Planning director outlines Causeway Cove Live Local proposal, staffing and annexation priorities
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Summary
Planning Director Kevin Freeman told the board the department received a Live Local Act proposal called Causeway Cove that could include roughly 1,000 units with 40% required affordable housing; he also reported on staffing shortages, an annexation strategy and emphasis on sidewalks, school routes and conservation.
Kevin Freeman, Planning Director for the City of Fort Pierce, briefed the board on a range of planning items during the April 14 meeting, including a Live Local Act application for a large-scale waterfront project called Causeway Cove.
Freeman told the board the Causeway Cove filing proposes approximately 1,000 housing units together with mixed-use elements including restaurants and a marina, and that the Live Local Act requires 40% of units to be affordable. He said the application is being processed under state Live Local rules and will be managed administratively; the planning board and city commission will not have direct decision-making authority under the state process.
Freeman said he will distribute information to the planning board as staff reviews the application and committed to providing periodic updates and an overview presentation to the planning board so members can understand the proposal’s likely impacts. Board members asked for an informational briefing; Freeman confirmed he intends to share details as the department’s review proceeds.
Freeman also told the board the planning department is understaffed, that recruitment is underway and that this staffing shortage affects the department’s ability to produce ancillary materials such as consolidated development maps and to respond quickly to the increased application workload. He said the department’s immediate priorities include sidewalks and safe routes to schools, stormwater and annexation strategy to reduce patchwork services at city edges.
Board members expressed interest in increasing the emphasis on conservation and tree retention in reviews and asked staff to raise conservation questions with applicants during site-plan review. Freeman said staff will flag conservation opportunities when they appear in applications and that the planning board’s questions in public hearings help leverage stronger outcomes.