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You have questions, and we research them to bring you honest answers. We dedicate this page to you, the Citizens of Martin County. Do you have a question? Email us at MCtaxpayers1950@gmail.com. We will do our best to get an answer directly from the source.
"I’ve heard the height of stories in a building can be anything the contractor wants them to be. So, doesn’t that breach our 4-story height limit in the COMP plan?"
For years, we have heard that Martin County could become Broward or Miami-Dade. Given our current density, height, and setback restrictions, that is an impossibility. People who continuously bring up that argument during the development review process are just trying to scare the public.
The only thing you must remember about height restrictions is that they are capped at four stories. There are complicated finished floor and flood map requirements to determine elevation. But even taking steeples, chimneys, and elevator machinery into account, the height of any building structure cannot be more than 60 feet.
In some zoning districts, height limits are less. However, a few nonhabitable structures for agriculture and industrial districts may be taller than the allowable height in the zoning district but no more than 60 feet. Our existing codes prevent anything close to what has happened to our south from occurring here.
The City of Stuart has comparable rules for building heights with slightly higher density calculations.
"My understanding is that the millage rate cannot exceed 10 mills. But, our county is slightly over that. How can that be?"
No county in Florida can exceed 10 mills except in voted levies. However, Martin County has several MSTUs or Municipal Service Taxing Units. These are allowed to levy taxes of an additional 10 mills since the county also acts as a municipality.
Therefore, in Martin County, we have a long way to go before exhausting maximum millage. It means that the county will have to allocate expenses carefully so as not to end up with a problem. You can find the information in the Florida Statutes under Chapter 200.071
"You sad the County had to settle with Noble Paw and pay their legal fees of $65K. I thought the Commission decided to drop the ordinance for the pet store ban because they didn't want to fight the lawsuit because it would be too expensive. If the pet store got what they wanted, why is the county paying money? What is Noble Paw?"
There were two pet stores that sold animals in the county. An ordinance was enacted that would have precluded those stores or others from opening. It initially gave the two stores six months to stop selling live animals and was subsequently allowed to continue while the lawsuits were pending.
One store settled, accepting the county’s offer of paying their legal fees, allowing them to remain in business and even sell or expand their footprint to up to 3000 square feet. The other store continues with their pending federal action.
The ordinance was amended to incorporate those terms for the two stores and still prohibit subsequent stores from selling live pets.