Martin builder paying Port St. Lucie for roads

By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 16, 2006

It's an idea that has two neighboring governments on the worst of terms: Port St. Lucie developers would pay Martin County for the impacts their new residents cause across the county line.

It's an idea promoted by Martin County officials that has Port St. Lucie leaders feuding mad.

But it's also an idea that is already practiced, in the other direction.

Port St. Lucie is billing the builder of part of a large Martin County development to pay for impinging on the city's traffic, part of an agreement worked out more than 15 years ago.
Martin County officials on Thursday said it shows that one side paying the other for its impacts is nothing new.

When the 1,156-acre West Jensen project, which is being developed by the Jensen Beach Land Co., was approved in 1989, Port St. Lucie officials required the company to make several road improvements in phases, said Martin County Engineering Director Don Donaldson.

According to a letter from Carlos Garcia-Velez, vice president of the company, Port St. Lucie has asked the company to pay the city $105,387 to meet the requirements for improving the intersection of Westmoreland and Port St. Lucie boulevards. The company has agreed to that payment, the letter said.

Donaldson said the payment will allow the latest part of the West Jensen project, the proposed 260-unit Charleston Place Condominiums project north of the Publix shopping center on U.S. 1, to continue through the county's review process.

Port St. Lucie Councilman Jack Kelly said city officials consider the payment to be the company's fair share of a plan to widen the northbound direction of the intersection by four lanes. West Jensen developers have already paid part of the cost of widening U.S. 1 to eight lanes from the county line north to Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Donaldson said.

Port St. Lucie Mayor Bob Minsky earlier accused Martin County of being greedy for proposing that developers pay for city residents' use of boat ramps and beaches across the county line.
Kelly and Minsky have been among the city officials who have scoffed at Martin County's request to make the developers of four large projects in western Port St. Lucie pay the county about $15 million to build more boat ramps and provide beach access.

Minsky told the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council that there was no precedent for forcing such payments across county lines. But Martin County officials say the West Jensen contributions show the payments aren't unheard of.

"Their claim that it has not been done before is not accurate," said Commissioner Lee Weberman. "There really is no difference between the two."

But Kelly said there was a huge difference in the two situations.
"This is a road impacts deal," Kelly said. "They're talking about us paying for going down there and using their beaches. That would be like us making them pay for the impacts of coming to a Mets game."

Kelly said Port St. Lucie has made payments to its southern neighbor as well. Last year, he said, the city gave Martin County $500,000 toward the cost of building a bridge to connect the southern end of Port St. Lucie Boulevard to the proposed Western Palm City Corridor.
"We don't care if PSL (Port St. Lucie Boulevard) connects," Kelly said. "We don't need that bridge."

Martin County's Development Review Committee will consider the condominium project on July 6.