Recap of Sebastian Annexation Workshop held on June 30th, 2022

City of Sebastian held an Informative Workshop about the proposed Graves Brothers’ Annexation on June 30th, 2022.

The proposed Annexation would add over 1,000 acres to the City of Sebastian, south of County Road 510.

This Annexation is voluntary, which means the Graves Brothers’ Company came to the City of Sebastian, requesting the land be annexed into the City. They filled out the application and submitted it to the City of Sebastian. The City Council voted Yes to accept the application and start the Annexation Process.

1 / 2

Graves Brothers Annexation with Indian River County Approved Developments – Exhibit B

2 / 2

Utility Infrastructure – Exhibit D

❮❮ ❯❯

Currently, the land is zoned for Agricultural use. If the land is annexed into the City of Sebastian, it would be rezoned for Mixed use.

Mixed use zoning means it can be used to have additional housing, restaurants, entertainment and job centers. These are all things that the City of Sebastian would like to see put onto this land.

Sebastian City Manager Paul Carlisle and Councilman Ed Dodd said it would be the most beneficial for the City of Sebastian. They said the City can best manage the growth in an effective and smart manner that would best benefit the City of Sebastian, versus what could happen in other scenarios. The other scenarios include County control and City of Fellsmere annexing the land.

Keep in mind, what I gathered from this, this is not in any offense to the County or the City of Fellsmere by any means. This is just the Sebastian City Council wanting what is best for the City of Sebastian. I know as a Sebastian resident myself, I have heard from others that they want to keep Sebastian as is and not have it turn into Palm Bay or Port St. Lucie.

Councilman Dodd expressed concern that if this land stayed in the control of the County, four gates communities could be built on the land. This would mean no job centers, no restaurants, no additional entertainment in the City limits.

Councilman Chris Nunn and Community Development Director Lisa Fraizer said any impact by any new housing on the property, will be offset by the new tax revenue the new housing would generate for the City.

During the beginning presentation, Vice Mayor Fred Jones, City Manager Paul Carlisle, Community Development Director Lisa Frazier and Councilman Chris Nunn all encouraged the citizens to asked questions. Each were very keen on informing the public about the Annexation and answering any questions they had regarding the Annexation.

One of the key points emphasized during the beginning presentation was making Sebastian a place that Young people want to come back to. They said kids have been growing up here, graduating high school, leave and not come back. This has been due to lack of work opportunities in Sebastian and Indian River County. The Council is looking at this land as an opportunity to help fix that issue by providing more opportunities for those younger people. They also said they want to do more to make Sebastian more family oriented going forward.

It was also said that the land did not develop since, until now, there has been no interest to do so.

When Councilman Nunn spoke at the beginning of the Workshop, he emphasized the City’s transparency with doing the Workshop. He specifically said the Annexation right now is NOT a done deal, it’s NOT a blank check. He also said this is NOT to bring in higher density housing to Sebastian.

Councilman Nunn also said the City is NOT giving storm water money away to the County.

Councilman Nunn had emphasized when he spoke at the beginning of the Workshop, that he is willing to clarify anything if citizens have any questions.

In the Council Chambers, where the Workshop was held, various maps of the City were laid out for residents to view. They showed the proposed Annexation and other information related to it. Below are some pictures of the materials on display during the workshop.

1 / 5

2 / 5

3 / 5

4 / 5

5 / 5

❮❮ ❯❯

The City also had a lot of printed maps and other information citizens could take home. They also had forms people could use to write down questions they had about the Annexation for the City to answer.

It’s worth noting that in attendance, along with most of Sebastian’s City Council, were Sebastian City Council Candidate Sherrie Matthews, State House District 34 Republican Candidate Dr. Karen Hiltz Ed.D, Vero Beach City Councilman Bob McCabe, IR County Commission Republican Candidate Joann Binford and IR County Planning and Zoning Member Mark Mucher (District 5).

Click here if you would like to view the Presentation that has the information on the proposed Annexation.

If you like this article, please share it.

If you would like to support the work of Indian River News, click here to go to our SubscribeStar page to become a Subscriber today. Your monthly contribution will help Indian River News continue its Journalism and News Reporting in Indian River County.