🌅 💸 $99 fee hike for PSL homes

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You can never plan too much. That’s why Yates Funeral Home is giving Sunland readers a free guide to help you make more thoughtful decisions for yourself or for loved ones. No pressure. Just helpful info.

Starting Nov 1, new homebuyers in Port St. Lucie could pay $99 more in public building impact fees.

The increase helps fund overdue city facilities like administrative offices and public works. Council voted to phase in the hike rather than raise taxes on current residents. Final vote: August 25.

The city expects 62,000 new residents over the next 10 years. That means more roads, more staff, more buildings. But instead of asking longtime residents to pay higher taxes, the city wants new construction to chip in a little more.

For single-family homes, the impact fee would rise from $516 to $615. Multi-family and mobile homes would see slightly larger jumps. These are one-time fees paid at closing when a home is built. Existing homeowners won’t be affected.

💡 Why it’s happening: Port St. Lucie is behind. There’s only one community center for over 250,000 people. The public works building is outdated. Construction costs have tripled. City staff say they need around $76 million in new facilities. About half of that is tied to growth.

Council is weighing choosing a phased-in increase that would raise about $6 million over four years. The idea is to avoid a property tax hike while still addressing the need.

📣 Not everyone agrees: The local builders association pushed back. They pointed out that permits are already down, interest rates are high, and ownership is getting harder. They questioned why the city would raise fees just two years after lowering them.

But council stood firm. As one member put it, growth never pays for itself and it shouldn’t be subsidized by people who already live here.

🗓 What’s next:

🗣️ What do you think?

Should new development cover more of the costs, or are rising fees just making it harder to live here? 👉 Share your thoughts here

State wildlife officials are reviewing speed limits in 12 manatee zones. Some areas may see increases from 5 to 25 mph for the first time in 20 years. A local committee will review the risks before anything is finalized.

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St. Lucie County approved Nova at Solaeris, a 176-townhome neighborhood within the larger 8,600-home Oak Ridge Ranches project. It will include a pool, cabanas, and trail access to the next pod. Eight of the twelve pods are now approved.

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City crews cleared hundreds of longtime memorials from Jetty Park this week. Fort Pierce says the move was to comply with Army Corps rules, but officials say no formal removal order was ever issued. Families can pick up plaques through August 15. The people are left in the middle.

👉 Read more

Sunland News just crossed a year. Wild.

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