Stuart advisory board denies request for Spice and Tea Exchange shop in downtown formula-business zone

The Community Redevelopment Advisory Board for the City of Stuart voted 4-2 on Sept. 20, 2025, to deny a major urban-code conditional use request that would have allowed a Spice and Tea Exchange store at 39 Southwest Osceola Street and waived a 300-foot separation requirement for formula businesses.

Planner Michelle Arbzao of the Development Department told the board the applicant had followed notice procedures and that the parcel sits inside the City of Stuart formula-business area and the City of Stuart Community Redevelopment Area. “The applicant mailed notices to 88 property owners within 300 foot of the subject parcel,” Arbzao said during her staff presentation, and noted the proposed 0.39-acre site is limited under the code to a storefront of no more than 1,500 square feet.

The applicant team, represented by Marcela Cambloor of Marcela Cambloor and Associates and applicants Glenn and Kimberly Gordon, described the business as an experience-focused retail shop with in-store…