Commission recommends Hawkes Landing 162‑unit townhome development with HOA maintenance and seawall ownership conditions

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Nov. 6 recommended approval of the site plan and preliminary plat for Hawkes Landing (read into the record as Ox Landing), a proposed 162‑unit townhome development on a 20.38‑acre site east of Schumann Drive, by a unanimous 7–0 vote. The recommendation includes staff’s standard conditions and added language that the homeowners association will be responsible for maintenance of the public amenities in perpetuity and that seawall ownership/maintenance be resolved prior to plat recordation.

Wesley Mills of Mills Short & Associates presented the proposal on behalf of owner FL Site LLC. He described a development program of 162 townhomes across multiple buildings with unit floor areas approximately 1,600–1,800 square feet, 40 percent open space, and 27 percent native upland preservation. The applicant said the project provides 352 parking spaces (a mix of driveway, on‑street and dedicated guest stalls) and will include a central pool and cabana, mail kiosk, three wet retention ponds for stormwater, walking paths and a public dog park with dedicated parking and secondary access from Schumann Drive. "We have 352 parking spaces in total," Mills said during the presentation.

Jim Mann, community development staff, told the commission the project meets current RM‑8 zoning standards and the city’s land development code, exceeds parking requirements, and meets the comprehensive plan’s native vegetation retention requirement (27 percent preserved, above the 25 percent guideline). Mann recommended approval of the site plan with conditions that include: no conveyance until preliminary and final plats are approved; submission of a plan to avoid monotonous color schemes for elevations prior to first building permit; and submission of a school concurrency availability determination from the school board before permit issuance. "Staff recommends approval of the site plan for Hawkes Landing under the following conditions," Mann said.

Residents raised questions during public comment about traffic capacity on Schumann Drive, setbacks from the Schumann Canal and timing. A resident, Carol Maxwell, said, "I just don't know that the area has enough roads. How are all these people gonna get out of this development?" Applicant and staff representatives replied a traffic study (dated Jan. 31) was prepared and reviewed by city and county engineers and concluded the additional trips would not require roadway improvements and would not change the current level of service (reported as LOS C on Schumann Drive). Staff said the buildings will be set back about 50 feet from the Schumann Canal (25‑foot landscape buffer plus a 25‑foot building setback). The applicant said the dog park and walking trails will be the public components; the rest of the amenities (pool, cabana) are private to the gated community, and the secondary access and public parking are placed outside the gate so public users do not enter the gated residential area.

Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff for clarity on several technical points: the type and location of fencing and landscape buffers along the west edge, the dog‑park parcel boundary and public‑access tract lines (staff and the applicant agreed to adjust tract lines on the final plat), and who will own and maintain the seawall along the canal. Staff and the applicant committed to resolve seawall ownership and to include maintenance/dedication language in the final plat or HOA documents; commissioners noted the importance of resolving title issues before houses are conveyed because unclear seawall ownership can derail closings.

The commission approved a motion to forward the site plan with staff‑recommended conditions and an added condition that "the HOA is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep for the public areas in perpetuity." That motion passed on a roll‑call vote of 7–0. The commission also voted 7–0 to recommend the preliminary replat to city council with conditions that include the same site plan conditions and the additional requirement to determine seawall ownership and to revise tract lines to match the fence and dog‑park boundaries prior to final plat recording.

Next steps: the preliminary plat will be transmitted as a recommendation to the city council; no conveyance of units may occur until the preliminary and final plat approvals and required submittals (including school concurrency) are complete.