: Applicant and agent is G.L Acquisitions Corporation and GT Homes. The application requests to change the Future Land Use designation of approximately 420.96 acres from AG-5 (Agricultural-5) to MXD (Mixed Use Development). The applicant has committed to only age-restricted housing and no retail/commercial uses as part of the sub-area policy of the application. The maximum intensity will be 1,263 age restricted units.
Issues/Analysis: The City had our peer review traffic consultant Kittelson & Associates, Inc. (KAI) review the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) for each of the projects and all comments were provided to the County and the applicants. In staff’s opinion, there are still outstanding issues with each of these projects that have the potential to impact City roadways. Staff has concerns that the cumulative impacts of all the developments proposed and/or approved in St. Lucie County west of Range Line Road and the cumulative impacts of the developments already approved for the SW area, i.e. Oak Ridge Ranches, Tradition DRI, Riverland DRI, Wilson Groves DRI, and Southern Groves DRI, are not fully realized by St. Lucie County or accurately reflected in the applicants’ traffic studies. If the background volumes are not accurate, then it is impossible to assess the impact of this project on the City of Port St. Lucie.
Most of the County projects in this area rely on City roadways for capacity and access. The City roadways relied upon as connections to Range Line Road do not exist as connections today. As stated in the traffic study for Neill Farms, two roadway segments on Range Line Road and one roadway segment on Glades Cut Off Road (both county roadways) are expected to operate below the Level of Service threshold requirements by 2045. The traffic study states the applicant will agree to make a proportionate share payment to mitigate the impact to the transportation network. The study does not identify nor is City staff aware of any County studies, plans, or timeline for future improvements to Range Line Road to increase capacity and provide multi-modal access for pedestrians and bicyclists in association with these projects. At the joint City and County meeting held on June 13, 2024, County staff stated that improvements to Range Line Road are not included in the TPO’s 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan. Range Line Road would be added to the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan. As mentioned, the traffic study shows segments of the road failing in 2045. If Range Line Road is not improved and available as an alternative north-south route, it will push more traffic east into Port St. Lucie to connect to I-95.
City staff also has concerns about the reliance on the County’s proportionate share program to address traffic impacts since the City is not a party to the County’s proportionate fair share program. There is no guarantee that the funds collected from the proportionate fair share program would be used to address impacts on city or adjacent county roadways. There is no certainty on the scope of the roadway improvements or the timing to guarantee that the infrastructure is in place to meet the demand from new development. The City works with developers to ensure roadway and infrastructure improvements are fully funded and timed for construction as part of development approval to ensure the infrastructure is in place to meet the additional demand created by the new development.
Financial Information: New County development will utilize City services and infrastructure resulting in additional capital and operational costs to the City.
Special Consideration: Based on these concerns and in an abundance of caution, staff seeks the City Council’s authorization to take all actions necessary before St. Lucie County Boards, including but not limited to the Board of County Commissioners, to preserve the City’s interests with respect to applications for projects involving the properties known as Rainbow Groves, Neill Farm Estates and Palermo Estates. City staff seeks this authorization not only for the comprehensive plan amendments described above, but all subsequent related applications to provide staff with the flexibility to act expeditiously, if items are placed on an agenda earlier than City staff had anticipated. This request does not request permission to litigate these matters or engage in administrative challenges at the state level. It simply seeks authority to act to protect the City’s interests at the County hearings on these items.
Location of Project: St. Lucie County
Attachments:
1. County Projects & Road Network Map
NOTE: All of the listed items in the “Attachment” section above are in the custody of the City Clerk. Any item(s) not provided in City Council packets are available upon request from the City Clerk.
Internal Reference Number: 24183-03
Legal Sufficiency Review:
Reviewed by Elizabeth L. Hertz, Senior Deputy City Attorney. Approved as to Legal form and sufficiency by Richard Berrios, Interim City Attorney.