Local Planning Agency asks City Commission to separate East Stewart review as it advances land‑use code rewrite

The City of Stuart Local Planning Agency (LPA) on Tuesday reviewed Ordinance No. 2539-2025, a proposed amendment that would rewrite large sections of the city’s land development code, and voted to forward multiple recommendations to the City Commission — including a request that the East Stewart provisions be handled separately and that commissioners reconsider proposed parking and density changes.

The ordinance, described in the meeting packet as an amendment and restatement of the City of Stuart land development code covering zoning districts, special zoning codes, resource protection standards and on‑site/off‑site development standards, was presented by Jody Kugler, development director. Kugler said the draft contains many “clean up” edits and several substantive changes the commission requested during the zoning‑in‑progress process. “One of the first changes that the board requested was that we do away with the half units,” Kugler said.

City Manager Mike Mortel framed how the package reached the LPA: after the newly constituted City Commission directed staff to tighten the code, commissioners initiated a zoning‑in‑progress and staff worked through items the commission outlined. “The commission… moved for a zoning in progress,” Mortel said, explaining the expedited review pathway and the sequence of workshops and hearings that followed.

Why it matters: the draft would change rules that affect existing neighborhoods and future projects. Major items discussed include a minimum parcel size change, limits on mixed‑use density accounting, elimination of shared parking allowances, higher…