Director briefs board on Live Local Act application at Causeway Cove; board raises traffic and infrastructure concerns

Planning staff provided the board May 12 an informational briefing on a Live Local Act application known as Causeway Cove, an applicant proposal for a large mixed‑use development on the seaway and waterfront area. The briefing was for information only; technical review committee (TRC) review is scheduled to begin and state statute limits the city’s discretion in specific land‑use entitlements for Live Local projects.

Staff explained the Live Local Act is a state statute that permits eligible affordable housing developments in commercial, industrial and mixed‑use zones and requires at least 40% of units to be rented at 120% of area median income (AMI) or lower and kept affordable for 30 years. For Causeway Cove, staff said the statute sets density and height parameters at the highest levels allowed in the city/county (density up to 30 units per acre and height up to the highest local limit), that floor‑area ratio rules provide up to a 150% multiplier, and that approvals for eligible projects proceed through an administrative TRC process rather than a standard public hearing land‑use entitlement.

Staff noted several statutory limits and exceptions (for example, properties that abut contiguous single‑family neighborhoods may reduce allowable height). Project renderings shown to the board depict large residential buildings, two proposed hotels and a mix of commercial uses, marina slips and a convention facility; staff said numbers provided by the applicant include more than 1,000 residential units and more than 2,300 parking spaces across the site. Pursuant to the Live Local statute, staff will treat the application as a multifamily project under an appropriate zoning overlay for review but said the city must still ensure engineering, stormwater, utilities, emergency services and other technical requirements are met.

Board members asked detailed questions about traffic impacts (the island has limited access), school capacity and how the AMI is calculated; staff said AMI is set by the state’s metropolitan area tables (St. Lucie MSA) and that rent/AMI monitoring and long‑term compliance mechanisms will need to be established with the applicant. Several board members expressed concern the statute’s density and height allowances may outstrip local infrastructure (roads, bridge capacity, emergency services) and requested that staff report back monthly on TRC findings and outstanding technical issues. Staff said the first TRC review is scheduled for the week following the meeting and that technical comments will be made public as the review proceeds.