ST. LUCIE COUNTY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW/TCMA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Terissa Aronson
St. Lucie County
Chamber of Commerce
TREASURE COAST MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION 2021 MEMBERS
www.TCMAmfg.com
SPRING 2021
13
A-1 Roof Trusses LLC
Advanced Machine & Tool, Inc.
Aerex Industries, Inc.
Aluma Tower
Apple Machine & Supply Co.
D & D Welding & Fabrication LLC
Derecktor Shipyards
EB Airfoils, LLC
Expert Shutter Services
Fasco Epoxie’s Inc.
Fastsigns Vero Beach
Florida Architectural Precast, Inc.
Helena Agri Enterprises
Hi-Tide Boat Lifts
HOG Technologies
Hot Pie, Inc.
Indian River Select / Freshco
Investment Casting Specialists of Florida
Islamorada Beer Company
Lenco Marine Solutions, LLC
Maverick Boat Group, Inc.
MP Manufacturing & Design, Inc.
Nylacarb Corporation
OCULUS Surgical
Orchid Island Juice Company
PAC Seating Systems
Paradigm Precision, Inc.
Phoenix Metal Products, Inc.
Piper Aircraft
Pursuit Boats
Real Stone & Granite
Ross Mixing, Inc.
Southern Sewer Equipment Sales
Southeast Elevator Inc.
St. Lucie Battery & Tire
The Porch Factory
TNT Custom Boat Works, LLC
Triumph Aerospace Structures
Unique Tool & Dye, LLC
W. Lee Dobbins
Dean, Mead,
Minton & Moore
AFFILIATE MEMBERS
Business Development Board of
Martin County
CareerSource Research Coast
Carr, Riggs & Ingram
CBIZ
CenterState Bank
Dean, Mead, Minton & Moore
Economic Development Council of
St. Lucie County
Express Employment Professionals
Greater Treasure Coast Partnership
HBK CPA’s & Consultants
Indian River State College
Manpower
Spherion
UBU Brands
The St. Lucie County Development Review Taskforce was formed 10 years ago
by the EDC and the St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce which responded to a
request by the county’s administrator and planning director to review its permitting
and development processes for business. It was reinvigorated in 2016 when the
City of Port St. Lucie was reworking its permitting processes. Two key members
of the taskforce are Terissa Aronson, president of the St. Lucie County Chamber of
Commerce, and W. Lee Dobbins, a land use attorney with Dean, Mead, Minton &
Moore and the Treasure Coast Manufacturers Association. They responded to some
questions about the taskforce.
Q: What is the St. Lucie
County Development Review
Taskforce?
Dobbins: It is a group of
people who work with our
local governments St. Lucie
County, Port St. Lucie and
Fort Pierce to make the
development review process
go a little more smoothly. We
try to find ways to streamline
the processes of getting
approvals from planning,
building, utilities and other
departments.
Q: What is the composition of
the taskforce?
Dobbins: The St. Lucie County
Chamber of Commerce and
the Economic Development
Council of St. Lucie County
are probably the two most
active members. It also has
representatives from the
Treasure Coast Builders
Association, the Treasure Coast
Manufacturers Association,
and the Realtors Association
(Broward, Palm Beaches & St.
Lucie Realtors Association®).
Suggestions come from the
professionals on our taskforce
as well as the cities’ and the
county’s staff.
Q: How can you make
sure we maintain sensible
regulations?
Aronson: This is not onesided.
This is not just
applicants trying to get ease of
restrictions. It is really a process
that can benefit both the staff
and the applicant.
Dobbins: A lot of what we do
is finding ways to make the
process go smoothly without
diluting the review. Everybody
wants to see the standards
maintained because that
benefits all of us.
Q: Are the elected officials
involved?
Aronson: Yes, but the most
important people are the
department heads who direct
staff. The department heads
really dig deep to figure out
ways to work with us to make
everybody’s lives a little easier.
Q: What are some recent
accomplishments of the
taskforce’s efforts to work
with the local governments?
Dobbins: We worked with
St. Lucie County to increase
the number and types of site
plans that can be approved at
the staff level without having
to go to the Board of County
Commissioners. That can save
a lot. And we worked together
for a 15% cut in all permit
fees including all planning,
building and environmental
permits, for a year starting last
October 1. That was approved
by the Board of County
Commissioners.
Q: So you’ve got it all figured
out now? Time to fold the
taskforce?
Aronson: Not quite. It is everevolving.
No application is the
same. There are always new
issues, new concerns, and new
opportunities arise all the time.
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