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LOCAL

Satellite Beach City Council approves conceptual plan for large hotel-condominium project

Rick Neale
Florida Today

The owner of the former Satellite Shores subdivision has the legal right to build 398 condominiums inside 17 multi-story buildings — with heights up to 85 feet — at State Road A1A and Shearwater Parkway, Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker said.

Instead, the Tennessee landowner proposes to develop a four-star Preferred Hotels & Resorts hotel, 147 condominiums inside three buildings up to 85 feet high, and 72 single-family homes at the site across the highway from Hightower Beach Park.

"Do I like it? No, not particularly," said Mayor Frank Catino, who lived in Satellite Beach when it incorporated in 1957. He remembers when the city's first condominium was built across from Harwood Avenue by the beach. 

More:'Save the turtles' rally planned to oppose Satellite Beach hotel-condominium project

"But I can't take it away from them. It was zoned that way," Catino said.

This conceptual plan depicts The Vue at Satellite Beach, a 27-acre development of condominiums, single-family homes and a hotel at State Road A1A and Shearwater Parkway.

Wednesday night, after a 2.5-hour discussion, the Satellite Beach City Council approved a conceptual plan for The Vue at Satellite Beach by a 4-1 vote. 

Councilwoman Jodi Rozycki cast the no vote, citing condominium building widths. Additional City Council votes are required before the project becomes reality, including a zoning ordinance.

Wednesday's meeting was standing room only, with attendees spilling into the City Hall lobby. Drawings depicting The Vue at Satellite Beach building layout were displayed on a bulletin board.

More:Satellite Beach hotel, condo towers, homes slated for 27 acres by Hightower Beach park

Before the meeting, a “Save the Turtles” rally drew more than 40 people outside City Hall. Signs held by attendees bore messages such as “Turtle Power! Rally for the Turtles!” and “Turtles Yes, Development No. Vote for the Turtles!”

A "Save the Turtles" rally took place before Wednesday's Satellite Beach City Council meeting.

The Vue at Satellite Beach would go across S.R. A1A from Satellite Beach's 18-acre oceanfront wildlife and habitat preservation tract, which includes Hightower Beach Park. 

The plan calls for an elevated pedestrian skyway across the road, linking the hotel lobby with the park.

Barker said sea turtle lighting and regulation compliance will be addressed during the engineering phase of the project. Prompted by project opponent Sandra Sullivan, Barker labeled a potential University of Central Florida impact study on nesting sea turtles "a great idea."

The 27-acre Satellite Shores neighborhood was formerly Patrick Air Force Base housing. The land was annexed into the city in 2003, and Pelican Coast Planned Unit Development regulations allow future construction of up to 398 condominiums.

Woodshire-Brevard, LLC, of Memphis, Tennessee, purchased the property for $13.5 million in 2017. Heavy equipment demolished the subdivision's dilapidated duplexes last year.

Had Satellite Beach not annexed the 27 acres, Councilman Dominick Montanaro said Brevard County would have allowed higher-density development on the land than The Vue at Satellite Beach.

He said he previously lived in Neptune Beach and Fort Lauderdale before they "blew up" with development.

"I see nothing growth-wise here like I saw in the other two places. So what we're looking at here is definitely smart growth. We're doing our homework. We're doing things right. We're looking out for the environment,"  Montanaro said.

Wednesday's Satellite Beach City Council meeting was packed standing room only, with attendees spilling into the City Hall lobby.

After the meeting, Rozycki said she supported the hotel and single-family homes, but she objected to the developer's request for condominium buildings up to 224 feet wide.

Rather, she supported the 200-foot width limit recommended Oct. 21 by the Satellite Beach Planning Advisory Board.

Barker said the project would generate about $2 million in impact fees and more than $500,000 in annual hotel room bed taxes. Satellite Beach would collect about $1.6 million in annual property taxes.

Heavy equipment operators have leveled the old Satellite Shores neighborhood at State Road A1A and Shearwater Parkway.

If city officials attempted to "down-zone" the property to only allow single-family housing, Barker said that move would expose the city to litigation by the developer.

Some residents voiced traffic congestion concerns, including Marianne Sinclair. Her father was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base when she was in college in 1954 — and she told council members "small-town life is great."

"The traffic on the roads now: At 83, I don't want to be driving in traffic like Viera or Palm Bay," Sinclair said.

Council members said they opposed potential hotel beach rental ventures, such as jet skis, rafts and beach chairs.

Neale is the South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. 

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1