[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5981000,"mediaKeyId","5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687","parentId",5797055,"title","City holds public hearing on CDBG application for wastewater treatment upgrades; staff say facility is over 50% capacity and under consent order","audioSeconds",175,"startMs",2854000,"endMs",3029000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687&start=2854&end=3029","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687/thumbnail_2854000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5981000/Port-St-Joe/Gulf-County/Florida/City-holds-public-hearing-on-CDBG-application-for-wastewater-treatment-upgrades-staff-say-facility-is-over-50-capacity-and-under-consent-order","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5981000-e687c87fb86538fec9f99460de8dd465/orig.mp4?Expires=1773607209&Signature=SrPiwEZ6xb2OyEDsLS9sRZeV5zz-PwzLgXc1xOYVJuAi1V~dl4yycWgtOrCb5POi2USzsUHpkmnz-vra44I6D10r1TUlQWx59bmmfLUpD0C4qSoFWp7i7wqvNP-OZPS1ep5m9tp~KSV4bKGdAdOWJUG6ZzH0O6eAddKEHoZ-qQTYbkuuIKTX5Y7Y5lS0SjwS1HNiwoyzA-onD-Zx0jFNHMYQuXaZPpnGQjR4NSfQbGTHn2Z~e6ILqjQ8dhCeuhN88rBP2AESyExM16MKBAjedK7pZHFSJmfvLDMzDyrRggZoXOeih8-b6kD-Pvp9lHfK7OrU1amHTavQoOcIPw3OzA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Port St. Joe, FL","date","2025-09-17T06:20:10Z","article","Port St. Joe — City staff opened a public hearing on the city’s application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to support upgrades to the municipal wastewater treatment facility and outlined the larger capital and regulatory drivers for the project.
City staff said the existing lagoon system dates to 1972 and that the city operates under a consent order from the state (referred to as DEP in the meeting). During public comment, staff responded to questions about capacity and timing: a staff speaker said, “10 days ago, we’re currently over 50% of our capacity” in the lagoon system and that the consent order requires expanded or advanced treatment by February 2033. City staff and the consultant team were presented to the commission as actively developing plans: the city has hired consulting engineers (Baskerville was named) and has begun geotechnical work, survey work, and phase planning for advanced treatment.
Staff estimated a broad planning-level cost for a new advanced treatment facility in the transcript as “somewhere around 70 to $80,000,000.” The city signaled it is pursuing multiple grant funding sources and listed the CDBG application as one of several avenues; staff emphasized the application requires a public hearing to earn application points.
Speakers from the public asked whether current capacity shortfalls would cause operational failures given local housing growth. A staff speaker said the DEP timeline requires the city to complete the work by August 2033 and that the city is working now on design and grant applications; staff said they expect design and planning work to continue while they pursue funding.
Why this matters: Staff said that meeting the DEP consent order and accommodating projected development require major capital improvements. The commission opened the CDBG public hearing to gather public input required for the grant application. Staff said they will continue design, geotechnical investigation, and pursue grant funding while coordinating required reporting to state regulators.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Commission Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","City staff opened a public hearing for a CDBG application to fund wastewater treatment plant improvements and told the commission the current lagoon system is over 50% capacity; staff said the city is under a DEP consent order and plans an advanced treatment facility with an estimated cost range that has been discussed publicly.","taxTitle","Port St. Joe, Gulf County, Florida","taxId",58503,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5981005,"Commission approves Soft Pine subdivision setback exception and replat; public raises concerns about later homeowner variance costs",276,236000,512000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687&start=236&end=512","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687/thumbnail_236000.jpg","/articles/5981005/Port-St-Joe/Gulf-County/Florida/Commission-approves-Soft-Pine-subdivision-setback-exception-and-replat-public-raises-concerns-about-later-homeowner-variance-costs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5981005-91a06e06aca956e81e9c27557ad50778/orig.mp4?Expires=1773607209&Signature=d0nz1kbV30SnGJQVtJS855O11x2EJMbrYruRlrSvZN753N~KaJNcplhRctVerQvfLPaK6GK2Y3o34wl1iBjNlesNjRD9Mckax7GkyspyfSLj26x-XBnLxRqHfIUDNPgnIzq-nf7yUrNGFjf9ShDeBNj4JwXBmHhVL2THEbrxVYxApG-JAorNHJIvemz60cfcAoedLQSzUGNemt894lk-1O2iKG5Y4rYdvCShLTGvlPmB9Z5QKkMcS4x8eAO0h8j6L2PmMCddT9~~vBbqte-QQz4EvZS5IHufrvdnf-5Y-WdToSyQQPH6mNjgwUK8Sk3LtKKFvEHqnh5nh8Yr4bMicg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Port St. Joe — The commission approved the planning board recommendation to allow a special exception for side-yard setbacks and to proceed with subdivisions (referred to in the meeting as Salt Pines/Soft Pine and Rich Family Plaza replat proposals). The motion carried without opposition after staff explained the platting and setbacks shown on recorded plats.
At the meeting, a resident questioned what the reduced side-yard setback means for future homeowners and whether individual homeowners would later need to apply for exceptions to build additions. The resident, identified at the podium as Jim Sickles, asked, “If it is approved here, the individuals that purchased the homes, do they still have to follow the LDR for their insets, or can they refer to this document for their insets?” A staff member answered that homeowners would have to apply for a special exception and pay the fee (stated in the meeting as $300) if they later wanted a deviation from the recorded plat setbacks.
Ray Greer (staff member) and other planning staff explained that the lots will be platted with front-yard, side-yard, and rear-yard setbacks shown on the recorded plat and that homes in the subdivisions must be built inside those platted setbacks. Greer told the commission that the Salt Pines/Soft Pine filings reduce the separation between units relative to previously approved townhome plans, and he said the current plan increases separation to “a total of 10 foot separation, 5 on each side,” and reduces density relative to an earlier townhouse approval.
