STUART — A proposed Popeye's restaurant in Stuart has been delayed after the City Commission deadlocked 2-2 on whether to move the project forward, postponing a decision until the board returns to full strength in August.
The split vote came with one commission seat vacant, leaving the applicant, Robert Sherman, frustrated after more than two years of working through the approval process.
"I'm trying to understand where or why or what was not unacceptable to have this passed. We've done every single thing possible for two and a half years to wait for this," Sherman said. "We are now going to lose the tenant. It is done. Our lease is finished. There's $50,000 in fines. And I'm just trying to grasp, after every single thing that we've done, what we did wrong."
Mayor Sean Reed and Commissioner Eula Clark voted against the proposal. Clark said she remained concerned about how the restaurant could affect the nearby Windmere neighborhood.
"Young people hanging out in the parking lot and making noises for people in Windmere and so on. But it is a business like any other business. And that's what happens when you have a fast food place at night, people are going to go there," Clark said.
During the meeting, Reed did not explain his vote but questioned Sherman about concerns residents had raised during the review process, particularly regarding cleanup and maintenance of the property.
Sherman said the outstanding issues have either been resolved or will be completed before the restaurant could receive a certificate of occupancy. He also said the project team has committed to working with the property's owners association on improvements beyond the development site.
"Most of those comments we've addressed. The POA, the Property Owner Association, owns everything outside of the parcel. We've committed to work with them, even if we have to go spend money, if they don't, to make sure at opening that the entire Windmere is going to be completely relandscaped, even at our nickel," Sherman said.
Commissioners Laura Giobbi and Campbell Rich supported the proposal. Rich pointed to the applicant's willingness to work with nearby residents and modify aspects of the project.
"I'm glad to see that no one from Windmere felt the need to show up and express their concerns, because apparently staff and the applicant have met with them and dealt with that. So good for both parties there. I'm very happy to hear that they're willing to limit their closing time to 10:30 p.m.," Rich said.
With the commission evenly split, the motion failed. Sherman said the outcome was a significant setback for the project.
"I am completely devastated," he said.
The commission decided to revisit the proposal at its Aug. 24 meeting, when it expects to have a full five-member board.
"The board can make another motion. You can make a motion to table it to a date certain, when there is a fifth board member here," Reed said.
The vacancy on the commission was created when former Mayor Christopher Collins resigned to run for a seat on the Martin County Commission. Because of the short time between his resignation and the August elections, the commission chose not to appoint an interim replacement.