We see the increasing traffic congestion on our roadways, especially along the mainland’s major arteries, where the summer months no longer offer respite.
We see the thousands of newcomers who’ve poured into our community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that prompted their escape from the shut-down Northeast, and driven the county’s population beyond 160,000.
We see all the new residential development, especially along the 58th Avenue corridor in the county’s midsection, and watch helplessly as the demand for housing far surpasses inventory.
And we can’t help but wonder:
- When will the county need to look to the west and expand its urban services boundaries, which were drawn in the 1980s, to accommodate future growth?
- How much growth can the county endure and still maintain the small-town feel and relaxed quality of life that attracted so many of us to this once-unnoticed part of Florida?
- Where will the thousands of people who work in the service industry that dominates our local economy – as well as entry-level teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and local-government employees – find homes they can afford, even as renters?
Those topics and others are being discussed in a new series of “visioning workshops” hosted by the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is seeking the community’s input on future land-use strategies.
“It can be difficult to get people involved in planning for the future, unless there’s a tangible project, such as the road in front of your house,” County Community Development Director Phil Matson said.
“But given the gravity of the study, we want a robust discussion,” he added, “so this is a full-court press to get the community’s input in the process.”
The MPO is particularly eager to hear from younger people, who too often don’t participate in these discussions, which will greatly impact their futures here.
Previous workshops were held in October and February, but the County Commission requested that another round be scheduled this spring, resulting in two sessions being held Monday – one each in Fellsmere and Sebastian – and a third Tuesday at Indian River State College’s Richardson Center in Vero Beach.
Two more workshops are scheduled for Wednesday (May 25) at the Vero Beach Community Center (2 p.m.) and the county’s Intergenerational Recreation Center (6 p.m.). The final two sessions will be held June 2 at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center (9:45 a.m.) and Gifford Community Center (6 p.m.).
Matson said the challenges of managing growth, preserving our quality of life and providing affordable housing are driving the discussions.
“There’s pressure coming from all sides,” Matson said. “We need to address the problems associated with growth, which means growing without the traffic congestion and urbanization we see in South Florida, making sure we don’t damage the environment, and maintaining our rural character through preserving open space and our low-density zoning.
“It can be done.”
The county, in fact, has embraced six visioning principles to guide its future planning efforts: conservation of sensitive environmental lands; diversity of housing types that include affordable options; infrastructure improvements that provide mobility and multi-modal transportation options; promote a healthy economy; maintain agriculture; and maintain rural character.
After the study is completed and strategies have been devised, the MPO will present a report to the County Commission, probably in the fall of 2024.
Will one of those strategies involve expanding the urban services area to the west?
Probably not.
There are still more than 30,000 vacant, potential residential parcels inside the existing urban services area, including 10,000 in already-approved subdivisions. Those lots could accommodate 75,000-plus people.
“There’s the potential for fill-in,” Matson said, “and we’ve seen some redevelopment already.”
Matson said it’s possible the urban services boundaries could be extended in areas where the lines aren’t “smooth,” or as longtime County Commissioner Joe Flescher put it: “We could even out a few jagged edges.”
But don’t expect to see the boundaries pushed west, despite the thousands of acres available between the 58th Avenue corridor and I-95.
“No, no, no – not in the foreseeable future, anyway,” Flescher said. “I don’t know what the solution is to the challenges we face, but I don’t believe draconian expansion of the urban services area is the answer.
“The land might be a little more affordable at the outset, but if the demand remains the same, it will gradually increase,” he added. “Besides, I don’t want to encourage out-of-control growth. We’ve got to remember why we live here.”
But what about the thousands of people who work in our community but can’t afford to own or rent a home here?
Should they be forced to commute from neighboring counties because their income hasn’t kept pace with the skyrocketing real-estate values we’ve seen in the past two years?
Aren’t too many local businesses already struggling to find workers?
Former County Commissioner Bob Solari, who remains a fierce advocate for affordable housing, said it’s “unconscionable” that people who provide the services that enhance our community can’t afford to live here.
He strongly advocates for expanding the urban services area – even to I-95 and beyond – to encourage construction of homes working folks can afford. He said the county could approve entry-level residential developments similar to the “Levittown” communities build on New York’s Long Island after World War II.
“Put it west of I-95, maybe near State Road 60 or the planned Oslo Road exit,” Solari said. “Who would be bothered by that? You’d be complementing the county with low-density zoning and providing affordable housing without turning us into Fort Lauderdale.”
Solari said the county had a population of roughly 60,000 in 1985, when the existing urban services boundaries were drawn to provide room for growth.
Nearly four decades later, the county’s population has grown to 160,000-plus and, with few minor exceptions, the boundaries haven’t changed. The recent surge in demand has caused the value of the undeveloped real estate remaining in the urban services area to escalate at an unprecedented rate.
Along with home prices.
And rents.
“The urban services boundaries were never meant to be permanent,” Solari said. “So, at some point, you have to ask: Why not redraw them? Why are some people so against it? You can’t say you want to attract new business to the county and not have a place for the workers to live.
“What type of community are we building?” he added. “Is it for all Americans, or only the richest 5, 10 or 20 percent? Unfortunately, it seems that too many people don’t understand that we all should have an opportunity for a decent life in America.”
For what it’s worth: Solari, who has done extensive research on the issue, said he’s pleased that county officials are at least talking about expanding the urban services area – a topic discussed recently at meetings of the county’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and Planning & Zoning Commission.
But he’s not satisfied.
“Keeping Vero Vero? That went out the door a long time ago,” Solari said, explaining that every home on Vero’s island wasn’t always valued at $1 million or more. “If you’re going to have housing for the middle class and below, the urban services boundaries need to move.”
Matson acknowledged that limiting the supply of residential housing can drive up home prices, but he said expanding the urban services area here is “not likely” and not necessary.
A Coral Gables-based real estate developer is planning to build a 900-home subdivision on a 231-acre citrus grove west of I-95, immediately south of Vero Beach Outlets. Venetian Grove is projected to have 570 single-family homes and 330 townhomes.
More than 200 homes already have been built at Verona Trace, located southwest of 12th Street and 98th Avenue.
Are those communities a sign of what’s to come? Will that western development provide homes young families and our workforce can afford? Must the people who provide the services we need and want be forced to live that far away to be a part of our community?
Or will our county officials do something to help?
We’ll see.