The Delray Beach City Commission moved closer in March to changing the name of the Nassau Street Historic District, adding properties to the district and expanding its period of significance.
A resurvey report before the commission recommended correcting the name to the Nassau Park Historic District and expanding its historic period of significance to 1935-1964 from the previous 1935-1943. Five properties would be added to the district, which includes lots on Nassau Street between A1A and Venetian Drive. The resurvey report also recommended that an application be submitted to the National Register of Historic Places for the district.
The commission passed an ordinance accepting the report by RJ Heisenbottle Architects Inc. on first reading at the March 17 meeting. A second public hearing is planned at 7 p.m. April 7.
– Margie PlunkettRead more…
An independent investigation has concluded that Delray Beach did not substantively violate laws or city policies while it worked with bond issue underwriting companies that employed Kevin McCarty, husband of former County Commissioner Mary McCarty.
Law firm Brown, Garganese, Weiss & D’Agresta, P.A. was hired to conduct the probe after the McCartys were charged with violating honest-services law, said the report submitted March 23 by attorney Usher L. Brown.
The city was concerned because during her service to the county, Mary McCarty gave discretionary funds to Delray Beach while her husband was employed by firms that were underwriters on several of the city’s bond transactions, the report said.
The investigation did not reveal evidence that the McCartys received inside information on bond issues that gave Kevin McCarty an unfair advantage.
The report also found that Mary McCarty’s distributions of funds to Delray Beach were neither improper nor disproportionate to other cities in her district.
However, the city practice of using one underwriting firm, and of following one person as he moved from one underwriting firm to the next because of his longtime relationship with Delray Beach, doesn’t follow best practices established by the Government Finance Officers Association, the report said.
It recommended the city revise procedures to follow best practices.
— Margie PlunkettRead more…
By Florence Kizza
DELRAY BEACH — Atlantic Plaza II was the main topic of discussion at the Delray Beach Site Plan Review and Appearance Board’s March 11 meeting.
The mixed-use complex, planned for nine acres at Atlantic Avenue and Federal Highway, includes retail, office space and living units. But the six-building project has generated controversy.
While most of the 40 or so Delray residents at the meeting seemed to be on board with the project, not surprisingly a few issues were raised. Robert Victorin of the Beach Property Owners Association expressed concern about the impact of traffic flow on Atlantic Avenue due to the proposed parallel parking spots. He also commented that the proposed center median on the street would be costly, have no use, and encourage illegal crossing of the street by pedestrians. But in the end, Victorin said, he favored the project as a “good advancement for Delray Beach.”
Claudia Willis, a resident on Marine Way, asked the developers to rethink the height and mass of the large buildings. Resident Mary Walton said, “I really want a development here, but it doesn’t work for me. It feels too big. It doesn’t feel like Delray.”
Bill Plum, a Delray Beach resident for more than 20 years, praised the project, saying that it will be “reviving Delray Beach to something vibrant.” And Garrison Banks has been coming to City Hall meetings about the project since the idea first came up. “It’s the buzz around town,” he said. “I’m excited about the project.”
In his presentation to the board, Michael Weiner, a representative for project developers CDS International Holdings, said the development will implement several green initiatives, including recycling, solar water heating and reclaimed-water irrigation.
Joe Snider, an architect and green building specialist, said these moves would help position Delray Beach as a green city. Jason Bregman, a Delray Beach resident with expertise in ecological design, echoed Snider’s comments and took them one step further, encouraging the developers to make the buildings visibly green. Resident Michael Singer agreed. “There is nothing in the aesthetics of this building that reflect the green initiatives,” he commented.
Efforts of the developers to integrate historical design into Atlantic Plaza II did not go unnoticed. Singer commented, “We know that we live in a contemporary world. Why are we looking to the past for the future?”
Meanwhile, Robert Ganger of the Delray Beach Historical Society offered his endorsement of the project, saying, “we do stand by to work with the developers as the designs are refined insofar as we can provide any useful material to the architect.”
In the end, the board unanimously voted for CDS’ site plan, architectural elevations and landscape plan as long as certain conditions of approval are met. Members of the board commented that CDS’ presentation was “probably the best we’ve had,” and that this is an “excellent project” that has “come a long way.”
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By C.B. Hanif
South Florida’s winter weather draws many northerners, but Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York has an even better reason to visit: His mother, Donna Schneier Goldberg, and her husband, Leonard, live in Manalapan.
On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, their waterfront home hosted the Alpert Jewish Family & Children's Service’s inaugural Chai Society meeting for its major donors. So what better guest speaker for thanking supporters of the nationally accredited agency, which serves vulnerable Palm Beach County seniors, families and children, than the internationally noted rabbi.
“Chai,” transliterated as “cha-yim,” said Rabbi Schneier, “in Hebrew means life.”
In all the world’s languages, he told his listeners, the word for life is in the singular, except in Hebrew. “Because Judaism understands that one cannot live life in the singular, one must live life in the plural. And the gathering here is a demonstration, is a manifestation, of this group’s commitment to live life in the plural, by caring, by sharing, by giving to those who are less fortunate.”
The agency, through dozens of social service programs at 45th Street in West Palm Beach, works to fulfill the Jewish value of tikkun olam: repairing the world, one person at a time.
It is one of innumerable causes Schneier champions.
Another is the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, chaired by hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, and of which the rabbi is president and co-founder.
As an 18th-generation rabbi and a leading voice for dialogue and cooperation among ethnic and faith communities, Schneier always is on a mission.
His “big focus right now: trying to create an international campaign of strengthening relations between Muslims and Jews.”
