Planning board advances Legacy Future Scholars Academy conditional use with stronger parking and backup‑transportation requirements

The Fort Pierce Planning Board on April 13 voted to recommend approval of a conditional use for Legacy Future Scholars Academy, a proposed private pre‑K through grade‑8 school to operate at 510 Orange Avenue with a capacity of up to 200 students.

Staff described the operation as occupying approximately 18,428 sq ft within a 20,195 sq ft commercial building with eight classrooms, a multipurpose room, and a shared playground and parking agreement with First United Methodist Church. The applicant proposes staggered arrival and dismissal times to reduce roadway impacts and listed a maximum staff of 26 and operational hours centered on school day schedules.

Board members pressed the applicant on the operational reliance on the shared parking agreement. Several board members voiced concern that if the church or lot owner terminated the lease, daily queuing and drop‑off operations could spill onto Orange Avenue and nearby neighborhood streets. The chair and other members said the application needs a concrete contingency that the board and commission can rely on.

Steve Tarr, the building owner, responded to the concern: “If in the unlikely event the church were to terminate that agreement, they would provide personal transportation, whether it be some type of bus or some type of vans or whatever,” he said, explaining that the operator would not close the school and would deploy backup transportation and other measures as needed.

To address the risk, the board requested two additional conditions before the item is presented to the City Commission: (1) a revised lease that clearly defines the boundaries and times of parking use for student arrival/dismissal and is signed by both parties, and (2) a written Plan B describing alternate drop‑off/pick‑up arrangements (for example, school‑provided transportation, alternate queuing layouts or designated alternate lots) that can be executed immediately if the lease is dissolved. Staff indicated those documents and the updated lease should be included in the packet presented to the commission so the commission can evaluate the contingency measures.

Motion and next steps: The Planning Board voted to recommend approval with eight conditions (the six staff conditions plus the two supplemental items described above). Board member Whiting recused himself from the vote because of a potential conflict of interest. The recommendation, with the additional documentation attached, will be forwarded to the City Commission for final action.

The board’s added conditions are focused on operational clarity: ensuring the applicant can physically and legally implement queuing and queuing‑time protections, and that the City Commission will see a robust contingency plan before issuing final approval.