News

By Tim Pallesen

Atlantic Crossing has received preliminary city approval for a critical plat that is necessary before the $200 million mixed-use project can get construction permits.
The plat that was approved by a 5-1 vote of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board on April 20 doesn’t include an access road from Federal Highway that an overflow crowd argued is necessary to relieve traffic congestion on Atlantic Avenue.
The vote came after an Atlantic Crossing attorney insisted that the city has no choice but to approve a plat that matches the site plan that city commissioners approved for the project in January 2014.
A previous plat had shown Atlantic Court as the east-west street that neighbors now want.
“To approve Atlantic Crossing without access from Federal Highway would be civic insanity,” resident Judy Craig said.
Coastal residents fear increased traffic will block emergency vehicles from crossing the Atlantic Avenue bridge. “We as citizens are imploring you to think about our safety,” Cindi Freeburn told the advisory board.
But a Circuit Court judge ruled in January that neighbors can’t have the disputed access road because the previous plat no longer applies.
“When the site plan was approved, that roadway went away,” developer attorney Stanley Price said. “A court has adjudicated that issue.”
Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Chris Davey said he couldn’t understand how a city right-of-way could be abandoned without a public hearing. But the other board members said they had no choice but to give preliminary approval.
“The city has approved a site plan,” board member Jay Jacobson said. “That’s the reality.”
“I don’t see what avenue we have other than to approve the plat,” board member Mark Krall agreed. “The filing of a new site plan eliminated the old plat.”
After staff review, the new preliminary plat will come back to the Planning and Zoning Board for a recommendation to the City Commission on whether to give final approval.
City Attorney Noel Pfeffer has advised commissioners it is too late for them to require that Atlantic Court be built. But commissioners voted on April 21 to hire an outside land-use attorney to give a second legal opinion to satisfy residents.
Atlantic Crossing will need construction permits after it   finishes demolition of existing buildings on the west side of its 9-acre site.
The first necessary permit will be to excavate and construct a 440-space underground garage. Ú