Martin County — The controversial land-use designation was put on hold in the middle of the election season, but will return to county commissions next month with a few changes.
According to development records filed with the county this week, the revised rural lifestyle, which is scheduled for a final vote by the commission on Sept. 13, will be located in the county’s cities rather than reaching west near Indiantown. It restricts the use of land adjacent to the service district.
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Properties in the district have access to water and sewerage, and are close to public facilities such as the fire station and library. Critics of the proposal have expressed concerns about extending these services outside their current boundaries and allowing more intensive development west.
According to developer Tom Hurley of Becker Holding Co, the new version of the proposed designation would reduce the potential area of land use by 52% from 26,500 acres to about 12,700 acres.
Environmentalists and critics previously cited at least 130,000 potentially affected lands.
“We have spoken to environmentalists[and]have mainly reviewed notes from all stakeholders that have been discussing this for six to eight months,” Hurley said. “We just wanted to distill a lot of their input towards the proposed fixes and improvements.”
According to Clyde Dulin, the county’s general planning manager, other aspects and requirements of the original proposal remain the same. Also this:
- Eligible for 1,000 or more contiguous acres in unincorporated Martin County
- The density of land normally designated for agricultural use can increase by up to 1 unit per 5 acres
- If a project of more than 1 unit per 20 acres is approved for a rural lifestyle property, the developer must designate another property as a conservation or agricultural easement.
- 70% of the site must be used for open spaces such as golf or polo fields.
A rural lifestyle is proposed alongside Atlantic Fields, a luxury residential golf course community. It consists of 317 single-family homes on 1,530 acres and an 18-hole golf course on the north side of Southeast Bridge Road in Hove Sound, one mile east of Interstate 95.
The proposed land use first came before the commission on February 23, narrowly passed a 3-2 vote, and was sent to the state’s Office of Economic Opportunity and surrounding local governments for review. rice field. Commissioners Sarah Hurd and Stacey Hetherington objected.
The final vote has been postponed twice since February, and the revised proposal is set to return to the committee just three weeks after Hurd and Hetherington were re-elected in the Aug. 23 primary.
“It was more of a coincidence that the time worked out like this. We were still collecting the feedback we were receiving,” Hurley said. “I think with the politics settled in the primary, we can continue to focus on the merits of what we’re talking about.”
Lina Ruiz is a watchdog reporter for TCPalm in Martin County. To reach her on her Twitter, please contact lina.ruiz@tcpalm.com. @Lina_Ruiz48 or 321-501-3845
