School traffic poses hurdle for proposed Sprouts, TJ Maxx project

When the City Commission takes up the proposal to build a shopping center on a unique, heavily wooded plot in the downtown area, the deliberations will follow a lukewarm endorsement from the Planning and Zoning Board.

City staff view the proposal as a perfect candidate for “infill development” in which construction projects fill blighted or undeveloped areas to improve the quality of life of residents and avert sprawl on the city’s fringes.

The 11-acre property at issue is part of a 103-acre strip of undeveloped land along the east side of South Myrtle Avenue that was sold off by the Florida East Coast Railway sometime before 2015. This strip is now covered with native trees but also trash from flooding and, according to city staff, unhoused people living in the woods. Past proposals to build residences on the 103 acres have foundered because of noise from the rail line and the New Smyrna Beach Rail Yard, located on the adjacent land that the railway did not sell.

Now, GBT Reality, based in Nashville, has proposed nestling a Sprouts Famers Market, TJ Maxx clothing store and other businesses in the northern corner of the former railway property. The developers plan to keep all but two of the historic trees, defined as those with 36 inch or greater diameter, and also retain smaller “specimen” trees that might eventually reach historic status.

For the proposal to proceed, the City Commission must vote to rezone the parcel from light industry to City Planned Unit Development, or PUD. The proposed rezoning’s first reading is scheduled for tonight’s City Commission meeting, following a 4-1 vote on April 6 by the Planning and Zoning Board to recommend approval by the commission.
The planning board’s endorsement was a soft one, though, with the members expressing doubts about the overall plan or reserving judgment until submission of the site plan and a required traffic study, which will come next should the commission approve the rezoning.

Most of the board’s questions revolved around the additional traffic the shopping center would bring, and whether that traffic could compromise the safety of pedestrians on a paved trail that runs for a mile along South Myrtle Avenue between State Road 44 and New Smyrna Beach Middle School at the end of South Myrtle, and New Smyrna Beach High School around the corner on 10th Street. The trail has become popular for students who prefer to ride scooters and bicycles to school. Based on drawings shown by the developers, the shopping center’s entrances will be on South Myrtle, meaning some students could have to cross the entrances.

“This is going to be busy, busy,” said board member Jon Hall at the April 6 meeting. “I don’t care how they cut this pie, the traffic is not going to be just coming from 44 and into the property, they’re going to come from 10th Street, down by Edgewater, and they’re going to come right by that school, headed to this Sprouts.”

After walking around the area before the meeting, Hall expressed doubts about the feasibility of creating a turn lane at 44 and South Myrtle, as proposed by the developers. “It’s almost impossible because you’ve got homes on the west side that are almost on the street. On the other side you got the path.”

The developers plan to make room for the turn lane plus a pedestrian safety buffer by shifting the path eastward. “The safety of the children on the bike trail is a paramount goal of this project,” local attorney Glenn Storch, who represents the developers, said by email.

Samantha Bergeron, the city’s economic development manager, said the traffic study will define necessary improvements based on input from multiple agencies including the Florida Department of Transportation, since the proposal involves State Road 44, and the school board. “Right now, it's not very safe at all,” she said of the South Myrtle and SR 44 intersection. “So any changes that they make to it will make it safer than it is today.”

During the meeting, Hall suggested that approving this rezoning could spark the development of additional parcels of the 103-acre property. “You’re opening up a big door there for a tremendous amount of traffic,” he said. In a back and forth with Jeff Gove, the city’s senior planner, Hall teased out that up to 65% of the 103 acres could in theory become retail space, based on the city’s Future Land Use plan.

Board member David McKenna pointed out that the property is destined for a development project of some kind, but he struck a less than enthusiastic tone about the TJ Maxx portion of the proposal. “Do you want a discount clothing store there at that location? It seems weird to put one there,” he said.

During the meeting, city staff weren’t sure about the status of the TJ Maxx portion of the proposal, but later Scott Cole, the GBT development manager for the proposal, said the company has agreements with both Sprouts and TJ Maxx.

City staff at times struggled to keep the board members focused on the rezoning issue. City Attorney Carrie Avallone encouraged anyone who might be planning to vote no to explain their reasoning in terms of the city’s Land Development Regulations and Future Land Use planning. She said this would provide guidance to the City Commission.

When Hall voted no, she gently pressed him to elaborate in terms of those documents.
“Where does safety come in?” Hall shot back. Avallone said safety “would be considered at the site plan level.”

While Hall turned out to be the lone no vote, two members accompanied their yes votes with caveats.

“Frankly, I think this is a good thing for the town, but there’s problems with it. I’m voting yes tonight, but if they’re not resolved at the site plan, it’s a no,” said Thomas Bien.

John Causey voted yes “with a concerned note for the same old stuff: Flooding, traffic, congestion.”

Causey, earlier in the meeting, also posed a rhetorical question: “Isn’t it the job of this board, as well as the Planning Department, to help guide the traffic studies and not always accept everything that’s brought to us?”

The question was left to dangle, but no one disputed the premise.

Two members of the audience spoke during public participation in support of the proposal, while eight voiced opposition.

”There are locals here who really do want projects like this for our community,” said Bob Williams. “New Smyrna Beach has way more residential tax base than commercial, and this helps us move the needle on that.”

Linda Burke, one of the opponents, took issue with Cole’s contention that Sprouts will complement the “character” and “values” of New Smyrna Beach. “Early on in this man’s presentation he spoke to the character of our town. It’s not a shopping mall. I’m looking at the town emblem. It’s a beach community. We do not need a Sprouts. We have actual farm markets,” she said.

A few days after the board meeting, resident Paul Guerra, took a moment away from walking his dog on the pedestrian trail to share some thoughts about the proposal. He said the biggest traffic driver is one that did not come up in any depth during the meeting. Trains back up on 10th Street when they are being serviced at the New Smyrna Beach Rail Yard, he said. When drivers see a stopped train blocking 10th Street, South Myrtle becomes part of the route around the impasse.

“When the school and the train combine, people come racing down this road a million miles an hour because they're late,” Guerra said. “This is like a graveyard for cats, squirrels and armadillos. So many animals get hit on this road.” If someone really wanted to approve the safety and traffic flow, they should make an overpass on 10th Street, he said.

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