The Muslim Journal was one of few national publications to note the first summit in North America of rabbis and imams — about a dozen each — which Schneier helped convene in 2007. After an initial goal of pairing 25 mosques with 25 synagogues, he said, the count has grown to more than 100 mosques and 100 synagogues “twinned” in North America, with other countries looking to replicate the concept.
He draws on the cooperation between Jews and African-Americans in the civil rights movement for a key theme today: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s concept that “people who fight for their own rights are only as honorable as when they’re fighting for the rights of all people.”
Once considered a pariah for promoting better relations between Jews and African-Americans in an atmosphere where, for example, the Rev. Jesse Jackson had referred to New York City as “Hymietown,” today, he said, “I’m going through a very similar trajectory with Jewish-Muslim relations. Needless to say, the stakes are much higher. But I’m confident.”
He sees “a two-way street, that’s the kind of world we need. The Jewish people, we can’t fight our battles alone.
Nor can the Muslim community fight their battles alone. We have to be fully sensitive to the concerns, to the issues, to the struggles of the other. And see each one of us as a child of God, who is entitled to be treated with the dignity and justice and the compassion that we claim for ourselves.”
The 21st century challenge, he said, will be outreach to the Muslim community. “And I think one of the reasons why people have not entered that fray is that they are unsure what to do, there’s trepidation, there’s anxiety.
“But that’s very much my spirit. I’m a pioneer,” said the personable rabbi. “My friends in the Islamic world need a little bit of help. And I’m here to help.”
Profile box:Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York has been recognized as one of America’s 50 most prominent Jews and 50 top rabbis. He serves the New York Synagogue in Manhattan and the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, both of which he founded. He is past president of the New York Board of Rabbis, the world’s largest interdenominational rabbinic body, and past president of the North American Board of Rabbis. He is chairman of the World Jewish Congress United States, and vice president of the World Jewish Congress.Read more…
By Cynthia Thuma
The criminal cases against former St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church priests Francis Guinan, 66, and John Skehan, 82, are now completed and the Diocese of Palm Beach has begun trying to separate fact from rumor in issues related and unrelated to the criminal cases.
The diocese stripped the two of their priestly powers and both were sentenced to prison — 14 months for Skehan and four years for Guinan after they were found guilty of skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Delray Beach church.
In the wake of their sentencing, the church and the diocese have been trying to reopen lines of communication between the church and the faithful.
Over the weekend of March 28-29, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito released a statement that was read at the diocese’s 53 parishes and missions. In part, it reads: “This has been a very long and painful period for our diocese. I am grateful for the usual faith and patience exhibited by our people and especially that of the people of the parishes of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Patrick. I am also grateful for the well-deserved support shown to our hard-working and responsible priests, who do not receive publicity for the good work they do day in and day out.”
In his message, the bishop vowed to provide more information on efforts to recover and return skimmed assets.
“I also wish to assure all that we will continue our best efforts at every level to ensure the highest standards of financial accountability within our diocese,” Barbarito noted.
The diocese also sought to assure parents whose children attend St. Vincent Ferrer School that a $1,000-per-child tuition increase for the 2009-2010 school year was not tied to the cases against the two priests, but did hinder communications.
“The ongoing criminal matter, as well as our own internal investigations related to these cases, prevented us from sharing information before both processes concluded,” wrote Alexis Walkenstein, director of communications for the Diocese of Palm Beach, via e-mail. “Now that the criminal matter has finally reached a conclusion, the Diocese of Palm Beach can move forward with further disclosure regarding the restitution component to the lay faithful.”
The tuition increase, Walkenstein wrote, was determined by the parish’s finance council. A PowerPoint presentation on the proposed increase was made at a school meeting with parents on Jan. 27. Walkenstein noted parents also were provided a flier with additional information related to the proposed increase. Further, budget information items regarding the school and church’s budget were reported in several weekly parish bulletins.
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By Tim O’Meilia
The titillating tale of two revered Roman Catholic pastors who skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from Sunday collection plates at a Delray Beach church and spent it on gambling trips, vacations in the Bahamas and airline tickets for female companions will end in prison for both men.
Already stripped of their Roman collars and their priestly powers, the two stood before separate judges last week — one already in jailhouse garb and the other in gray suit — and learned their future: 14 months in prison for John Skehan and four years for Francis Guinan.
Heartfelt pleas from St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church parishioners and fellow priests relating lifetimes of good works — especially on Skehan’s behalf — did not dissuade the judges from handing down prison terms.
“The crime of the defendant was pure greed unmasked,” said Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffery Colbath in sentencing Skehan, 82.
The ex-priest has repaid nearly $800,000 in restitution by turning over a condominium and a gold coin collection.
Judge Krista Marx, in a separate sentencing hearing, told Guinan, 66: “No matter how many your good works, your legacy will always be one of thievery and deceit.” He was also ordered to repay $99,999 restitution.
Neither may step foot on the grounds of St. Vincent again, the judges ordered.
Guinan, who was convicted by a six-member jury after a six-day trial, received a stiffer sentence even though his conviction was for grand theft of less than $100,000, while Skehan pleaded guilty to theft of more than $100,000.
Both prosecutors and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach said that restitution was enough for Skehan, who admitted his guilt and cooperated with police from the moment he was arrested in 2006.
“The fact that Father Skehan will no longer be able to function as a priest is a punishment in itself,” said the Rev. Charles Notabartolo, vicar general of the diocese.
Skehan spoke to the court in a soft voice before he was sentenced.
“I want to apologize to all those I have hurt. The pain for what I have done will never go away.”
Colbath cited the ex-priest’s remorse and his 40-year body of good works as one of the reasons he levied a lesser sentence than the 20-month minimum suggested by state sentencing guidelines.
