Council approves first readings for 150‑unit townhouse plan near Coastal Commerce Center

The West Melbourne City Council on first reading approved a pair of ordinances that clear the way for a 150‑unit townhome project on roughly 16.21 acres south of West New Haven Avenue and the Coastal Commerce Center.

Christy Fisher, the city’s planning director, told council the applicant proposes fee‑simple townhomes rather than apartments and asked the council to amend the comprehensive plan and rezone the site from commercial to medium‑density residential and R‑2. “The proposal from the applicant is for 150 units,” Fisher said, and staff included a 150‑unit cap in the draft development agreement to avoid the higher theoretical density allowed under the land‑use designation.

The nut graf: The first readings — ordinance 2025‑19 to amend the future land use map and ordinance 2025‑20 to rezone the property — passed unanimously 7‑0. Council and staff emphasized infrastructure, stormwater and buffering; the development agreement will return…