LPA rezones Pitchfords Landing parcels in Jensen Beach to RS-5 and LC after debate on density; vote 3-1

The Martin County Local Planning Agency voted 3-1 May 15 to rezone approximately 17.27 acres that had been part of the Pitchfords Landing planned unit development in Jensen Beach from an expired PUD to RS-5 (low-density residential) on lands with a low-density future land use and to LC (limited commercial) on lands with a commercial-limited future land use.

Brian Elam, principal planner with the Growth Management Department, told the LPA the property consists of about 10 parcels east of Northeast Skyline Drive, is bisected by Northeast Indian River Drive and the Florida East Coast Railroad, and is generally located near the intersection of Northeast Indian River Drive and Northeast First Street at 3830 Northeast Indian River Drive. Elam said the request is nonmandatory; staff found the rezoning application compliant with applicable regulations and recommended approval of RS-5 for low-density areas and LC for commercial-limited areas as described in the legal descriptions.

Elam reviewed development standards: the RS-5 district carries a 7,500-square-foot minimum lot area and a density of up to five units per acre; the LC district is the standard category for implementing commercial-limited future land use. Staff also noted that a PUD remains an option in general but the Pitchfords Landing PUD has expired, meaning the master plan and PUD agreement no longer govern the property.

Members of the LPA questioned how a 5-units-per-acre district would transition to nearby neighborhoods where lot sizes and densities differ. Commissioner-level questions included comparisons to surrounding densities, and Pete Walden, deputy growth management director, and Paul Schilling, growth management director, explained that mobile-home land use directly south of the subject site allows up to 10 units per acre (with minimum lots of about 2,500 square feet) and that areas to the west include RS-5 development over about 40 acres. Schilling and Walden said the proposed districts were chosen to match the county’s underlying future land use map rather than to preserve the prior PUD standards.

Terry McCarthy, representing the property owner Jensen Beach MHP LLC, told the LPA the current owner purchases and holds mobile home parks and has surplus lots that cannot be sold while the PUD zoning remains expired; McCarthy said the owner seeks to separate the surplus land to allow single-family home sales under conventional zoning. McCarthy and Dina Freeman (identified as the applicant’s expert) answered questions about development expectations and said they did not anticipate extensive new road construction on the Skyline Drive lots and expected individual homebuyers rather than large-scale redevelopment.

A member of the public, Larry Sullivan of 3909 Skyline Drive, asked why the Skyline Drive lots could not remain RS-2; staff replied RS-2 is a legacy ‘‘category B’’ zoning district from the 1967 Chapter 35 code and that the county would not rezone to a category B district, leaving only RS-3 through RS-5 as available category A options.

After public comment and deliberation, an LPA member moved to approve staff’s recommendation to rezone the property to RS-5 and LC; the motion was seconded and passed by a 3-1 vote with Mister Moore recorded in opposition and stating he preferred the site remain a PUD. The LPA record shows the applicant also requested a certificate of public facilities exemption. Staff and the applicant discussed follow-up development-review steps; no specific development permits were approved at the hearing.

The decision shifts the property from an expired PUD framework to conventional zoning that, by staff account, aligns the parcels with the county future land use map but leaves questions about transition zones and potential future development to later permitting processes.