In Guinan’s case, prosecutors asked for a five- to 10-year sentence. Marx dismissed as “unmitigated gall” Guinan’s defense that he was entitled to money for all the good he had done and that a $50,000 pastor’s discretionary fund had no bounds on how it could be spent.
The three-year saga of the scandal embarrassed the diocese, shocked parishioners and further damaged the already shaky status of priests. Said current St. Vincent pastor, the Very Rev. Tom Skindeleski, “I’m just glad it’s over.”
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By Margie Plunkett
As Earth Day 2009 draws near, municipalities in this 10-mile stretch of beach are measuring carbon emissions, landscaping with eco-efficient plants, replacing gas guzzlers with plug-ins and exploring solar and wind power sources.
Coastal cities are taking a range of approaches to environmental initiatives, from performing basic recycling to establishing green alliances and promoting them on YouTube.com.
Not surprisingly, the bigger municipalities have more formalized, wider-ranging efforts. But regardless of size, all are budget conscious, especially wary of growing constraints in today’s spoil-sport economy. Boynton Beach learned that going green doesn’t always cost. Its green task force, charged with recommending environmental practices, found 118 practices already in place and identified others that could be made at no additional cost, said Carisse LeJeune, head of the sustainability committee, which will host Earth Week April 20-24.
The city is recruiting professionals and other residents to a new Green Community Alliance via efforts including a YouTube.com video. The Alliance is a priority, along with seeking green opportunities in the federal stimulus package, LeJeune said. Boynton Beach is also measuring carbon emissions.
The Delray Beach Commission also organized a green task force to come up with short-term, intermediate and long-term recommendations. When that group sun-setted in September, the task of fulfilling recommendations fell to the city’s various departments, City Engineer Randal Krejcarek said. The task force’s report said its No. 1 objective was for the mayor to deliver its 10-point green plan on April 22, 2009 — Earth Day. It proposed the plan be implemented between 2010 and 2015. Prior to the task force, the city had already made several commitments to environmental practices, including conducting an inventory of its global warming emissions, the task’s force’s report said.
Lantana, focused on water use, has replaced expanses of grass around Town Hall that require water, chemicals, fertilizer and maintenance with pine forests, pine needles and palmettos that do not. “We’re letting the natives grow,” said Town Manager Mike Bornstein. “It functions well. We have a hawk that lives up there — we have a little ecosystem coming out.” Meter readers once cruised Lantana in hand-me-down police cars, old Crown Victorias with an unquenchable thirst for gasoline. Not anymore. The town substituted a battery-operated utility vehicle about a month ago. “They’ve had great success using it. It runs all day on a charge,” Bornstein said. Lantana also held Greenfest last October, the first of what it plans as an annual event. The first Greenfest featured speakers, information booths and goody bags with samples including a compact fluorescent bulb.
“We’re starting to work more with nature than fighting it,” Bornstein said.
Other towns’ green initiatives are more limited.
The Briny Breezes Green Committee formed just a couple months ago, and is studying the possibility of solar heat for the town’s swimming pool and laundry, new committee Chairman Ken Doyle said. “We’re attempting to begin in a small way.” When that’s decided, Briny Breezes will next look at water conservation.
Gulf Stream recycles everything from office paper to soda cans and is cognizant of water restrictions, said Town Clerk Rita Taylor. The town buys goods and renovates with conservation in mind, but there’s no formal structure for green initiatives, she said.
Likewise for Ocean Ridge, whose beaches are owned privately, by Palm Beach County or by Boynton Beach, said Town Manager Ken Schenck. When Town Hall, the only building Ocean Ridge operates, was strengthened against hurricanes, a benefit was that it became more energy efficient, he said. The town also works to keep non-native vegetation at bay on the dunes. And it helps those involved with sea turtles, he added.
"Manalapan doesn’t have formal initiatives. Its renovated water plant uses a reverse osmosis system designed to preserve fresh-water aquifers and prevent saltwater intrusion, Town Manager Greg Dunham said. Manalapan, whose beaches are privately owned, uses small vehicles and recycles, he said. The town stirred some controversy last year by easing restrictions on non-native plants following county action. The plants were to be removed from vacant lots, but could remain otherwise — although no new ones were allowed, Dunham said.
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By Linda Haase
When sisters Savanah, 11, Cassady, 8, and Amanda, 6, started ManalaPet Sitters, they anticipated being nipped by a zealous cat or beaked by a bird.
But the Manalapan residents never imagined their entrepreneurial venture would end before the dog days of summer began. However, as they and their mom, Gina Hyland, put flyers and business cards on residents’ doors in Manalapan and Hypoluxo Island Feb. 7, a police officer informed them they were violating a town ordinance.
Turns out they had to register and get a tax license before conducting business in the town. But, ah, the rub: Minors can’t get the license.
Gina, who has lived in Point Manalapan for 15 years, wasn’t about to let sleeping dogs lie and contacted nearly every town official. And, at a March 24 town meeting, officials voted to exempt minors from that provision of the ordinance. “We changed the ordinance. It was cool and it‘s a dream come true that I get to work with my sisters,“ says Cassady.
“It was amazing that everyone was so willing to help us out,” said Savanah. “It’ll give us something to tell our grandkids.”
Gina was relieved that city officials recognized the benefits of children getting business experience. It was also a good civics lesson for the three girls, who are home schooled. “They saw how changes are made. I told them it might not work out so easily and quickly next time, though,” she said.
“When they first started, I thought it would be a good learning experience, they would to learn how to decide rates, how to advertise, market, design a Web site, T-shirts, hats and fliers, and run a business. But they learned a lot more.”
