Martin County Jensen Beach Hobe Sound
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STUART PALM CITY MARTIN COUNTY JENSEN BEACH HOBE SOUND @HometownNewsMartin @hometownnewsmc @HometownNewsMC Vol. 18, No. 14 www.HometownNewsTC.com Friday, Aug. 30, 2019 ADOPT ME CARS CATCH OF THE WEEK DINING This week's pet of the week is a Help us celebrate one of Carpe Diem International loveable girl who can't wait for her The Box: Car dealers new, the Treasure Coast's most market allows patrons to furever home major profit center popular pastimes by plan their own globe-trot- submitting a photo of your ing culinary tour most recent catch PET OF THE WEEK 11 EARL STEWART 3 CATCH 10 SEIZE THE DAY 9 Falcon’s take on Bulldogs Parents The Jensen Beach High School Varsity lament Football Team won their home conference busing game on Friday, August 23 in Jensen Beach policy against South Martin School District Fork High School with parents say minimum score of 38-22. two-mile limit puts chil- Here, the Bulldog’s Louis dren at risk walking to Kelleher, No. school 33, intercepts a By Donald Rodrigue 2018 DE EA R For Hometown News S R ’ pass intended C E H1O I C for the Falcon’s STUART – Fisherman’s Cove resident Jimmy McCor- Christina Roberts said she got a rude mick, No. 9. awakening the first Friday of the new school year when her 14-year-old daugh- ter came home from her first full week as a freshman at Martin County High School. Sevin Bullwinkle “Mom, I can’t ride the bus anymore, and staff photographer you have to pay for me to ride the bus,” she told me. “I never got any notice about this whole thing with the bus situation, and I didn’t find out until Friday afternoon when my daughter came home.” LPA recommends rezoning Ms. Roberts is one of three parents that addressed the Martin County School Board Aug. 20 on the issue that is now Willoughby property potentially affecting hundreds of students TAKE US WITH YOU across the District that live just under the he said. “We’re trying to deal with an infill parcel in two-mile minimum limit for receiving PLANNING A TRIP? the Primary Urban Service District. The existing The Local Planning Agency free school bus transportation. The state ‘Touring with the Rural Land Use Designation is inconsistent with only pays for transporting students who Townies’ features backed zoning change from the Primary Urban Service Boundary, so we have to reader-submitted live two miles or farther from their photos from give it something that will make it marketable and assigned school, and the District in the travels. Let’s see Rural Density to Commercial usable in a way that’s consistent with the Compre- past turned a blind eye to the requirement how many places hensive Plan.” we can go! Send Office Residential and simply absorbed the cost. School in your picture or Growth Management Department Planner Board Attorney Anthony George said that questions to Maria Jose explained that although the requested began changing two years ago. newsfp@ By Donald Rodrigue COR zoning would be more intense than the land’s hometownnewsol.com For Hometown News “The Board’s goal was to make sure present zoning, it would be less intense than other their funding for education wasn’t instead commercial land use designation and would COMMUNITY CALENDAR STUART – The Martin County Local Planning covering for transportation which the exclude freestanding retail sales or service estab- state was not funding,” he said. “Two years Agency voted unanimously Aug. 15 to recommend lishments. See changing the zoning on a 9.5-acre Willoughby ago, the dollars that were being taken out community “Commercial Office Residential has the poten- of the classrooms that were going into that events on Road parcel from Rural Density to Commercial page 4 tial for both commercial and residential units,” she less-than-two miles that wasn’t being cov- Office Residential despite expressing concerns said. “The development will be restricted to offices, about increased traffic woes in the area. ered by the state was $3.5 million, and limited service establishments, financial institu- through the last school year, it was over Lucido & Associates Landscape Architect Morris tions, live-in work units, residential development Crady told Agency members that the property $4.6 million.” or any combination of all such uses. However, Grandparent Sharri VanOsdol particu- owner had previously lived on the site for 20 years restaurants and certain limited commercial uses and had seen the area transition from rural to larly expressed concern about her seven- may occupy 25 percent of the commercial square year-old granddaughter who just started INDEX urban development during that