The Martin County Board of County Commissioners will approve four development proposals at Tuesday’s meeting and will approve non ad valorem and solid waste assessment resolutions without public discussion or explanation.

Development proposals that will be presented for approval include a plat for a residential subdivision to be built by D.R. Horton on SW Kanner Highway north of SW Tropical Avenue called Twin Oaks - formerly called Kanner Oaks.

Agenda Item DPQJ-1 will authorize the new D.R. Horton project to proceed with a 28-unit subdivision on 16.86 acres near the Florida Turnpike overpass in Stuart.

Other development approvals on Tuesday’s agenda include:

• Final site plan approval for the West Jensen P.U.D., Phase 1, to construct a 5,300-square-foot car wash on 1.77 acres of vacant land on NW Federal Highway near Golden Rod Road in Jensen Beach (Agenda Item DPQJ-2);

• Agenda Item PH-1 to approve an amendment to the Future Land Use Map to designate a .13-acre abandoned right-of-way at the intersection of SE Vulcan Avenue and SE Athena Street in Hoe Sound for CRA Center use (up to 15 units per acre); and

• Agenda Item PH-2 to adopt an ordinance amending the Land Development Regulations, Community Redevelopment Code, to re-zone the abandoned right-of-way at SE Vulcan Avenue and SE Athena Street as CRA Center Subdistrict.

On the Consent Agenda, which is approved by a single vote at the beginning of the meeting without public explanation or discussion, Commissioners will approve a resolution to adopt special assessment rolls for capital improvements in North River Shores, Sugarhill, St. Lucie Shores/Tiburon, Palm Brook Court, Old Port Salerno, S.E. Gull Lane, Fern Creek, Crane Creek, Orchid Bay, Palm Lake Estates, S.W. Honey Terrace, S.E. Flamingo Drive, S.E. Karin Street, Mack Dairy Road, Hibiscus Park/Paramount Estates, James Villas, Golden Gate, Hideaway Isles, and the Western Extension (Consent Agenda Item CNST-10).

Consent Agenda Item CNST-11 will also be approved without discussion, which is a resolution to adopt solid waste service assessments for each single family dwelling unit in the County for collection, disposal and administrative costs in the amount of $444.69, which is an approximately 5% increase over the current assessment of $421.65. A public hearing will be conducted on August 6, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., in County Commission Chambers.

The Commission will hold a private session at noon to discuss litigation filed against the County and the South Water Management District by Be A Man Buy Land, LLC, seeking access to property in the Pal-Mar subdivision where there have been serious problems of unrestrained firing of weapons from “recreation areas” within Pal-Mar which project bullets onto neighboring residential property in the Trailside Ranch community. The attorney-client session scheduled as Agenda Item DEPT-4 is for the purpose of reviewing the County’s strategy and litigation expenses incurred in defending the lawsuit.

In Item DEPT-3, staff is seeking approval to reallocate some of the County’s $31 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds from completed projects to other eligible projects. The staff-prepared agenda summary is unclear, making it difficult to determine how funds have been expended to date. For instance, it appears that the County chose to spend $2.5 million of the grant funds on park improvements while allocating only $100,000.00 for rental assistance to residents in need of shelter.

In other items on Tuesday’s agenda:

• The Consent Agenda includes the usual approval of the Clerk’s Warrant, reflecting $30,366,191.00 in expenditures of taxpayer dollars between June 3 and June 23, 2024 without disclosing the payees or the purpose of the payments (Item CNST-2);

• Also to be approved in secret on the Consent Agenda is a “presentation” by the Martin County Tax Collector of recapitulation of the 2023 assessment roll to reflect discounts, errors, bankruptcies and other unexplained, inexplicable issues related to local tax collections (Item CNST-4);

• Consent Agenda CNST-7 is a reduction of a $1,264,175.00 code enforcement fine assessed against a property on NW Sunset Boulevard in Jensen Beach to $21,625.00 to be paid to eliminate the County’s lien against the property;

• Agenda Item DEPT-1 seeks approval of $8 million in contracts over five years for grinder station installation and septic conversion ($3 million to The Lazarus Group, Inc.) and marine services ($5 million to Brothers’ Construction, Inc., Custom Built Marine Construction, Inc., and Commissioner Stacey Hetherington’s private employer, Ferreira Construction Co., Inc.); and

• Item DEPT-2 will approve applications and receipt of various grant funding and budgetary adjustments, including an item authorizing payment of $100,000.00 to the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council for a Western Land Study to be conducted over 8 months to review past planning and options for future protection of the County’s western lands.

The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday in Commission Chambers at the Martin County Administration Center. Attend in person, watch on MCTV or livestream the meeting from the County website at http://martin.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=24. 

Agenda items may be viewed and downloaded at https://martin.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=35023&GUID=98D7CC54-EF7D-4C4C-8084-1AF34C623D6E

E-mail commissioners about matters that interest you at sheard@martin.fl.us, eciampi@martin.fl.us, dsmith@martin.fl.us, hjenkins@martin.fl.us, shetherington@martin.fl.us with copies to the County Administrator and County Attorney at ddonalds@martin.fl.us and swoods@martin.fl.us.