Planning board approves several city-initiated small-scale land-use changes to expand park and utility sites

The Port St. Lucie Planning & Zoning Board on Dec. 2 approved multiple city-initiated small-scale comprehensive plan amendments that change future land-use designations to support parks and municipal utility infrastructure.

Cody Sisk of the Planning & Zoning Department presented three separate city-initiated petitions. The PSL Luca Bay amendment covers approximately 46 acres and changes the future land use from low-density residential and utility to open space/recreation and institutional so the property can be used for park purposes. Staff said the site contains about 40 acres of upland habitat and 1.23 acres of wetlands, and that specific wetland protection and buffering will be evaluated during the site-plan review phase.

A second amendment affects roughly 29 acres intended for Torino Regional Park; staff said the change from medium-density residential to open space/recreational is consistent with the city’s 10-year parks master plan and is expected to reduce traffic generation relative to a residential development scenario. The planning department reported no wetlands on that site and found sufficient water and wastewater capacity.

The board also approved a small-scale amendment and associated rezoning to add four parcels (combined ~0.92 acres) to the North Port utility site. Bethany Grubbs said the parcels will serve as a buffer and potentially provide additional road access for future utility facilities; staff noted the parcels will be incorporated through a future site-plan amendment and that invasive species removal and other site work would occur as required.

All three items were recommended for approval by planning staff and passed on motions with no public opposition at the hearings. Board members asked staff for clarification on wetlands, buffering and future site-plan timelines; staff said those details will be addressed at the site-plan and master-plan stages.