The girls reveled in their 15 minutes of fame — and then resumed their business, which includes house and pet sitting and dog walking.
“Since we’re just kids, we probably won’t get a ton of business, but our rates are good, we love animals and we’re responsible, so we think people should hire us,” said Cassady. ”And our Mom will be there to supervise.”
The trio promises to take excellent care of clients’ beloved pets and homes — even cleaning up accidents pets make and ensuring there are no tell-tale signs for would-be burglars.
“I really want to make a lot, like billions,” Cassady said. And where will the money go? “We’ll give 10 percent to charity (Forgotten Soldiers and an animal shelter), pay for outside activities and put the rest in savings,” said Savanah.
And now what?
“ Hopefully we won’t have to deal with a monkey or a rat,” quipped Savanah.
“I’ll feed the rat, I don’t mind,” Cassady said. “And I’ll walk all the German shepherds,” promises Amanda.
For more information, visit www.manalapetsitters.comRead more…
Manalapan will live with iguanas a little while longer, since commissioners delayed action at their March 24 meeting to allow more time to explore options for getting rid of the reptiles. Town Manager Gregory Dunham told commissioners, who at February’s meeting had declared iguanas a town nuisance, that he wanted to continue to investigate. The quotes in hand, he said, ranged from someone without the required credentials to an annual service with a $78,000 price tag.
– Margie PlunkettRead more…
GULF STREAM — Town commissioners backed a consortium’s efforts to push Florida Power & Light to bury power lines, but voted to “send a message” to the group by only paying half of a required contribution.
Commissioners voiced concern at their meeting on March 13 that Gulf Stream’s payment is disproportionate to other members’ payments to the Municipal Underground Utilities Consortium, a group of Florida municipalities. Gulf Stream will send about $770 instead of the $1,543 required. The contribution for larger cities is capped at $12,000. Commissioner Chris Wheeler argued that the smaller, wealthier town of Gulf Stream is subsidizing the bigger cities.
The group didn’t change its stance upon learning from Town Manager William Thrasher that Robert Ganger, president of Gulf Stream Civic Association, had earlier offered to pay the fee if the commissioners didn’t want to. Commissioners welcomed the offer, and said the association was free to do what it wished separately from the commission’s vote. Ganger later confirmed that the civic association paid the balance of the fee. “We need to resolve once and for all if this is a good idea or bad. And if we can help, we’re delighted to do so,” he said.
“I’m not even sure what we’re going to get for our money. But symbolically, we want to let the members know we’re listening, we care and we’re going to take some action.”
Separately, the Gulf Stream Commission declined to adopt an ordinance to prohibit people from leading pets while riding in golf carts.
– Margie Plunkett
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Robert Hudson Neff’s first ocean/coastal experience was a car trip to Florida in 1920 when he was a small boy. That trip to Miami from Ohio with his parents and two older brothers took nine days. The family camped along the way. Upon their arrival his mother recorded their experiences in a journal — and sought medical treatment for a bad case of mosquito bites!
The family spent about a year in Miami. Neff never forgot his fascination with tropical Florida or his desire to “get back to the tropics.”
As an adult, Neff commuted to the Melbourne area for about 10 years when he was developing home sites on the barrier island. He bought the land from one of William Gleason’s grandsons. (Gleason was a post-Civil War land speculator on the Florida coast.) During that period Neff enjoyed surf and deep-sea fishing.
In Delray Beach, Neff and his family lived seasonally at Sea Fields Club beginning in the early 1970s. During 35 winters there, he and a neighbor walked the beach almost every evening for exercise.
Besides his love of fishing and the beach, Neff has a special interest in historic markers. He and his family have placed nine markers in their hometown of Canfield, Ohio. Now in his 90s, Neff has spent the last year arranging to have historic markers placed locally on the barrier island. Two have been installed in Delray Beach: one at the east end of Bay Street and one in front of the First Presbyterian Church. He is now working with the Delray Beach Historical Society on a Historic Sites Beach Walk brochure, and has plans to place additional markers in cooperation with local historical societies.
Robert Neff was nominated to be a Coastal Star by Dorothy Patterson, archivist at the Delray Beach Historical Society.
“When I first met Mr. Neff, he was holding a book of memories that had been compiled by his daughter Jennifer. On the front was a handsome photograph of himself in his Navy officer’s uniform during World War II.” All of the memorabilia in the book came from his Navy days, Patterson said.Read more…
By Angie Francalancia
They dressed in their best in those earliest days, wearing furs and other finery to watch the game’s greatest players in what they called the gentlemen’s sport.
The origins of Gulfstream Polo are inextricably woven within the lives of the socialites and capitalists who made the southern Palm Beach County barrier island their home in the 1920s.
Originally, the polo ground was known only as Phipps Fields, and that in itself set the scene for what quickly became known as the winter polo capital of the world. The roster of players read like the social registry itself: Winston and Raymond Guest and William Post II, up from Miami, Stewart and Phillip Iglehart, Adolph Busch Orthwein.
William Koch was a boy, hanging around the stables and walking horses for a quarter, when the three polo fields lined the Intracoastal Waterway. Perhaps 80 to 100 people lived in Gulf Stream then, he said. But on Sundays for the big matches, people converged on the tiny town, coming up from Miami or down from Palm Beach, some taking their Trumpy yachts and tying up alongside the fields to watch the game.
“It was the socialites that used to come down in their yachts,” said Koch, who’s been Gulf Stream town mayor now for nearly 40 years. “People would dress in long dresses and hats. Their chauffeurs would set out a card table, put a tablecloth on it and put out a spread,” he said. “The movie stars used to come by — Gary Cooper, Ava Gardner.”
