Sebastian moved forward to add up to almost 700 more homes within the city.
The City Council unanimously gave tentative approval June 24 to two planned housing developments — a 502-home recently annexed property to be called Sebastian Pines and a 180-home development to be called Treasure Bay on the site of a vacant sand mine.
Sebastian Pines, annexed into the city in May, would be built north of 73rd Street, south of 77th Street and east of 74th Avenue adjacent to the Graves Brothers property. The first phase of the project involves building 390 single-family homes and 112 duplexes on the 204-acre parcel, along with about 55 acres of lakes and trails and a 2-acre public park.
The proposed gated community would have amenities such as sports courts and a swimming pool.
Speakers expressed concern about the community and potential increase of traffic.
Resident Mike Walker said the proposed development seemed disconnected from the rest of Sebastian.
“This is like a new little village that is being created,” he said. “It doesn’t seem connected to Sebastian.”
Stanley Crawford, who lives on 73rd Street, expressed concern about how the additional traffic would impact the already congested area near 66th Avenue and County Road 510, particulaly around 5 p.m.
“This is going to make it worse,” he said.
Developers have asked to change the land use designation from agricultural to the very low density residential designation. Land use changes of large-scale developments more than 50 acres must be reviewed by the state before a final public hearing can be scheduled, city planner Jim Mann told the City Council.
Plans for Treasure Bay include building 110 single-family homes and 70 duplexes on a 148.58-acre property. The site, a vacant sand mine, is located on the north end of Industrial Park Boulevard off 99th Street and east of Lance Street.
Among the planned amenities are an 86-acre lake that will serve as a stormwater retention pond and a 1.97-acre public recreation area.
Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County government watchdog reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida city considers developments to bring almost 700 homes
Reporting by Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
