SEBASTIAN — Property owners have submitted applications to overhaul a long-standing commercial development in Sebastian, proposing to shrink the existing planned unit and convert vacant land into a residential townhouse subdivision.
The Chesser’s Gap Commercial Planned Unit Development (PUD), spanning about 58 acres at Sebastian Boulevard and South Fleming Street, currently features some commercial operations on platted parcels. Development has proceeded under a conceptual plan approved in 2004.
Under city land development rules, commercial PUDs can dedicate up to 25% of their acreage to residential uses. But the owners aim to build townhouses on all remaining vacant lots, a move that would exceed that limit and clash with the 2004 plan.
To advance the project, the applications include four key requests:
- First, reducing the commercial PUD from 58 acres to 28.27 acres, which would necessitate updates to the 2004 conceptual plan.
- Second, changing the future land use map designation for the leftover vacant parcels from commercial general to medium-density residential.
- Third, rezoning those parcels from planned unit development-commercial to planned unit development-residential.
- And fourth, approving a new 29.43-acre residential conceptual PUD plan specifically for the townhouse community.
City planning staff and the applicants plan to present the proposals as a single package during an upcoming public hearing and discussion before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday, February 5, 2026.
The commission is expected to start by evaluating the PUD size reduction and modified commercial plan. If members vote to recommend denial to the City Council, the other applications would likely follow suit as unnecessary. A favorable recommendation, however, would prompt review of the land use amendment, rezoning and residential plan.