The “rich man’s game” became a part of his life. On the wall of his office is a picture of him and his wife, Freddie, handing out the trophy to a winning team of Del Carrol, Buddy Coombs, Russell Firestone and William “Billy” Mayer. His friend Stewart Iglehart, one of America’s all-time greats, served on the Town Council for 17 years.
During World War II, when Gulfstream Polo played no games, the club stables were used to house horses for the U.S. Coast Guard’s mounted beach patrol, ever on the lookout for enemy submarines.
After the war, back came the elite, dressed in snappy suits and dresses held wide with crinoline.
“They used to have big crowds,” Koch recalls. “A lot of them still came by boat. I can remember when ol’ Mike Phipps used to fly in on his seaplane, then play polo, get back on his plane and fly home to Palm Beach. Howard Phipps lived in Gulf Stream, though.”
Perhaps one of the biggest crowds was in 1953. Phillip Iglehart recalls in his Florida Polo History that 4,000 spectators came to watch the Sanford Cup in which the Trujilo Polo Club of Santo Domingo played against the Gulfstream team.
Gulfstream Polo’s last season on the island was 1963, after which the Phipps family sold the land for development. The northernmost of the three fields became the town’s executive golf course.
“It was like losing your right arm,” Koch said.
A few years later, Gulfstream Polo having been absorbed into Boca Raton’s Royal Palm Polo Club, got its identity back. Some of the Gulfstream Polo families found a new home for their club on 600 acres of land 16 miles from the town. Phillip Iglehart put the deal together, and was joined by Adolphus Busch Orthwein, Lester Armour, Frank Butterworth and others.
Now they come dressed in jeans, wearing baseball caps to shield the sun. It’s a laid-back place where people pull their pickups in between the huge Australian pines adjacent to the field named for Iglehart.
“My father was one of the shareholders here,” said Butch Butterworth, wearing a straw hat and slacks and watching a game from a plastic seat atop the old wooden bleachers one recent Friday afternoon. “It was perhaps a unique concept, because we all lived or had our barns nearby.”
Little has changed about the club, which shows its age these days.
Like the land that the Phipps family sold in the ’60s, the Lake Worth Road land was prime for development, with a deal on the table two years ago. But it fell apart. Top-rated players don’t play at Gulfstream anymore. It’s a place where up-and-comers train and former greats continue in the game.
Butch Butterworth had lived there more than 40 years when his family’s land was taken for the recent expansion of a Florida Turnpike interchange. Now he rents a friend’s house on the west side of the club. “I can’t tear myself away,” he said.
Gulfstream Polo Timeline
1924: The Phipps family begins work on two polo fields of St. Augustine grass just north of the Gulf Stream Golf Course and paralleling the Intracoastal Waterway.
1927: The first official season is held on Phipps Fields
1936: Gulfstream Polo seeks membership in the United States Polo Association 1942–1945: Polo is suspended during World War II
1946: Michael Phipps and Stewart Iglehart revive Gulfstream Polo; a third field is built
Late 1940s: Michael Phipps, Stewart Iglehart and George Oliver establish the Orange Bowl Polo Association to play arena polo at the Orange Bowl in Miami
1963: The last year polo is played in the town of Gulf Stream as the Phipps family sold the land for homes 1965: Florida Polo Inc. buys 900 acres on Lake Worth Road 16 miles west of Gulf Stream as the new home of Gulfstream Polo
2006: Developers sign deal with the owners of Gulfstream Polo to buy the land and build 866 homes
2007: Development deal falls through
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Spring brings back memories of childhood, many of them cloudy now, but beautiful — like beach glass. One in particular returns this time of year: May Day, or as I think of it, Aunt Mae Day.
Under giant Midwest trees, I can still visualize a white house, low to the ground, with a wraparound porch and an aluminum glider. I recall the paint was pealing a bit and curtains on the window were almost always drawn. I don’t think I ever knew much about the small, white-haired woman who lived there, but I recall wire-framed glasses and a crisp, cotton house dress. I also feel certain there was a ready smile.
She wasn’t my real aunt, and I don’t know why my mother called her that — or why she wanted me to take her flowers each May 1. But for years I would cut up construction paper and fold it into a small basket with a tiny grosgrain ribbon for a handle. Then I’d fill this with forsythia or crocuses or violets from my mother’s early garden. Once it was complete, I’d skip around the corner to Aunt Mae’s house, sneak onto the porch, hang the basket on the doorknob, ring the bell and run.
It was silly, but it was sweet. It made my mother smile, and I’m guessing Aunt Mae did the same. A random act of kindness.
As we celebrate the rituals of spring, let’s not overlook our neighbors who could use a little kindness: Take the new puppy or the kids by for a short visit, offer to make a trip to the grocery or pharmacy, drop off a box of chocolates — or a tiny basket filled with flowers.
It’s been a long time since I made a basket for May Day, but spring is about new beginnings and kindness never goes out of style.
Mary Kate Leming, EditorRead more…
By Brett Fitzgerald
On March 2, Judge Robert E. Meale ruled against the town of Palm Beach and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, recommending denial of a permit for a large dredge-and-fill project at the south end of Palm Beach (Reach 8). If the ruling stands, it will undoubtedly affect other such projects on Florida’s coastal islands, and represent the first time any such project will have been stopped.
I applaud the judge’s ruling. It is a wake-up call for governments planning to protect buildings constructed too close to the ocean. Offshore dredge sites are nearly depleted of good-quality sand.
At issue was the quality of material to be dredged from offshore borrow pits. The judge sided with the plaintiffs, including Surfrider Foundation, the Snook Foundation, the city of Lake Worth and three individuals. Damage to environmental and recreational resources was cited, and the judge agreed with the plaintiffs on each and every issue.
