Commissioners approve Saranoa PUD after debate over density, buffers and traffic

The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve the Saranoa planned-unit development (PUD), a Ryan Homes proposal for 319 single-family lots on about 113.85 acres, after extended discussion about traffic, lot widths and buffers. The plan, which the applicant trimmed repeatedly during the county review, reduces potential density to 2.8 dwelling units per acre from earlier proposals that included townhomes and higher counts.

Supporters and staff said the latest plan cut density substantially from previous submittals and added a larger conservation area and open space, while opponents warned lots were too close together for the area. "We listened to the community members. We listened to the commissioners, and the plan you see tonight is a significant change," Leah Heintzelman, attorney for Ryan Homes, told the commission.

County staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval with numerous conditions aimed at improving compatibility and pedestrian access. The applicant agreed to retain roughly 44% of the site as open space, including an 18-plus acre preserve, and to use 50-foot-wide lots across the development. Staff highlighted several required design commitments, including a pattern book for home elevations, more robust buffers along the turnpike, activated shoreline trails around ponds and a pedestrian connection between the two pods of the project.

Opponents at the public hearing, including residents on Old FFA Road and Johnston Road, said local roads are narrow and cannot carry even modest additional traffic. Resident Dave Farris described morning commutes with tight S-curves and near-misses that he said make additional truck and commuter traffic hazardous. Another nearby resident said the proposed lot spacing and the scale of development are inconsistent with the rural character of the surrounding area.

Commissioners and staff noted several transportation projects on the horizon — including FDOT work at the Angle Road/Kings Highway corridor and other improvements related to nearby large development approvals — but several commissioners pressed for more setback and lot-width protections west of I-95. The applicant removed the previously planned townhome component and reduced overall unit count by roughly 43% from earlier versions of the plan, a concession singled out in staff findings as a major factor supporting approval.

At the end of the meeting the Board voted 4–1 to approve the rezoning and PUD conditions (Commissioner Clasby voted no; Commissioners Lowry, Leith, Townsend and Chair Fowler voted yes). The approval includes a long list of conditions to be enforced at final site plan and permitting stages: landscape and preserve management plans; specific buffer widths and landscaping opacities; timing and phasing of a multi-use path connecting pods; requirements for active pond edges and amenity parcel detail; school-bus stop coordination with the school board; and off-site roadway improvements or proportional payment-in-lieu if connections to the south are later required.

The developer will return to staff with a final site plan and the county will monitor traffic after build-out milestones. Staff also required a Preserve Area Monitoring and Management Plan (PAMMP) and listed-species surveys prior to clearing. The Board set no additional moratoria on zoning of nearby parcels and noted that any future changes outside the urban service area would require separate future-land-use or rezoning approvals.