The City of Stuart is approaching its hundredth birthday on May 7th. When measured against the world’s oldest cities such as Damascus, Syria or Jericho on the West Bank of the Jordan, Stuart is still in its infancy. Even within our own state, Stuart is 349 years younger than St. Augustine. But one thing all cities have in common, regardless of age, is that they are living organisms. Not for a moment can they rest on the past or in the present. They have no choice but to embrace the future. Cities must do so not with trepidation or fear but with dynamism that comes from a confidence of purpose.
Embracing the future does not mean neglecting our past. We are a place born of the water. It is vital for us to make sure that the Saint Lucie and Indian Rivers not only survive but are pristine and that they are returned to the state they were in when Stuart was first settled. The “Sailfish Capital of the World” can be known for nothing less.
Our historic downtown was close to extinction. Stuart could have been consigned, as many other places were, to continued blight. Joan Jefferson and the work of many others have restored our downtown to a vibrant place of retail stores, restaurants, offices and homes. Their future is our present. Our future should be a time when we expand that vibrancy to other parts of the city such as East Stuart. It should be a time when we capitalize on our livability because of our restaurants, theaters, stores, and medical facilities.
Going forward, the needs of Stuart’s citizens will change. As a society, we will be less car centric. Reliable and affordable mass transit will be needed and should be encouraged. The CRA should have greater but smarter density criteria. The building of smaller apartments should be encouraged so that young couples starting out in life and older ones looking to downsize have options. There will be more people working from home. We will need to have more reliable, faster and less expensive internet including universal WiFi. We should look at connectivity as a utility the same as we do our water and sewer.
Stuart has a natural advantage when it comes to attracting both the marine and aviation industries. These businesses have good paying jobs for an educated workforce. With modern production design and manufacturing, such as 3D printers, they are relatively clean as compared to other industries. However, all environmentally friendly businesses should be encouraged.
Stuart and Martin County cannot build a future on real estate development and construction. It is not only bad for the environment but unsustainable. That does not mean we do not develop and grow to accommodate our needs. But, we shouldn’t though build just to build so that a few may become richer but the county and city as a whole becomes poorer. Our future is more reliant on a pristine waterway than on a paved-over savannah.
Stuart is a city that should encourage change and innovation in keeping with our past and present. We need to look to our past for guidance but not be blind to the world of the future. We must direct and shape our city plan toward the world that will be. This will no doubt require much discussion and deliberation among all our citizens. This future will, in no way, be as hard for us as Stuart’s founders had when they established this city on the Saint Lucie a century ago.