SEBASTIAN — Section 8 affordable housing could soon be coming to Chesser’s Gap, if the Sebastian City Council goes along with the Planning and Zoning Board recommendation to deny the property owner’s request for a variance in order to build a private, luxury mobile home resort on a 23-acre section of the 58-acre development.
In an emotion-charged P&Z meeting last month, residents of the nearby Collier Creek subdivision showed up en masse, packing the Council Chambers and making it clear they didn’t believe the project would benefit or enhance the area.
To the contrary, they envisioned sleazy transients, loud partying, traffic nightmares and even pedophiles endangering students at a nearby school, all leading to plunging property values and lowered quality of life.
Local developer Dr. Henry Fischer, property owner and Miami real estate investor Tarek Kirschen, project agent Todd Howder and local broker John King gave a detailed, illustrated presentation, identified examples of similar parks in Hilton Head, Key West and Walt Disney World, and fielded questions, ultimately to no avail, as the P&Z voted 6-1 to recommend denying the variance.
An already approved housing project planned for the property that fell through when the economy tanked had not required variances: current city code already allows uses including parking garages, private clubs, business offices, commercial retail, plant nurseries, gas stations, restaurants, hotels, motels, vehicles sales, RV repair shops, single- and multi-family dwellings, as well as conditional uses including pawn shops, child care facilities, nursing homes, foster care, group homes, wholesale trades and services, drive-through restaurants and commercial amusement enterprises.
When Kirschen purchased the foreclosure property, his research indicated a need for more affordable housing, and he originally intended to propose such a project. Further study and communication with King, however, resulted in his decision to propose the high-end resort.
“We did the research, came up with this big plan. We looked at Port St. Lucie [luxury mobile home park] and some others and thought ‘Wow! That would be great!’ I spent six months of my time and money on developing the plan. Turns out it was not such a great idea.”
After the November meeting, Kirschen said the opposing group apparently hadn’t understood what the project would actually bring to the area.
He plans to return to the City in January with two options: the original luxury RV resort; and an update of his original plan for a 116-unit, Section 8 multi-family development, north of Fleming Street, situated around the Stormwater Lake, with a basketball court and playground.
South of Fleming, the site plan includes 88,400 square feet of storage units for residents and the public and, as permitted by code, a pawn shop and auto pawn sales lot, a 4-bay car repair shop and 97 open carports for rental apartments.
“If the RV Resort will not get approved by the City in January,” Kirschen said, “then we will go ahead and build these low income housing rental apartments subsidized by Section 8, and industrial usage, including the pawn shop and car repair.”
No variances will be necessary with the affordable housing plan, as it has been drawn up to meet code.
King still says, “In my opinion, the RV resort is a much better fit in there. High-end, lots of disposable income, people who want to live in their $100,000-$200,000 RV’s. Kirschen is familiar with Section 8 developments; he’s done them before. I talked him out of it once, but. . . . He came in here wanting to put something nice in there. He’s a good guy. I believe the whole thing was a complete misunderstanding – a sad day for Sebastian.”
Kirschen and King plan to meet with City Manager Joe Griffin and Development Director Frank Watanabe before the end of the year, prior to an anticipated January appearance before City Council.
If the Council’s position is anything like the P&Z’s, says King, Chesser’s Gap will include multi-family affordable housing before too long. “I’m not a pessimist,” he says. “I’m a realist.”