The ruling constitutes a lecture by the judge to the town and its consulting engineers, Coastal Planning and Engineering of Boca Raton. The judge called the consultant’s work “an embarrassment.”
I frequently go to the beach with my wife and children, and we love to fish, snorkel and enjoy the natural beach.
Most of our native sand is provided by local seashells that have been broken and polished in the shallow water. I have witnessed the damage done when poor-quality material is dredged from offshore and dumped onto our natural sand beaches.
That happened just a couple years ago at Reach 7 (at Phipps Ocean Park in Palm Beach). The sand was poor quality and quickly washed away, wasting millions in tax dollars. All life on the near shore reef was destroyed.
Some of our best beaches are between Manalapan and Boca Raton, and we cannot let them be buried with muddy silt.
The material planned for the Reach 8 beach would have created such murky water that it would have killed coral, fish, sea turtles and dozens of other species that live on the shallow water reefs just a few feet from the beach.
Sharks are much more likely to bite humans if the water is murky, and lifeguards cannot even see the sharks to warn us. Serious damage would also have been caused by silt blanketing the deep reefs at the offshore dredge sites.
The secretary of DEP has until June to decide whether to accept the judge’s ruling. The judge encouraged the construction of planted dunes to reduce erosion, if “beach-compatible” sand is used. In the meantime, coastal communities need to explore alternatives to dredge and fill. Improving the transfer of good-quality sand past our inlets must be required. For example, at Boynton Inlet the majority of sand is lost to deep water.
Brett Fitzgerald is regional director/southease of The Snook FoundationEditor's note: At a special meeting on March 26, the Palm Beach Town Council decided to not appeal Judge Meale's ruling and abandoned its state permit application to dredge and fill the Reach 8 beach.Read more…
By Margie Plunkett
Construction on a new sand transfer plant at South Lake Worth Inlet — also known as the Boynton Inlet — will begin in April. Work won’t interfere with boaters or beachgoers, but could at times displace people fishing on the jetties and limit parking in the north lot.
The sand transfer plant, jetties and the seawall around Bird Island are being reconstructed in a $7 million project that’s expected to last through November and beyond. The plan to renovate the nation’s first sand transfer plant, which redistributes sand that shifts because of the inlet, has been in the works since about 2002. The plant was last replaced 42 years ago.
“It’s been so long in the making — it’s long overdue,” Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel said, adding he didn’t expect the construction would have any impact on residents. “I’m not concerned about it.”
Neighbors may hear pounding once a week for up to an hour on weekdays as workers start driving pilings for the plant beginning April 1, when the north jetty will be closed, said Leanne Welch of the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management. Weekend construction will be limited to quiet work, such as painting and sanding. Manalapan Mayor Tom Gerrard raised concerns about pile driving over such a long time, and also pointed out that Manalapan doesn’t allow work on Sunday. The county “reassured me the Sunday work would be quiet work. For the sake of the residents near that end, I hope it is,” he said. Gerrard will intercede on behalf of residents if need be, he added.
While people won’t be allowed on the jetty during construction, both jetties aren’t expected to be closed at the same time. And both sides of Ocean Inlet Park will be open for fishing for the duration.
Steel sheet piles will also be driven for the north jetty. New rock will be put in and new decking and handrails will be installed. The sand transfer plant will be demolished and replaced between June 1 and Sept. 30. And work will begin on the south jetty in November.
Contractors will use the north side of Ocean Inlet Park for equipment, leaving very little parking, if any. Most parking will be limited to the south lot.
The project will rebuild a system that’s part of the endless battle with erosion and shifting sand since the inlet was cut in 1927. Jetties were first built in 1936 to preserve the beaches and the sand plant was constructed in 1937. The plant pumps sand that stacks up on the north side of the inlet to the beaches on the south side that have been eroded. “It’s a healthier eco-system overall,” said Welch.
The need for a plan and a pump
The county went out to bid for the sand transfer plant alone in 2007, but bids came in about $2 million higher than budgeted, Welch said. The county went back to the drawing board, redesigning the sand transfer plant to make it more efficient and combining the plant, jetties and seawall into one project.
While the design of the new plant is similar to the old one, its oval shape has become an elongated octagon to better withstand hurricanes, Welch told Manalapan commissioners at their March 24 meeting. The plant, in which a diesel-powered pump will be replaced with an electric motor, will become more efficient and reliable; it won’t break down as often, Welch said. “It’s not very efficient now, and it will be much quieter.”
Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, the county and the state had earlier developed an inlet management plan, which was supposed to have established a system of monitoring the sand transfer plant, Zoning Commissioner Kent Shortz told the Manalapan meeting. “I’m concerned about the amount of sand to be pumped by this station,” he said.
The sand transfer plant must move about 60,000 cubic yards of sand a year, according to the South Lake Worth Inlet Management Plan of September 1998. Shortz agreed, at Gerrard’s request, to meet with Town Manager Gregory Dunham and the county to assure compliance with the inlet management plan.
The county won’t know the new plant’s capacity until it’s operational. “We’ll do beach profiles before running it, then after” to determine how much sand it’ll pump, Welch explained.
Lucas Marine Construction LLC of Stuart will do the latest renovations, including work on the crumbling sea wall on Bird Island. During the first nine months of 2010, Lucas will build a new sea wall on the south side of Bird Island, which will involve the construction of a temporary bridge to the island. When seas are too rough to work on the jetties, the crews can work on the sea wall, according to the county.
The county will update progress on the project on its Web site and will point a webcam at the work. The webcam is at www.pbcgov.org/erm.
