<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4SCxIG_0vjnuXuB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4SCxIG_0vjnuXuB00" width="775" height="407" >FORT PIERCE — Staff presented the City Commission Sept. 9 its first affordable housing application submitted under the federal Live Local Act, legislation signed into law last year by Governor Ron DeSantis that fast-tracks multi-family projects on commercial or industrial properties via municipal staff approval that bypasses municipal boards.Fort Pierce follows unincorporated Martin County in being the second Treasure Coast community to receive such an application. Staff of the latter are currently reviewing the Baron Landings development for the old Golf World property on South Kanner Highway.Ever since Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo introduced Senate Bill 102 in the spring of 2023, city and county municipal officials across the state have worried about losing local control to the state via the legislation, which was crafted to provide more affordable housing options in Florida’s overheated real estate and rental market.Legislators amended the Live Local Act last February with SB 328 in an attempt to alleviate some of those concerns.Acting City Manager Linda Cox set the hands-off parameters for the Board that morning.“We have [Planner] Carrie Driver and Kev Freeman here to talk about the project,” she said. “There is no action required by you today; this is simply a notification to you of the project.”Driver started off with a brief description and history of the Live Local Act and the subsequent SB 328 amendment before describing the proposed Sound Meadows complex at 4000 S. U.S. 1.“The total site area is approximately 15.87 acres, of which 14.28 acres will be residential and approximately 1.58 will be retained for future commercial development,” she said. “The density for the project is 13.2 units per acre. The residential component will consist of nine 24-unit buildings and one 18-unit building.”Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson briefly interrupted her presentation to pose a couple of questions about the project’s stormwater plan due to that area’s historically poor drainage.“If I remember correctly, there’s a stormwater ditch maintained by St. Lucie County that came into the conversation with Gator Trace on the villas being built to the north,” he said in reference to a project on the opposite side of U.S. 1. “So, how does this project tie into that stormwater infrastructure? My only worry about this project was the wetland impact and the stormwater. I feel like the development of all these communities is going to have an impact on that.”Planning Director Kevin Freeman tackled that inquiry.“We had a full stormwater analysis submitted,” he said. “We’re required to review this just as you would a normal zoning site plan. All the information has to meet state and local requirements and regulations. That was signed off as meeting those. We don’t have too much of a say in what people do in these developments: We offer our input as we work with a site plan.”Driver then continued her presentation.“On this site plan we see the layout of the buildings, as well as features and amenities that are going to be placed throughout the property,” she said while pointing to an overhead map. “The community will be gated and consist of a clubhouse and splash pad at the play area, a maintenance building, central refuse compactor, stormwater storage areas, buffering and associated infrastructure. The proposed multifamily units will consist of two- and three-bedroom units.”Commissioner J. Johnson subsequently noted that the development’s proposed stormwater retention ponds don’t appear to comply with current city code.“You know we have in our code of ordinances about stormwater ponds [not being] up front,” he said. “The pond is at the front of this development. Is there a water feature?”“There is a water feature and also littoral planting to help with that,” Freeman answered. “Our Engineering people do make significant comments based on the location of the retention areas, and we’ve opened that up because of code requirements. We initiate conversations about the amount of plantings so [it] looks as attractive as possible and works.”Mayor Linda Hudson then posed the question everyone already assumed the answer to.“So, we have no action on this?” she asked.“There’s no action required for the City Commission, nor the Planning Board,” Freeman replied. “It did go through the Technical Review Committee as you would with a minor site plan, and that complies with state statute. You can be assured, even though we don’t have final approval of projects under this Live Local Act, that it is fully reviewed, fully vetted and does meet city requirements.”For his part, Commissioner Arnold Gaines wanted to know if there was any possible recourse if the city didn’t like a proposal brough forth by under that legislation.“Our hands are really tied,” he said. “Even if you saw something, what options do you really have to try to fix it for the residents of the City of Fort Pierce?”In Freeman’s lengthy answer, he primarily focused on the provisions of SB 102 and SB 328, which revealed the actual limitations of the city’s options. That prompted a follow-up comment and question from Commissioner Gaines.“You guys are given an application and spend hours reviewing [it],” he added. “Regardless of what you see, you’re bringing it to us to say it meets the criteria and we’re going to let it go through. Is that what I’m hearing?”“Essentially, yes,” Freeman responded. “We would only approve it through our process if it met all the regulations we have in place. The confidence you can have is to understand that staff has spent all that time and effort to ensure this precisely meets the requirements of our code. There are no variances [and] no exceptions.”Commissioner Michael Broderick’s primary concern that day was the fact the affordable housing rental rates were being set under the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Service Area, which includes all of St. Lucie and Martin counties. Both Driver and Freeman had told the Board that rents would be set at 120 percent of the average median income for that MSA.“They’re utilizing income streams far in excess of the median income or lower income levels in the City of Fort Pierce,” he lamented. “In my real estate analysis, that’s going to drive those numbers up. This project’s going to come online at market value, not at an affordable housing level. This could be a situation where the Live Local Act is being utilized to build market-value housing on an expedited process.”Mayor Hudson believes that was the fear of many Florida communities.“That was the objection to the Legislature, because people saw that as a possibility,” she said. “I think it’s very important to tell our state legislators and make sure they understand watching this if that’s what happens – that what they intended is not what’s happening.”Commissioner Curtis Johnson Jr. agreed.“The residents of our city and county need to engage their state legislators, so they have these conversations with them,” he said. “This is beyond the control of a city or a county.”</div></body>

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City gets first SB 102 housing application

FORT PIERCE — Staff presented the City Commission Sept. 9 its first affordable housing application submitted under the federal Live Local Act, legislation signed into law last year by Governor Ron DeSantis that fast-tracks multi-family projects on commercial or industrial properties via municipal staff approval that bypasses municipal boards.