STUART — The Stuart City Commission voted unanimously to send a letter to the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of Transportation requesting a halt to the Project Development and Environment Study for the Willoughby Boulevard extension.
City Attorney Lee Baggett outlined the scope and timeline of the ongoing study, which began in mid-2025 and is expected to run for several years.
“The project is currently in that study stage. And the study started on June 25, 2025 with a public kickoff meeting. The study is expected to be completed by August, 2028,” Baggett said. “A project development and environment study is FDOT's process to evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts associated with a planned transportation improvement project.”
Baggett noted that residents have opportunities to weigh in as the process moves forward.
“FDOT encourages the public to participate in questions and comments. And they have on their website, even for residents to email in and they can email directly to the project manager,” Baggett said.
Commissioners were presented with three potential alternatives for the project. The first would extend Willoughby Boulevard north along Southeast Alhambra Avenue, crossing Southeast Central Parkway before connecting with U.S. 1 near State Road 5A.
“Corridor One extends Willoughby Boulevard North along Southeast Alhambra Avenue and across Southeast Central Parkway to connect with US-1 near State Road 5A,” Baggett said.
A second route would shift the roadway east before turning north and eventually linking to U.S. 1.
“And then there's Corridor Two, which realigns Willoughby Boulevard to the East near the Martin County Sheriff's Office and continues North across Monterey Road along Southeast Raiseway. It then follows Southeast Central Parkway West to Poppleton Creek Park, where it turns North to connect with US-1 near State Road 5A,” Baggett said.
The third alternative would leave the area unchanged.
“And then the third alternative is no build. No build alternative will not provide any improvements. It will remain a viable alternative throughout the project,” Baggett said.
Vice Mayor Sean Reed, who is also on the MPO, urged fellow commissioners to formally communicate their preference for that option, citing concerns from residents who could be affected.
“I'd like to get a consensus for my fellow board members here in the city to send a letter to Beth Beltran and the MPO to let them know that we'd prefer option three for a no build option that was never presented by prior city employees, or even presented at the Martin County MPO board until the question was raised,” Reed said. “I think that's the option the public would like to see, especially the ones that are directly affected by it.”
Reed added that development patterns in the area have shifted over time.
“So at this point, I think if it stayed a commercial corridor predominantly, it might not have been as much of an issue, but now there's plenty of residents that live there on Central Parkway,” he said.
Mayor Christopher Collins said he believes the project no longer has support from the current commission and raised concerns about potential neighborhood and environmental impacts.
“I would like to ask them to remove this project from their list entirely to stop moving forward at all. Whatever was the consensus in the past, I don't believe any longer exists on this board from the city,” Collins said. “I don't see the benefit in erasing that low-income neighborhood and moving north from there.”
Collins also pointed to possible effects on parkland and waterways.
“We would be erasing part of that Poppleton Creek Park. You know, you have the playground there. You would be really cutting that. You'd still have the dog park, but that entire part of that green space there would become an extension of that highway. And then cutting the watershed for Poppleton Creek, not in half, but maybe a third of it out there. I don't see the benefit really in that extension for how much damage it causes,” he said.
Public input also reflected support for the no-build alternative. Stuart resident Luke Latham, who lives near one of the potentially affected areas, described turnout at a recent community meeting.
“FDOT had a meeting at our community, the Seaside Townhomes. There were 40 residents that showed up, mostly from Seaside, also some leadership from Villa Bella, and also a city commissioner. And the overwhelming majority are in favor of a no-build,” Latham said.
Following the discussion, commissioners agreed to move forward with the letter requesting that the agencies stop advancing the project.
More information on the project can be found here and here on FDOT's website.