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by Arden Moore
Marley…and me. Yes, I had the joy – and frustration – of knowing the real Marley. That goofy, rambunctious Labrador retriever made famous in the bestseller penned by his owner, John Grogan and on the big screen in a movie headlined by Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and a pack of Marley lookalikes.
For nine years, John and I worked in the Delray Beach newsroom of The Sun-Sentinel. He amused and annoyed Palm Beach County residents with his metro column musings. I did my best to keep educators focused on the task of spending our tax money wisely as a senior reporter.
One Sunday, the Grogans invited some of us to their West Palm Beach home for an outdoor cookout. At the time, Marley was reveling in his terrible twos. Quite the gardener, John wanted to show his blooming success to us. Then I heard what sounded like a team of Clydesdales in full gallop – Marley. Sporting a wide grin and muddy paws, he rounded the corner after gutting the garden like a furry, frenzied roto tiller. John was not pleased. Marley was.
I share this with you because my Marley connection continues. When I completed my 17th pet book in 2006 – entitled The Dog Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Canine Questions – I had only one person in mind to write its foreword: John Grogan. Who else but the owner of the world’s so-called worst dog. Happily, John agreed and admitted that “Marley wasn’t the worst dog, only one of the worst trained dogs.”
Today, as a pet expert, I help people all over the country learn how to “Marley-proof” their dogs. Let me unleash five ways to make your life more harmonious with your dog:
• Be consistent. During training sessions with your dog, decide on what verbal cues and hand signals you want to use for basic commands like “come,” “sit,” and “stay” – and stick with them. Don’t say “get over here” when you are trying to reinforce “come” to your dog.
• Be concise. Avoid mindless chatter. Dogs understand simple, imperative sentences, such as, “Marley, sit.” Don’t keep rattling sit, sit, sit because smart dogs will learn to “ignore” you until they hear “sit” repeated say, 12 times.
• Stick with small reward treats. Treats should be itty bitty - just enough for your dog to bite once and swallow. This keeps your dog’s attention on you.
• Think Las Vegas, baby. By that I mean offer praise, a small treat or surprise him with a heap of treats. This is called intermittent reinforcement. Just like those playing slot machines in hope of delivering a jackpot, your dog will be determined to work harder in hopes of reaping a tasty jackpot.
• Praise the good and ignore the bad. Distract your dog when performing a misdeed (like chewing your leather shoe), divert him toward a desired behavior (offer a chew toy) and then praise and reward.
John was right. Marley wasn’t the world’s worst dog. But hopefully, his legacy will inspire pet people here in South Florida and beyond to bring out the best in their canine pals.
Arden Moore, an animal behavior consultant, editor, author and professional speaker, happily shares her Oceanside, Calif. home with two cats, two dogs and one overworked vacuum cleaner. Tune in to her “Oh Behave!” show on Pet Life Radio.com and contact her at arden@ardenmoore.com.Read more…
By Mary Thurwachter
The grandkids are visiting and how you love them. But they can only hang out at the beach or in the pool so long before becoming restless and sunburned. Send them off on their own, if they’re old enough, or tag along and have some fun yourself. Here are 10 ways to entertain your Spring Breakers.
1. Pedal around Palm Beach: Oil baron Henry Flagler built the Lake Trail so his hotel guests would have a place for strolling. It’s still a fine place for walking, skating or pushing a baby buggy, but it’s also a great place to ride bikes. Park your car near Publix (265 Sunset Ave.) and walk a block west to the Intracoastal. You can start pedaling around the 5-mile trail there (or 8 and a half miles if you add on two shorter trails). Expect to see Flagler’s first house, the 1886 Sea Gull Cottage, Whitehall (also known as the Flagler Museum), Royal Poinciana Chapel, plenty of gorgeous mansions and lush gardens.
Don’t have bikes or in-line skates? You can rent them at Palm Beach Bicycle Trail Shop at 233 Sunrise Ave.; call 659-4583.
2. Go on a strawberry-picking expedition: Here’s a good old-fashioned field trip with yummy benefits. Stroll around a strawberry patch, pick some, buy some, bring them home and eat them. Strawberry shortcake, anyone? At The Girls Strawberry U-pick, you don’t even have to bend or kneel if you don’t want to. That’s because the fruit is grown in hydroponic containers and the paths are easy to negotiate. Besides the strawberries, you and the kids will find swans, fishponds, exotic birds, goats and a miniature donkey. Yee haw! Before you leave, do a little shopping in the gourmet country store. The fresh baked goods and homemade ice cream and jams are hard to resist. The store and garden is at 14466 S. Military Trail, Delray Beach. Call 496-0188. (Picking season runs through April).
3. Make a splash on Diva Duck: This funny-looking 48-passenger bus swims and, in the process, gives riders a fun and entertaining tour of West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and the Intracoastal Waterway. The 75-minute excursion begins at CityPlace and highlights historic neighborhoods, gorgeous mansions, Centennial Fountain, Clematis Street shops, and the subtropical wildlife around Peanut Island. It splashes into the Lake Worth Lagoon at Currie Park as unwitting onlookers gasp. Don’t be surprised to see manatees, herons or pelicans. Be prepared to be pummeled with puns, because the jokes are as corny as they’re quacked up to be! The Duck gets the Diva name in honor of its opera-singing owner and guide, Judy Davis. She frequently breaks out in song along with Captain Eric Shalloway. Tourists are encouraged to sing along as well as make use of quacking noisemakers. Tickets are $25 for adult, $22 for seniors, $15 for kids 4 to 10 and $5 for those under 3. See the Duck’s Web site, www.divaduck.com, for a $3. coupon. Call 844-4188.
