St. Lucie County Commissioners Hold Special Port of Fort Pierce Master Plan Meeting Nov. 12

St. Lucie County Commissioners Hold Special Port of Fort Pierce Master Plan Meeting Nov. 12

FORT PIERCE – The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners will hold a special meeting Thursday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. in the County Commission Chambers of the Administration Complex, 2300 Virginia Ave., to review and consider the adoption of a new Master Plan for the Port of Fort Pierce.

The Port of Fort Pierce is one of Florida’s 14 deep-water seaports. Every five years, Florida Seaports are required to update their long-range master plan to identify, guide, and coordinate port development and ensure alignment with local comprehensive planning. In May 2020, St. Lucie County engaged the consulting team of Moffatt & Nichol and Atkins to prepare a new Port of Fort Pierce Master plan through a publicly engaged plan-making process. This master plan update—along with ongoing investment in the new Derecktor Shipyard—marks important milestones for the Port and its future.

The Port of Fort Pierce is poised for a renaissance that holds potential to grow new economic and other beneficial impacts for the residents of St. Lucie County and the surrounding region. This draft Master Plan aspires to affirm a road-map to achieve a truly diverse working waterfront that embraces new industries and opportunities centered on expanding economic and social benefit to the residents and businesses found in St. Lucie County and along the Treasure Coast.

Through the project website — www.planportFP.com — community members have engaged the project by participating in surveys on the mission and core tenets, reviewing initial draft concepts, receiving project updates and reviewing the Draft Master Plan. The project included two public work series with multiple sessions each. The first work series, focused on County residents’ desire, for their Port occurred June 25 through July 12 and the second outreach session occurred from July 24 to Aug. 7 to garner community input on several preliminary concepts for the Port. The Planning Process emphasized community engagement, overcoming complications from the COVID-19 Pandemic and related community health and safety concerns, by advancing a majority of community engagement activities online using our dedicated project website (www.planportfp.com), virtual meetings, electronic surveys, video conferencing, and other methods.

The Draft Port of Fort Pierce Master Plan Executive Summary & Illustrative Master Plan are currently available athttps://www.publicinput.com/M0218.

The plan details a multi-faceted vision for the Port that calls for:

• Creation of the Treasure Coast’s premier center for yacht, shipbuilding, and related marine repair, overhaul, and maintenance facilities;
• Investment in county-owned Harbour Pointe Park to emerge as a public marina, boat ramp, and upgraded park; and,
• Advancement of a new wharf and surrounding uplands dedicated to the support small import/export marine dependent businesses.

Those who cannot attend the special meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12 can watch it on the county’s website (www.stlucieco.gov); Facebook (www.facebook.com/stluciegov) or Comcast 21/U-Verse 99. Those wishing to provide public comment can submit feedback at https://stluciecounty.formstack.com/forms/public_comment_form.

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