Jensen Beach residents really don't like Riverlight project. So what can they do about it?

Twice already, local residents have turned out in large numbers to show their unity in opposition to Riverlight, a mixed-use development proposed along a stretch of Indian River Drive about halfway between the Jensen Beach Causeway and Jensen Beach Boulevard.

More than 100 people have showed up at the last two Jensen Beach Neighborhood Advisory Committee meetings to voice their displeasure with New Urban Towns LLC's plans to build almost 80 residential units, a restaurant, boardwalk and some parks on a 5.5-acre parcel stretching from Pineapple Avenue to the Indian River Lagoon.

"Quit Messen w. Jensen" has morphed into a full-on political movement, complete with hats, T-shirts and drink koozies for supporters of the laid-back beach community.

If this were a Hallmark movie, the Fort Myers-based company would be shaken by the community's outcry, sheepishly apologize for stirring up such a fuss, and maybe donate the property as a permanent site for the Jensen Beach Pineapple Festival.

Unfortunately, life ― especially where it concerns development projects in Florida ― is not a Hallmark movie.

Being outraged isn't a strategic plan

That leaves the "Quit Messen w. Jensen" crowd with an obvious question: Where do they go from here? I have a few thoughts about that, not all of which the people in the community are going to like.

I've seen some people from the group boasting that they have "stopped" the project because the Neighborhood Advisory Committee hasn't taken any action to endorse it. However, that's not really the committee's role.

One of the committee's main reasons for being is to serve as a community forum when issues like this arise. Even if the committee were to take a position for or against the project, it would mean little to nothing.

New Urban Towns eventually will have to submit its plans to the Martin County Local Planning Agency, which will hold a public hearing and then make a recommendation to the Martin County Commission.

Ultimately, no matter what recommendations are made by the NAC or the LPA, at least three of the five county commissioners will decide whether Riverlight sees the light of day.

Get the area's county commissioner involved

Which leads to my first suggestion for the project's opponents: They've got to find a way to get Commissioner Doug Smith, whose district includes Jensen Beach, engaged in this. If he attended either of the most recent NAC meetings, he's a master of disguise.

And it's his influence that could be critical in determining Riverlight's fate.

Some Jensen Beach residents took note when Martin County Commission Chairman Ed Ciampi, backed by a swarm of angry Palm City citizens, convinced his colleagues to buy a piece of property in the community rather than allowing it to be developed as apartments.

It was a somewhat-controversial move because it raises questions about where local governments should draw the line when it comes to purchasing private land for parks, conservation or other purposes. Nevertheless, it happened, in large part because the community's residents and their district representative wanted it to happen.

Stopping or even scaling back Riverlight is going to require some of the same sort of unconventional thinking.

In other words, is there a way to resolve this that will make the residents happy without trampling all over the property owner's rights? Quite often, that's not easy to do.

Try getting concessions from the developer

Now here's the part that may be hard for some residents to hear: They need to grit their teeth, appoint one or more spokespeople, and reach out to the developers to see if any sort of compromise can be struck.

I know, I know. Many residents would prefer to see nothing developed on the site. But the reality is, that property is not going to remain fallow forever.

And, whether residents like it or not, the development plan New Towns apparently plans to submit seems fairly consistent with the language in the Jensen Beach community redevelopment plan. Agree or disagree about whether mixed-use development is appropriate for the site, but it's been in the plan for about 20 years.

Commissioners can't just reject the Riverlight plans on a whim, or even because a lot of people oppose them. They have to have some rational basis for declaring Riverlight inconsistent with their land-use laws.

Otherwise, they could end up being sued by the developers for making what lawyers call a "capricious and arbitrary" decision.

Residents' complaints about the Riverlight project seem to fit into at least a couple of categories. On the one hand, there's the argument Riverlight would simply bring too much residential development into the community. On the other hand, there's an argument Riverlight wouldn't provide the type of affordable housing the community needs.

All-or-nothing showdown would mean somebody has to lose

There's the paradox: Housing density and housing affordability often go hand in hand. Because Florida real estate is so valuable, the days of seeing newly constructed large-lot homes that fit most people's definition of affordability are probably over, at least in the foreseeable future.

So residents could ask the developers to reduce the number of housing units. Or, they can ask for commitments to ensure a set percentage of the new units are affordable to middle-class families. Or they could try to get both.

Maybe residents could convince New Towns to consider other concessions as well, like bigger parks, more parking or a better boardwalk.

Any revisions the developers support might not be enough to satisfy all of the project's opponents. At this point, though, opponents have nothing to lose by trying to see if they can make the project more to their liking before the county's formal hearing process begins.

If local residents don't make a good faith effort to compromise with the developers, they could risk getting into an all-or-nothing battle. And unlike in Hallmark movies, those types of battles don't always have happy endings.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at bfontenay@gannett.com or at 772-232-5424.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Jensen Beach residents need more than outrage to stop Riverlight plans