By Ed Bierschenk
staff writer
November 3, 2005

ORCHID — Raising the specter of Palm Bay and Port St. Lucie-type growth coming to western Indian River County, county Commissioner Gary Wheeler was able to secure Orchid's support Wednesday for his plan to require voter approval before changes can be made to the Urban Service Area.

On Tuesday, the County Commission voted 3-2 against a proposed resolution put forth by Wheeler that would have asked the state Legislature for a special act allowing county voters to decide on any change in the Urban Service Area's boundaries.

The rejection has not deterred Wheeler from trying to get such legislation passed and he plans to visit with all the municipalities in the county to garner their support for it before asking area legislators for their support at a Nov. 30 meeting.

On Wednesday, he made Orchid his first stop.

Wheeler said he does not expect to get Fellsmere's approval for the proposal though it was that community he pointed to as having the potential to spur the type of growth seen in South Florida and in the rapid growth centers of Port St. Lucie and Palm Bay. By annexing property in the western part of the county, Fellsmere is able to change the zoning density and allow potentially thousands more homes be built than currently permitted, according to Wheeler.

The residences could have impact on county services outside the town itself, including roads, sewer, schools and law enforcement, according to Wheeler, who was joined at Wednesday's Town Council meeting by George Christopher, a member of the county's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Fellsmere City Councilmember Joel Tyson, however, said his community has no desire to become like Port St. Lucie or Palm Bay and such analogies are ridiculous.

"We don't have those types of goals at all," said Tyson.

Tyson said Fellsmere is a sleepy, bedroom community and it is the rural nature of the town that attracts residents to it. If the community thought the council had any intention to try to become like a Port St. Lucie or Palm Bay, Tyson said, "they would run us out of town on a rail."

Instead, Tyson said city's leaders are just trying to improve the city's tax base through some of the proposed developments in the annexed areas to provide the services that the people in Fellsmere deserve.

In the past 15 years, Wheeler pointed out that the Urban Service Area has been changed three times. The county has changed it twice, adding 100 acres, he said, while Fellsmere has expanded it by 3,700 acres through annexation and is seeking to annex more parcels.

Tyson, however, said the actual amount of land annexed was closer to 3,500 acres and, because much of it is wetlands, only about half of it can be developed. He said it is possible over the next 20 years that land could mean the addition of 5,000 or 6,000 homes. The town is looking at possibly four smaller parcels for commercial and residential development, he said, but has no intention of becoming "a megalopolis."

In addition, Tyson said Fellsmere is doing more to provide affordable housing than the rest of the county. While he noted some people were upset that a hotel proposed for some land near Interstate 95 might eventually be as high as 65 feet, it would not be blocking anyone's view of the river or ocean and instead would probably just be about as high as the nearby overpass.

County Commissioner Wesley Davis, who voted against Wheeler's motion Tuesday, said his fellow commissioner's proposal did not stand a chance of being approved by the state Legislature. Instead, Davis suggested Wheeler could ask each municipality to put the issue up for a vote and see if they wanted the county's land use rules to prevail when it comes to land they annex.

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