Commissioners approve Orange Avenue farmers market with phased paving and sidewalk review

St. Lucie County commissioners on Aug. 5 approved a conditional-use permit to establish a farmers market on an agricultural parcel at 10485 Orange Avenue, west of the Turnpike. The market is intended to allow local farmers to sell fresh produce and value‑added farm products from a single property and is the first petition considered under a recent code change permitting farmers markets in Ag zoning districts.

The market area will occupy about 3 to 4 acres of an 8.7‑acre parcel. The proposed sales footprint is modest (roughly 7,800 square feet of vending area). The applicant proposed parking for 39 cars, portable restrooms and hand-washing stations, a landscaped dumpster area, and a 26‑foot wide driveway entrance off Orange Avenue. The owner also relocated and preserved numerous palm trees along the site’s frontage to improve the visual buffer.

Under the land‑development code amendment adopted last year, farmers markets in Ag zoning require a conditional-use permit and must meet standards intended to distinguish them from flea markets and other commercial events: allowable sales are limited to farm products and related value‑added goods; markets may operate up to three days per week; and vehicular-use area design must protect public safety while balancing agricultural character. The code allows stabilized (unpaved) parking in some agricultural cases with a monitoring approach: if grass parking deteriorates, paving may be required.

Planning staff recommended approval with standard conditions and flagged two items for discretionary relief because of the site’s rural character: a full paved vehicular-use area standard and a county-required 12‑foot multiuse path along Orange Avenue. Commissioners approved the permit with direction to allow millings/crushed base or otherwise stabilized travel surfaces and to waive the multiuse path requirement for now, subject to administrative monitoring. Staff will reevaluate the need for paving or path construction after an operational monitoring period (the board discussed a 12‑ to 24‑month review and allowed staff discretion to extend if appropriate). If the site’s unpaved areas deteriorate or conditions change, the county can require paving or other improvements later.

Applicant remarks emphasized intent to keep the market small and agricultural in character and noted prior investment to relocate trees and manage stormwater. Planning staff and the applicant said the market would not permit non‑agricultural retail items, per the new code, and would be subject to site‑plan and stormwater review before operations begin.

Next steps: The applicant will obtain building/health/permitting clearances for the restrooms and operations; the county will monitor site condition and usage and can require additional improvements if necessary.