The Port St. Lucie City Council voted unanimously on July 27 to postpone a rezoning request for a 135,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor sports recreation complex in the Riverland area after dozens of Tradition-area homeowners packed City Chambers in protest. The council tabled the request from Riverland/Kennedy II LLC until August 24 to give the developer time to hold a neighborhood meeting with concerned residents. The developer GL Homes is seeking to rezone approximately 33.23 acres south of Southwest Discovery Way and east of Southwest Sundance Vista Boulevard from St. Lucie County Agricultural to Riverland-West Sports Recreation Master Planned Unit Development.
Residents who spoke at the hearing said they purchased their homes with the understanding that the parcel would be a city park, not a commercial recreation facility. Southwest River Rock Road resident Jim Riordan told the council GL Homes has 1,300 other acres where they could build the complex and that the company is already advertising the fitness center in sales materials for new parcels.
Harriet Gallas said she was told when she bought her house there would be a park over the berm next to her property. She told the council the planned 72 pickleball courts, bocci courts, tennis courts, dog park and RV park would destroy her quality of life through noise pollution.
Planning Zoning Director Mary Savage-Dunham told the council the rezoning is consistent with the city comprehensive plan and a pre-existing Development of Regional Impact for the area. The site is designated Neighborhood Village Commercial, which allows a mixture of residential and non-residential uses including commercial offices, personal and household services, institutional facilities, public facilities, parks, playgrounds and similar services. Land Use Attorney Azlina Goldstein, representing the applicant, initially resisted postponing the request and said details about landscaping, buffers and specific indoor and outdoor features would be addressed during the site-plan process, not the rezoning.
Mayor Shannon Martin asked Goldstein if GL Homes would be willing to meet with residents to address their concerns. Vice-Mayor Jolien Caraballo urged Goldstein to table the request, saying residents did not comprehend the quasi-judicial rezoning process. After loud protest from the audience, the council voted to postpone the hearing until August 24. City Attorney Richard Berrios explained that the rezoning is a quasi-judicial process limited to sworn testimony and facts applied to the specific rezoning request, with details about landscaping and specific features reserved for the site-plan process.