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Planning board recommends approval of Pulte Cornerstone final plan after adding monument‑design condition
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Summary
The Fort Pierce Planning Board voted April 13 to recommend approval of Pulte Cornerstone’s final planned development for a 239‑unit community at 2721 South Jenkins Road, adding an eighth condition that the city’s planning board and commission approve the final monument design before phase‑1 certificate of occupancy.
The Fort Pierce Planning Board on April 13 recommended approval of the final planned development for Pulte Cornerstone, a 239‑unit single‑family community proposed for 2721 South Jenkins Road.
Venice Gilmore, historic preservation officer and senior planner for the City of Fort Pierce, told the board the project spans about 49.92 acres and proposes two lot types totaling 239 units, about 4.79 dwelling units per acre. Staff highlighted project features including a 3.5‑acre linear park, seven bioswales and rain gardens for stormwater treatment, a 95‑foot buffer and berm between homes and I‑95, and a proposed gateway identity feature visible from I‑95. Gilmore said the application meets or exceeds the PD development standards and laid out staff’s recommended conditions of approval, including a sound study and tree mitigation requirements.
The plan carries seven staff conditions tied to the previously approved master PD and an eighth condition added by the board during debate. The board split discussion focused on a proposed identity feature at the southwest corner of the site; some members and staff said the submitted rendering looked more like a project‑identification monument than the public‑art gateway the city sought. To address those concerns the board added a condition that requires final monument design approval by the Planning Board and City Commission prior to final certificate of occupancy for phase 1. As Chair Bridal read the condition, he said: “Applicant shall receive final monument design approval by the planning board and city commission prior to final CO of phase 1.”
Leslie Olson, representing the applicant District Planning Group, described design choices intended to minimize noise impacts from I‑95 and said the plan provides a relatively low density and—compared with the prior land‑use designation—substantially less traffic. “Our goal is to deliver attainable housing at one of Fort Pierce’s most strategic locations,” Olson said, highlighting the rain gardens and the linear park as both stormwater infrastructure and community amenity.
The board asked and received staff confirmation that remaining technical items—sidewalk responses, detailed stormwater plans and the gopher tortoise site survey—would be addressed in later permitting phases as required by the conditions. The noise condition requires an FDOT‑style sound study and, if FDOT criteria are exceeded, developer‑provided mitigation tied to HUD interior noise goals.
Motion and next steps: A motion to recommend approval with the eight conditions passed on a roll‑call vote of the members present. The Planning Board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Fort Pierce City Commission, which holds final authority on PD ordinance and PD agreement amendments.
Authorities and conditions referenced by staff include the city’s PD code and related noise and stormwater standards (FDOT PD & E Manual chapter 18; HUD 24 CFR, subpart B, interior noise guidance).