time period. fo ot a g e .” the second grade at Pinewood Elementary “He recognized this land was going to change Classified 12 Out & About 9 Crossword 11 Police Report 5 and asked me to submit the application knowing See REZONING, page 2 See BUSING, page 7 Horoscopes 9 Viewpoint 6 that I had represented other applicants in this area,” 2 Hometown News – MARTIN COUNTY – www.HometownNewsTC.com Friday, Aug. 30, 2019 trict primarily, and yes, someone could do before, is unpassable in the mornings on Wil- have to demonstrate compliance with many residential development within it, but it’s typ- loughby Drive,” he exclaimed. “you cannot of the rules and regulations.” Rezoning ically used for offices. And when Maria men- get through because of the school traffic.” In his final comments to both the LPA and From page 1 tioned you could have a certain amount of Mr. Moss also worried that any LPA rec- the members of the public present, Mr. Crady restaurant, that really means a snack bar in an ommendation for rezoning could set a dan- insisted his client’s request would have less of Ms. Jose emphasized the fact that the appli- office building – it does not mean a free- gerous precedent for all the surrounding area. a potential future impact than other zoning cant had opted for a less intensive COR ver- standing restaurant could be established on “If we allow this small parcel to be zoned at options available for the land. He also high- sion than others available to him for the par- that site.” anything more than two units per acre, I lighted the fact the land was bordered by par- cel. Mr. Flanagan, who works a vice principal think it’s opening up a Pandora’s box there cels on one side with Rural Density and on “COR can have a maximum density of 10 at Anderson Middle School on nearby Cove because then that whole area can be rezoned the other by the higher density COR-2, which units per acre implemented by COR-2 zon- Road and earned the nickname “Cove Road similarly,” he said. “I don’t have a problem his client rejected. ing,” she explained. “However, the applicant Hawk” from his fellow Board members, still with this land being used for something small “I advised him to go with the COR-1 in requests COR-1 zoning, which has a maxi- worried that the potential of 45 new homes in commercial/office, but not something that’s order to transition to the two units per acre mum density of five residential units per acre. the area could significantly add to the already going to overshadow the homes directly bor- on either side… [and] we think it’s a reason- So, considering all these factors, staff recom- congested streets around Pinewood Elemen- dering it and the amount of traffic that will be able request in terms of land use transition,” mends changing the parcel from Rural Densi- tary and his own campus. generated by it.” he said. “The intention is to bring the proper- ty Residential to COR future land use.” “There’s a potential of having 45 residents A resident of the nearby Coral Lakes sub- ty into compliance with the Comprehensive Immediately after her presentation, Board on that lot, which then adds 45 cars,” he said. division, Ann Doro, concurred with both his Plan and compatible with the surrounding Member William Flanagan expressed con- “Again, I’m just concerned about the traffic and Mr. Flanagan’s traffic concerns. properties. In this case we’re asking for some- cern about the potential traffic impact to impact with two schools a very short distance “I can’t even get out of the development thing I think is consistent with the Compre- both Willoughby Boulevard and the sur- down the road.” several times during the day because of the hensive Plan, and all the issues regarding site rounding road network, calling the traffic Senior Assistant County Attorney Krista school,” she lamented. “Cove Road and Saler- plan approval will be addressed when and if a around nearby Pinewood Elementary School Storey then chimed in, emphasizing that the no Road being the way they are, the increased site plan application is submitted.” “horrendous.” total amount of homes could be potentially traffic, it’s going to be absolutely horrible. I For her part, Ms. Storey reminded the “The statement there is concerning, not less at the time of site plan approval. just think you’re doing a huge injustice if you members of the public in attendance that the from the project itself, but from the potential “At the time a project is submitted for an even move this forward. I just would rather LPA had no choice but to make a recommen- because you said the potential of a restaurant application, these types of issues that you’ve you focused your time on something that dation.