Port St. Lucie removes Northeast Bypass from 2025 mobility plan; council seeks further input on fee changes

Port St. Lucie City Council members removed the proposed Northeast Bypass from the city's long-range mobility plan during a public workshop on Aug. 25 and asked staff to return with refined project lists and phased fee options for further public and stakeholder review.

The council voted to delete the bypass from the 2040'2050 corridor list after extended presentations by city staff and the plan consultant, Jonathan Paul of New Urban Concepts, and public comment raising neighborhood, environmental and property-value concerns. The motion passed by voice vote with council members indicating the motion carried.

The workshop was intended to give council policy direction so staff can finalize a technical report and draft a mobility-fee schedule. Paul told the council the mobility plan identifies corridors and multimodal projects citywide and provides the project basis required under state law for a developer-paid mobility fee. He said the plan as drafted included scenarios that (a) include or exclude developer-required first-two-lane roadways from the fee calculation, and (b) include or phase in county-owned roads now governed by an interlocal agreement…