The Fort Pierce Planning Board on Nov. 10, 2025 voted 4-1 to forward a rezoning and master development plan for Pulte Cornerstone, a proposed 250-unit, fee-simple single-family residential community at 2721 South Jenkins Road, to the City Commission with 14 conditions.

Assistant planning director Chris Sonnison told the board staff recommended changing the two parcels from general commercial (C-3) to a Planned Development (PD) and said the project covers about 49.92 acres. Sonnison described the master plan''tree-lined streets, a 1/3-mile linear park and a pocket park with a sculptural feature intended to be visible from I-95''and said the development would include a range of home sizes and internal amenities. "We are discussing Pulte Cornerstone," he said during the presentation.

The applicant told the board the site would generate substantially less traffic than the commercial use on the property. The applicant's presentation stated the proposed residential use would produce roughly 88% fewer trips than commercial and estimated a reduction of about 42,000 trips per day on Jenkins Road compared with the property's commercial designation; the applicant provided these traffic estimates to support the rezoning request.

School-district input proved decisive on one board concern. In response to a board question, Sonnison read a Nov. 5, 2025, letter from Nicole Fogarty, director of growth management for St. Lucie Public Schools, stating, "St. Lucie Schools approves the location of the new bus stop as depicted in the revised proposal, which places the bus stop at the amenity center in phase 1 of the development." That placement had been a planning-board concern.

Key conditions the board required include: a final PD site plan before any development activity; a minimum 20% open space; a maximum density of five dwelling units per acre; a gopher-tortoise survey within 90 days of land clearing; submittal of a detailed stormwater and drainage plan with building permits; and a sound study prior to plat approval that requires noise mitigation measures if FDOT/FHWA or HUD interior targets are exceeded (staff cited the HUD interior day-night average reference of 45 decibels). Staff also maintained a condition that the applicant provide a recorded access easement for the adjacent parcel or maintain the easement as a condition prior to final plat.

Board members pressed the applicant on the status of the access-easement negotiation; the applicant said attorneys had circulated revisions that morning and that the parties were close to finalizing an agreement. Planning Director Kev Freeman and staff said the easement condition could be removed if a recorded copy were provided before city-commission review.

Board discussion included questions about the scale and identity of development along interstate corridors and about whether this residential proposal fit the city's long-term character. Chair Clemens and other members said detailed conditions and the required studies give the city stronger enforcement tools and help ensure the project is built as proposed.

A motion to forward PD-2024-0007 to the City Commission with the 14 recommended conditions passed on a roll call vote: Miss Carter ' Yes; Mister Collins ' No; Mister Whiting ' Yes; Mister Johnson ' Yes; Chair Clemens ' Yes. The item will go to the City Commission for final action.