After years of study and contentious public debate, the county commission last Tuesday voted 4-1 to formally expand the county's urban services boundary for the first time in 35 years.

According to county planners, the controversial change is needed to handle the burst of development expected along a rural 4-mile stretch of Oslo Road in coming years due to the new I-95 interchange.

The $96-million interchange is slated for completion in summer 2027, and Oslo Road is currently being widened west of 58th Avenue to handle additional traffic.

Additional traffic and easier access to the interstate for south and central county residents will mean new businesses and subdivisions along the road that would be nearly impossible to develop without access to county water and sewer hookups, which are only provided within the urban boundary.

The expected development will be a boon to longtime landowners, developers and builders, but has been resisted by many in the county who are wary of overdevelopment and sprawl, including island residents who fear the northward creep of South Florida urban density.

Donna Keys, co-chair of the Land Use Committee for the Indian River Neighborhood Association (IRNA), suggested during the public comments portion of the May 20 meeting where the change was approved that commissioners stall the process until after the interchange is finished.

“I think ... [this] expansion of the urban service area is a big expansion,” said Keys, “and a very expensive expansion. And we do have water issues. Adding more people is not going to help that. See what pressure there is in two or three years … instead of just going out and doing something now without really seeing what impact the interchange is going to have on this area.”

“It makes sense to just stall this,” said Richard Bialosky, an island architect and developer. “I’d like to see some pictures and examples of what this could look like. We need to be more educated about the implications of planning on a more holistic scale that affects the whole county. Let’s sit back, let’s look at the big picture, let’s do the right thing.”

Despite substantial opposition in the public comments part of the May 20 meeting, the measure passed 4-1, with 5th District Commissioner Laura Moss dissenting.

“There hasn’t been an outcry for more residential [development],” said Moss, who represents the barrier island south of route 510. “We can accommodate residential [development] within the existing urban services boundary ... people come here for our natural beauty.”

Residents still have opportunities to weigh in on what they want to happen in the expansion area.

After approving the measure, commissioners imposed a 12-month moratorium on zoning and land use changes along that corridor to give planners time to update Future Land Use designations and to draft detailed guidelines and standards for how commissioners – and the public – would like to see that area develop.

Regardless of the final zoning and land use outcomes, the financial burden of bringing water and sewer lines to new development in the Oslo Corridor will be borne by developers. Incoming residents and businesses will pay impact fees based on their percentage of use added to the system, said Sean Lieske, director of the county’s utility department.