Plan to expand U.S. 1 near PSL Boulevard

City Council members voted on Monday to label as blighted the 1.75-mile stretch of Port St. Lucie Boulevard and Riverwalk east of the St. Lucie River. That's a necessary step to join it with the U.S. 1 Community Redevelopment Area.

On Monday all the council members emphatically said that residents had nothing to fear, that home values will only be increased by future infrastructure improvements that will be funded by tax dollars that can only be spent in the CRA.

Residents' fears of the city foreclosing on their houses and taking them in eminent domain proceedings were unfounded, council members said.

"We would never come in and take someone's house," Councilman Christopher Cooper said. "The city tries to work with people."

Councilman Jack Kelly, whose district includes the proposed CRA expansion, said he wants to limit the amount of commercial development and keep the road as a thoroughfare with parks and green spaces. "I want it to look like the entrance to the city," he said.

• The expansion will provide tax money to improve the area.
• To become part of the CRA, the area must legally be declared "blighted."
• Some residents are offended by the "blighted" designation and worry about the future of the neighborhood.