Placement: Public Hearing - Non Quasi Judicial
Action Requested: Motion / Vote
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P22-336 Lulfs Grove - Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Large Scale
Location: The property is generally located on the west side of Glades Cut Off Road, east of the C-24 Canal and south of Midway Road.
Legal Description: A portion of Sections 20 & 21, Township 36 South, Range 39 East.
This is a request to change the Future Land Use from 90 acres of Commercial Service/Light Industrial/Heavy Industrial (CS/LI/HI) land use, 311.50 acres of Commercial Service/Light Industrial/Residential, Office and Institutional (CS/LI/ROI) land use, and 63 acres of Commercial General/Residential, Office and Institutional (CG/ROI) land use to 397.89 acres of Low Density Residential (RL) land use, 34.25 acres of General Commercial/Commercial Service/Institutional (CG/CS/I) land use, 13.93 acres of Open Space Recreation (OSR) land use, and 18.43 acres of Open Space Conservation (OSC) land use.
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Submitted By: Bridget Kean, AICP, Senior Planner
Executive Summary: The City has received an application for a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment to amend the future land use map and Policies 1.1.4.18 and 1.1.4.19 of the Future Land Use Element for a project known as Lulfs Groves. Lulfs Groves is approximately 464.5 acres in size. The Lulfs Groves property was annexed into the City in 2008 and is subject to an executed and recorded annexation agreement. A large scale comprehensive plan amendment was approved in 2009 that changed the land use from St. Lucie County Agriculture to the following City of Port St. Lucie future land uses: 90 acres of Commercial Service/Light Industrial/Heavy Industrial (CS/LI/HI), 311.50 acres of Commercial Service/Light Industrial/Residential, Office and Institutional (CS/LI/ROI) and 63 acres of Commercial General/Residential, Office and Institutional (CG/ROI). The amendment included the adoption of sub-area policies that identified Lulfs Groves as a mixed use business park with industrial, commercial, office, institutional, and limited residential entitlements. The proposed land use map and text amendments will convert Lulfs Groves to a primarily single-family residential development consisting of 397.89 acres of Low Density Residential (RL) land use, 34.25 acres of General Commercial/Commercial Service/Institutional (CG/CS/I) land use, 13.93 acres of Open Space Recreation (OSR) land use, and 18.43 acres of Open Space Conservation (OSC) land use. Single-family residential development will be capped at 1,350 residential units.
Presentation Information: Staff will provide a presentation.
Staff Recommendation: Move that the Board recommend denial as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Department.
Background: The application was tabled at the September 5, 2023 Planning and Zoning Board meeting at the request of the applicant.
Issues/Analysis: As part of the review of a future land use amendment, staff needs to consider the compatibility of the proposed future land use with the surrounding area, the future needs of the City, and the goals, objectives, and policies of the City’s comprehensive plan. Goal 1.1 of the Future Land Use Element addresses the need for the City to provide an appropriate mix of land uses to meet the needs of current and future residents. As noted in the City’s 2020 update to its comprehensive plan, the predominant future land use in the city is Low Density Residential. It makes up approximately 43% of the City’s total land area. The land use category with the second highest acreage is New Community Development (NCD). NCD accounts for approximately 19 percent of the total land area in the City. The NCD District was created as a land use for Developments of Regional Impact to reflect the mixed-use nature of these projects and allows residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional uses. Approximately 11% of the total land area of the City has an Open Space future land use designation. Lands with a Commercial or Industrial future land use designation make up approximately 4% and 1%, respectively, of the land area of the City.