The commission also reviewed a previously approved replat of Rich Family Plaza that changed 11 lots into 13 lots with 7-foot setbacks; staff explained that the plat controls the setback requirements and that homeowners must build within the platted setbacks.
Public commenters and one commissioner raised the practical concern that individual homeowners, when they later want to add an on-site addition, may have to apply for a case-by-case exception and pay the fee despite the subdivision-level approvals. A staff response was that unless the ordinance is changed, deviations would require case-by-case exception applications and fees.
The motions to approve planning board recommendations for the Salt Pines/Soft Pine subdivision and for the Rich Family Plaza replat carried by voice vote and were recorded as passing with unanimous or near-unanimous support (no recorded no votes in the transcript).","The commission approved the planning board recommendation to allow reduced side setbacks and a replat for Soft Pine/Salt Pines subdivisions; public commenters asked whether subsequent homeowners will still need to pay for special-exception variances to alter setbacks.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5981011,"Commission moves forward with Tenth Street workforce housing development order on city-owned land",169,571000,740000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687&start=571&end=740","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5797055-8d808714ac205dbd748029e9b6671687/thumbnail_571000.jpg","/articles/5981011/Port-St-Joe/Gulf-County/Florida/Commission-moves-forward-with-Tenth-Street-workforce-housing-development-order-on-city-owned-land","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5981011-889ef363ed425c618cfa3ffb0a06edf1/orig.mp4?Expires=1773607209&Signature=Vko~OPyHnFtbgs6SZrzwZnk7SZL0cxy9y1Mc1IVb--6reVUfJtNORLA33SEirQJNBne5bhXS-7jWiJ~AEcWY1xiAwAmnDw0CaTWYhYQLV~npH8IKMC85K7ND-R0GYS~dB0AeJ6DxbNDgOG88J9aHQxBFu0n6BUWr7vkS5-4KupIeauQfcmuaroJaKk9L5xnlKiPsHs-hGv4FjZQ7JobWyLPAl47mMBkkUPo91m0jX4QdkYFkKaOSEA1g9MlR6Hg9AN7~7PH2xyWmQHaDMfpR~SJcxbH8CKGKlXhapYphJIS1N4m93R73zTGuHA5X2YU81InpnjMV2t6EMYz1NIGRbg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Port St. Joe — The City Commission voted to approve the planning board recommendation to issue a development order for the Tenth Street workforce housing project, a multi-building affordable housing development on city-owned property that city staff said will total about 172 units. The vote came after staff and a city representative outlined the permitting status and the form of future agreements needed to preserve affordability.
The project will be developed under a development order that city staff said will leave stormwater and wetland permits in the city’s name because the property is city-owned. Ray Greer, identified in the meeting as a staff member working on the developer agreement, said the developer has filed stormwater and wetland permit applications and that “the permits are almost ready to be issued. We should be before a month or 2, we’ll have all the permits in hand.”
The development order covers a total of 172 units (the project was discussed at times in the meeting as 176 but staff clarified the current figure as 172). Greer said the project’s planned mix includes 18 single-family lots at the front that will be sold under deed restrictions and the remainder in a mix of duplexes and quadplexes that will be rental units managed by a single property management entity. “Those will be sold and maintained as affordable,” Greer said of the single-family lots. He added that the entire property will be deed restricted and that a future development agreement will specify affordability controls.
The commission and members of the public discussed how income bands and residency priorities will be handled. Greer referenced state requirements and a warranty document provided by the land donor, saying the affordable range will follow the relevant state statute cited in the meeting as “state statute 420” and that the deed restrictions will control resale. A member of the public, Robert Brant of 4 Saint Joseph, asked whether the city or county rules would limit who is eligible; Brant urged prioritizing “citizens in Port St. Joe” for available units, but staff answering said they would follow the statutory affordability rules and county income band calculations for Gulf County.
Commissioners and staff said a development agreement and additional legal and administrative documents will follow the development order; commissioners approved the planning board recommendation so the project can move forward into final permitting and agreement negotiations. The commission’s motion to approve carried by the recorded voice vote (aye; no nay votes announced). Greer and staff noted a pending grant decision from the state that would help fund the project, and they told the commission they expected an answer in the coming weeks.
Why this matters: The development uses city-owned land and will be subject to deed restrictions and a future development agreement that staff said will define long-term affordability controls and maintenance responsibilities. The development order authorizes the project to proceed with required permits and with the city as the permit holder while the commission finalizes contractual controls.
The commission did not adopt the development agreement at the meeting; staff said that document is still under negotiation and will be presented later. Public commenters pressed for local preference for applicants and clarity on income bands; staff replied that eligibility and income bands will follow the statute and the developer’s deed restrictions.","The Port St. Joe commission approved the planning board recommendation to issue a development order for a city-owned workforce housing project on Tenth Street, advancing permitting and a forthcoming development agreement while grant funding remains pending.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

City holds public hearing on CDBG application for wastewater treatment upgrades; staff say facility is over 50% capacity and under consent order

Commission approves Soft Pine subdivision setback exception and replat; public raises concerns about later homeowner variance costs

Commission moves forward with Tenth Street workforce housing development order on city-owned land