BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — The Sandcastle Pines housing development proposed for North Westmoreland Street will not move forward at this time.
The Starke City Commission denied approval of the 22-lot development’s site plan at a continued hearing on April 18.
This was the second failed attempt to construct new housing in the area. The project was opposed by existing residents over traffic and flooding concerns, but even with promised revisions, the site plan did not pass.
The developer proposed a 25-lot affordable housing development last year but was denied a zoning change needed to accommodate that number of houses. They returned with a 22-lot site plan that fit into the existing zoning category.
After testimony from city staff during part one of the hearing in March, it appeared the development had succeeded in presenting a compliant plan.
But during the continuation of the hearing last week, Starke attorney Clay Martin questioned the differing versions of the site plan presented during the evaluation process. The final plan sent to the city was submitted after a prior plan and been reviewed by the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council.
The council’s Sondra Joseph testified that the presence of a community center on the final site plan was not compliant with the existing zoning category. Kevin Powell in the city’s Building and Zoning Department agreed.
The community center for the affordable housing development would have served as a management office, storage for landscaping equipment and as a center to present programs to renters on financial literacy and job searches.
The sidewalk had also been designed on the wrong side of the street.
Concerns were again raised about the impact to the road both from the construction traffic and new residential traffic. Because this was no longer a zoning matter, the commission could not approve the project based on an agreement to repair or improve the street. Development attorney Robert Williams pointed out the only question before the board now was whether the site plan met the requirements of the land development regulations as presented.
To make that so, Williams said they were willing to replace the community center with an additional home and move the sidewalk to comply with the regulations.
Suddenly, there were unanswered questions about the source of the project’s funding and whether it would continue as an affordable housing project with those revisions. Commissioner Andy Redding questioned the ever-changing claims — that the funding was a risk, that the programing for residents was essential.
At this point, the developer said they needed to know what the city would allow before they could decide what to develop. It could simply be another subdivision instead of rental properties. They were willing to agree to comply with the requirements of the land development code to receive conditional approval.
They did not receive it. The commission voted 3-2 to deny approval, with Commissioners Roberts, Mortimer and Redding on the prevailing side, and Smith and Nugent voting against denial.