The proposed land use amendment would remove 90 acres of CS/LI/HI (Service Commercial/Light Industrial/Heavy Industrial) land use, 311.5 acres of CS/LI/ROI (Service Commercial/Light Industrial/ Residential Office, and Institutional) land use, and 63 acres of CG/ROI (Residential, Office and Institutional) land use from the City’s land use inventory and replace it with 397.89 acres of Low Density Residential (RL) land use, 34.25 acres of General Commercial/Commercial Service/Institutional (CG/CS/I), land use, and 32.36 acres of open space land uses. It replaces the potential for 1 million to 2.4 million square feet of industrial development with an additional 1,350 single-family residential units. In staff’s opinion, there is a greater need for the City to retain the existing land uses of 90 acres of CS/LI/HI (Service Commercial/Light Industrial/Heavy Industrial) land use, 311.5 acres of CS/LI/ROI (Service Commercial/Light Industrial/ Residential Office, and Institutional) land use, and 63 acres of CG/ROI (Residential, Office and Institutional) land use then to give up these land uses for additional residential development. As the City grows, it is going to need additional areas in the City for commercial, industrial, and institutional uses to meet the need of current and future residents. There is already sufficient land in the City to accommodate future residential growth. The City has a limited supply of land available for industrial, service commercial, and general commercial uses.
Goal 8.2 of the Economic Development Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan addresses the need for the City to support the retention and growth of the industrial sector. Policy 8.2.1.1 states that the City should ensure the allocation of an appropriate quantity of lands that are desirable for commercial and industrial purposes to serve future growth needs of the City. Policy 8.2.1.3 refers to the need for the City to consider the high priority of retaining employment-generating land uses in appropriate locations during the review of comprehensive plan amendments and rezoning requests.
City staff is also concerned with the potential for incompatibilities between the Glades Wastewater Treatment Plant and proposed residential development to the south. To address City staff’s concerns, the applicant has proposed a 200- foot landscaped buffer along the property’s northern boundary line where is abuts the wastewater treatment plant. Single-family residential lots will be located immediately south of the 200- foot landscape buffer. The rear of these lots - the backyards, swimming pools, etc. - will border the 200- foot landscape buffer. It is not clear to staff that a 200- foot landscape buffer will adequately buffer the houses from the noises, orders, truck traffic, etc. associated with the operation of a wastewater treatment plant, future expansion plans, and intensification of operations. If the future land use amendment is approved, staff would recommend the length of the buffer area be replanted with native vegetation to create a dense buffer. Staff would also recommend that the 200 foot- native buffer be extended further east to the northern boundary line where the property abuts Glades Cut-Off Road.
This application does have the potential to curtail the City’s ability to utilize the Glades site to its fullest extent. The City’s Westport Wastewater Treatment Plant is located in the center of the Sawgrass Lakes residential community. Over the years, the City has received numerous complaints from residents of Sawgrass Lakes about odors, operations, etc. In staff’s opinion, the existing land uses of Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial and Service Commercial are more compatible with a utility use than single-family residential development. See attached staff report.
Special Consideration: The applicant has stated that this project will include significant public benefits including the buffer, the 13.93 acres of open space recreation land that the applicant has stated will be developed as a public park, land for a fire station, and road right-of-way improvements. However, these promised improvements are not included in the proposed text revisions to the Future Land Use Element as recommended by staff. In staff’s opinion, any proposed improvements should be codified and presented in the form of a proposed policy or policies to be adopted into the Future Land Use Element of the comprehensive plan as part of this amendment. This will ensure that the promises/improvements are enforceable. It will ensure that future staff will know what it is required of the developer. It ensures that the proposed improvements cannot be renegotiated without a future amendment to the comprehensive plan.
There is an executed and recorded annexation agreement for the Lulfs Groves property. In the event, the proposed land use amendment is approved by the City Council for transmittal to the state land planning agency for state review, city staff will need to work with the applicant on a proposed update to the annexation agreement to address the changes in land use and entitlements.
Location of Project: The property is generally located on the west side of Glades Cut Off Road, east of the C-24 Canal and south of Midway Road
Attachments:
1. Staff Report
2. Attachment “A” Lulfs Groves Existing Future Land Use Amendment
3. Attachment “B” Lulfs Groves Proposed Future Land Use Amendment
4. Attachment “C” Proposed Changes to Policies 1.1.4.18 and 1.1.4.19
5. Application and Authorization
6. Applicant’s Justification Statement and Submittal
7. Public Works Traffic Memo
8. City’s 3rd Party Traffic Consultant Kittelson and Associates Traffic Review Memo
9. O’Rourke Engineering Traffic Analysis for Lulfs Groves
10. Warranty Deed
11. Reference: Lulfs Groves Annexation Agreement 2008
12. Staff Presentation