Fort Pierce speakers, commissioners warn Live Local Act can bypass local review as Causeway Cove proposal advances

Public comment and discussion at the Fort Pierce City Commission meeting on May 5 centered on the Live Local Act and a proposed waterfront development that, speakers said, is seeking administrative review to avoid local planning oversight.

Why it matters: Community members and commissioners said the Live Local Act, enacted by the Florida Legislature, allows certain housing projects to be considered through administrative review rather than local planning boards, a process they said can prevent the city from analyzing zoning compatibility, traffic and evacuation impacts and neighborhood effects.

Edie Harrison, representing Harbor All West, told the commission the developer of the Causeway Cove site had sought state review rather than submitting the project to the city. Harrison described the proposal as an 18‑story waterfront development that on paper uses the Live Local Act's affordability requirements — she recited that the act requires roughly 40% of units to be affordable rentals for 30 years — but said the project's scale and luxury amenities make the application appear inconsistent with the law's intent. Harrison said the developer's application references about 1,260 units as potentially applicable under the program but that roughly 1,063 units would be built, and urged residents to attend a Technical Review Committee meeting on May 15 at 10 a.m.

Commissioners responded with concern that the statute had been written to reduce local control. "It's an escape mechanism to get away from planning boards, planning departments, city commissions," Commissioner Broderick said during the discussion. "It's a developer's dream," he added, saying the law permits a technical review that does not consider surrounding zoning or neighborhood character.

Mayor Linda Hudson and other commissioners said the Live Local Act (discussed in the meeting as Senate Bill 102 and later amendments) was passed at the state level and limits what local governments can do once an applicant satisfies the statute's technical requirements. Commissioner Taylor said the statute "preempts" cities under certain circumstances and urged residents to contact their state legislators to make their views known.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the issue at the May 5 meeting. Commissioners repeatedly encouraged interested residents to attend the May 15 Technical Review Committee meeting and to contact state officials.

The commission and public members said they would continue monitoring the application and the state process but noted that administrative review under the Live Local Act can limit the city's direct regulatory authority over large housing developments.

Looking ahead: Public commenters and commissioners urged community members to monitor the Technical Review Committee meeting and to contact state representatives if they wish to raise concerns about the proposal or the statute's local impacts.