More than 100 PGA Village/Verano homeowners left Port St. Lucie City Hall disappointed late Monday night after a divided City Council OK’d a 24-hour 7-Eleven convenience store and gas station near their gates.
The council voted 3-2 to approve a special exception and site plan for a 3,109-square-foot convenience store and gas station with 16 fueling stations on Crosstown Parkway and Commerce Center Drive.
Publix Supermarkets proposed developing the service center on a 2.2-acre site just east of its Verano shopping center and a quarter mile west of Exit 120 on Interstate 95.
Homeowners wearing red shirts packed the seats in the Council Chambers and overflowed into the lobby. Several PGA Village/Verano homeowners spoke out against the proposed service center, arguing it would bring crime, blight and traffic congestion to the entrance of their upscale gated community.
“We don’t want crime, pollution, traffic,” said Bonnie Pomerantz, a PGA Village/Verano homeowner. “We don’t want all these strangers from I-95 who have nothing to do with our community invited in.”
But Publix’s representatives said their project complies with all city development rules and fits with long-established plans for the commercial development on Crosstown Parkway.
“7-Eleven doesn’t want crime any more than anybody else,” said Brian Seymour, a lawyer presenting Publix. “7-Eleven takes that very seriously. This is not a safety hazard.”
Police Chief John Bolduc told the council he had no special concerns about public safety at a convenience store and gas station.
Mayor Greg Oravec and Councilman John Carvelli said they dissented because of concerns about traffic safety, the hours of operation and the impact on the neighborhood.
Oravec and Carvelli said they were particularly concerned about vehicles exiting the service center onto westbound Crosstown Parkway and navigating across three lanes to make a U-turn to travel eastbound.
“We have a problem there with illegal U-turns,” Oravec said. “So now, we’re proposing legal U-turns. We’re going to put in a U-turn that’s going to cause almost limitless conflict at Crosstown and Commerce Center.”
Carvelli added, “It’s too intensive and intrusive upon the nearby area.”
But Vice Mayor Shannon Martin and Councilwomen Jolien Caraballo and Stephanie Morgan said they believe they were legally obligated to approve the project because it complied with city development rules.
“There is not factual based evidence for me to deny this special exception use,” Martin concluded. “Knowing that area, I think the U-turn lane is much needed. I would like to see the U-turn lane done regardless.”
Colt Schwerdt, a city public works engineer, said staff supported modifying Crosstown Parkway to allow motorists exiting the service center to make a U-turn and travel east on the parkway.
Crimes committed at other 7-Eleven stores in South Florida have no bearing on the store proposed on Crosstown Parkway, Martin said.
“I don’t have the ability to make the emotional decision,” Caraballo said. “I have to make the legal decision. I have to support this.”