Fort Pierce will spend up to $30,000 for independent review of Causeway Cove

​

​​

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

City commissioners will hire an outside land use attorney to determine if Fort Pierce has any grounds to challenge the proposed Causeway Cove development on South Hutchinson Island.

 

City planning officials have said Palm Beach developer Ashton DePeyster’s proposal does not have to meet Fort Pierce’s existing zoning and land use rules if it meets the “affordable housing” requirements of the state’s new Live Local law.

 

Plans for the five-building, high-rise project promise that at least 40 percent of its housing will be considered “affordable” for the next 30 years.

 

A motion by District 2 Commissioner Michael Broderick placed a $30,000 cap on city legal costs to determine if state law allows local zoning and land use rules to be bypassed for Causeway Cove.

 

The project at the entrance onto South Hutchinson Island would allow 12-17 story high-rises, well above the four-story limit in the city’s South Beach zoning overlay.

 

Broderick, who lives on and represents South Beach, called for the independent legal review, saying more than 250 citizens attended a meeting last week where the overwhelming majority were opposed to Causeway Cove and its ability to ignore the South Beach zoning overlay.

 

Broderick made the motion for an outside land use attorney to be retained to do an independent review of City Planning Director Kev Freeman’s opinion that DePeyster’s project meets Live Local’s conditions without having to adhere to local zoning rules.

 

District 1 Commissioner Curtis Johnson Jr. said the city cannot sign a “blank check” for an outside legal review, prompting Broderick to attach a $30,000 limit.

 

“Our citizens are telling us to do something,” said Mayor Linda Hudson. “People are feeling threatened and scared for the future and for their property.”

 

The commission voted 4-1 to approve Broderick’s motion, with District 1 Commissioner Arnold Gaines voting no.

Gaines, himself an attorney, warned other members to “be careful about throwing out hope.”

 

Broderick’s motion came after several speakers from Monday’s audience argued against the Cove project.

 

Jim Moyer, of Stuart, who represented an Indian River Lagoon preservation group, urged commissioners to “do what you can to preserve what you can.”

 

Other speakers said they are “not opposed to growth,” but they claimed the scale of Causeway Cove’s plan for residential units, a hotel, retail and restaurants is too large and “does not preserve the ‘Florida feel.’ ”

 

No deadline was set Monday for hiring the outside counsel or the submission of their findings.

 

Johnson said citizens should be contacting their state representatives and senators, saying the

 

Legislature, not the city, is responsible for Live Local’s provisions.