A study presented to the Port St. Lucie City Council on Monday, November 18, showed that future development being considered in unincorporated St. Lucie County would have a significant impact on the city.
Impact of future projects includes transportation and infrastructure needs that will cost Port St. Lucie taxpayers millions of dollars.
The project would build thousands of new housing units and an industrial park on unincorporated land in St. Lucie County, just on the western border of Port St. Lucie.
Earlier this year, the city conducted a planning and infrastructure study in preparation for updating the Port St. Lucie Comprehensive Plan. This study provides data and analysis to guide city leaders in developing growth management policies and strategies. Some of its key findings include:
New developments outside the city limits affect Port St. Lucie’s infrastructure, services, and residents.
The impact of this growth on the city’s infrastructure will cost hundreds of millions of dollars more in road improvements and other projects that were neither planned nor budgeted. Developers must cover infrastructure costs to limit the financial impact on city taxpayers.
If future infrastructure needs are not properly planned and considered before development begins, the burden falls on the city.
Because the future projects will be developed in unincorporated St. Lucie County, the city will not receive tax revenue or impact fees to offset the cost of infrastructure and improvements needed to meet increased demand. The study estimates these proposed projects would cost up to $280 million in necessary road improvements. These costs could leave city taxpayers with a deficit of up to $40 million.
Population growth will also increase demand on already overburdened retail stores and clinics.
Additionally, more municipal services will be required, increasing costs.
For example, a larger population moving into a city will require more police presence, and increased use of parks and recreational areas will raise maintenance and labor costs.
This study showed that the city can control its own destiny through developer-driven annexation by landowners who own the property where the proposed project is located.
Once landowners begin annexing into Port St. Lucie, the city will be able to actively manage and control the impacts of new development. The city could increase tax revenue and impact fees to offset the cost of necessary infrastructure development to accommodate growth.
Without landowner-driven annexations, the city has little influence over how best to manage growth. The resulting infrastructure costs will fall on Port St. Lucie, with no property tax revenue or impact fees to cover them. “The City of Port St. Lucie is committed to making data-driven decisions, and the data was collected for this study to update the comprehensive plan,” said Port St. Lucie City Manager Jesús Melejo. “The information obtained from this study provided important insights that will allow us to better understand and plan for the impacts of future growth in unincorporated St. Lucie County.”
For more information on planning and infrastructure studies, visit cityofpsl.com/planningstudy.
Image: Cityofpsl
