East Stewart property owners may soon have little say in how they develop their property
Stuart – East Stuart's property owners may lose some rights Thursday at a nearby special city commission meeting.
These rights include the ability to build what you want without the approval of the city board. By enjoying rights, some commissioners want to prevent gentrification of East Stewart, a predominantly black community.
“The East Stewart community does not want its residential zoning to be a three-story Abacoa-style three-story mixed use,” Deputy Mayor Christopher Collins said Monday.
Instead, the city commissioner will ask the owners to allow them to build anything other than a single-family home, two-story duplex and attached homes.
Property owners will need city board approval to build apartments and buildings mixed with residential and commercial uses.
What East Stewart wants
The community may accept it at least based on a resident who has been talking to his neighbor.
“It's a residential community, and that's what we want it to stay,” said Albert Brinkley.
Resident Albert Brinkley voted for the upcoming developments, East Stewart real estate rights, East Real Estate Rights at Mayor of Campbell at the 10th Street Community Center Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Deputy Mayor Christopher Collins said in a live Facebook discussion Tuesday that he wanted to restore the single-family nature of East Stuart. Collins added that developers wanted the land to be “a small city place, a small city area, really for Brightline,” referring to the proposed Brightline station in downtown Stewart near Martin County Court.
A business that made the gutter was allowed to open because the land was divided into commercial advertisements, Collins said. If the city committee passes the proposed change to East Stewart, it can be avoided.
But the proposed changes can also be used to deny the construction of the apartment, which is more affordable for most people.
Are racists racists?
Mayor Campbell Rich said the proposed change was racist.
Ritchie said no other places in Stewart face the same restrictions as East Stewart.
“It's a difficult and expensive process,” Ritchie said of the proposed request. He said real estate owners in East Stewart may have to hire planners and lawyers and have plans in place. And, he added, there is no guarantee that their plan will be approved.
Then, East Stuart may be limited to single-family homes, duplexes and affiliated homes. Single-family homes are the most expensive type of housing, Ritchie said.
Exclude partitions
Ritchie said the proposed change would be to exclude partitions. The Cato Institute, a liberal think tank, said exclusive zoning includes “regulations that limit the number and type of housing that owners allow their land to build on their land.”
According to the Cato Institute, the most important type of exclusivity is “limiting housing construction in housing to houses that accommodate only one family.”
Commissioner Sean Reed disagreed with the proposed change being racist. He favors single-family residences, affiliated residences and building generational wealth. Living in an apartment has no generational wealth, he said.
Commissioner Laura Giobbi declined to comment. Collins, Reed and Joe make up the majority of the committee and usually vote unanimously.
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What East Stewart needs
Brinkley said it was unnecessary and unnecessary to build three- and four-story buildings in East Stewart.
East Stewart requires low-income housing and the city can get grants to provide that, Brinkley said.
Keith Burbank is a TCPALM surveillance reporter covering Martin County. He can be contacted at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and 720-288-6882.
This post originally appeared in the Treasure Coast newspaper: City Council may soon have more say on East Stewart development