4. Find out what’s new at the Palm Beach Zoo: What’s new is a 10-year-old Komodo dragon named Hannah. She’s 7 feet long and tips the scales at 83 pounds. But even if the kids aren’t big fans of big lizards, there’s so much to see and do at the 23-acre attraction. They’re more than 1,500 animals including Malayan tigers, Jamaican fruit bats, river otters and monkeys; and a colorful carousel, an interactive water fountain, a good restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, and daily bird shows. Kids under 12 must be accompanied by an adult, and pets need to stay at home. The zoo is at 1301 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach. Admission is $12.95 for adults, $9.95 for seniors, $8.95 for kids 3 to 12 and free for ankle biters under 3. Call 547-9453.
5. Explore the Kennedy Bunker on Peanut Island. Built in case of nuclear attack while JFK was visiting his family home in Palm Beach in the 1960s, the Kennedy bunker is open for weekend tours. In shambles when the Palm Beach Maritime Museum acquired it in 1995, the bunker had turned into a hangout for homeless people. But that’s all changed since. In an attempt to dramatize the tensions of the Cold War era, the museum installed a red hotline telephone on a executive desk and painted the presidential seal on the floor. It’s worth a visit and the water taxi ride to and from is entertaining, too. The captain points out mansions of the rich and famous. Take the water taxi from the Riviera Beach Marina (339-2504) or from Currie Park in West Palm Beach (346-9389). Reservations are a good idea. Call for dates and times. Tickets for the bunker tour are $10. Water taxi rates range from $10 to $30, depending on departure point. For more information, call the Palm Beach Maritime Museum, 540-5147.
6. Surround yourself with butterflies, tropical plants and hummingbirds at Butterfly World. Thousands of butterflies fly around you as you walk through the tropical rain forest or outdoor gardens at Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, the first and largest butterfly house in the country. Kids especially love it when they discover a butterfly landing on their shoulders or on top of their heads. Bring your camera because the Kodak moments are many. Besides 10,000-plus butterflies, Butterfly World has hundreds of hummingbirds, a bug zoo, a gorgeous English rose garden and a café. Admission is $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for kids ages 3-11, and free for those 2 and under. Butterfly World is in Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Road, Coconut Creek. Call 954-977-4400.
7. Take a hike at Gumbo Limbo. This environmental complex with the name that sounds like a Cajun dish or a party dance actually takes its moniker from its dominant tree. Sometimes called the tourist tree because the bark resembles a peeling sunburn, the gumbo limbo is just one reason to hang out here. A sturdy boardwalk provides easy-to-navigate hiking and the 40-foot tower gives visitors a great view over a canopy of trees. Kids will enjoy the aquariums, insect tanks and butterfly garden. In spring or early summer, staffers lead nighttime turtle walks and if you’re lucky enough to go on one of them, you can see nesting females come ashore to lay their eggs. Admission is free, although there is a charge for turtle walks. Gumbo Limbo is at 1801 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton. Call 338-1473.
8. See what the birds are up to at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. The Everglades is a national treasure right here in our back yard, and many people don’t even realize it exists. What remains of the northern Everglades, known for its tree islands — a key habitat for deer — can be found here. You may see deer when you visit, but it’s more likely you’ll get to watch some of the 257 species of birds that hang out here. The 0.8-mile Marsh Trail, an earthen dike around a freshwater impoundment, is perfect for bird watching. Another good route is the quarter-mile Cypress Swamp Boardwalk, which begins and ends at the visitor center. The refuge is on U.S. 441 about two miles south of Boynton Beach Boulevard. Admission is $5 per carload. Call 734-8303.
9. Learn about local sea life at the Sandoway House Nature Center. Find out what Atlantic reef fish, nurse sharks and Florida spiny lobster eat for breakfast at this historic beach home in Delray Beach. Guided tours and coral reef shark feedings are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:30 a.m. But you can go anytime to see displays of sea creatures, exotic birds, turtles and shells. Learn about local history in the Old Florida Room and get a magnified look on sea life in the microscope lab. Admission is $4. The center, open Tuesday through Saturday, is at 142 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach. Call 274-7263.
10. Go bar hopping on the water taxi: College-age and older grandkids may want to try Liquid Launch, a water taxi owned by Rick Vanneck. The boat ferries guests to the Banana Boat and Two Georges and Prime Catch in Boynton and Busch’s Seafood and Old Calypso in Delray and, sometimes, The Old Key Lime House in Lantana. Call 436-9696.
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By Robert W. Ganger
Readers of The Coastal Star may be unaware that a bill is percolating through the Florida Legislature that would “streamline” the state’s Growth Management Act — the rulebook by which the Department of Community Affairs has guided growth and development in our state since 1985.
Who is backing the bill?
The bill’s major legislative sponsor is a developer/contractor. In fairness, he and his professional colleagues may view the Growth Management Act as overburdened by red tape. On the surface, streamlining a regulatory process developed in the 1980s may seem to be prudent and overdue, and local mayors will certainly appreciate less interference from Tallahassee in local decision-making. Proponents of the amendment package claim that it will accelerate the process of getting approval for major development projects, and in so doing, help to create jobs.
Opponents point out that our economy and our environment have been victimized for years by the very overdevelopment that the Growth Management Act is supposed to regulate. Making the act weaker does not seem to be a good strategy. Building more condos along our coastline is a dubious approach to job creation, given our hopelessly overbuilt status.
Why should we be concerned?
There are several elements in the draft amendment that are troubling. As it now stands, the public has ample opportunity for input when a municipality seeks a material change in its Comprehensive Plan, such as eliminating green space or increasing population density in residential or mixed-use zoning. The proposed amendment could cut time for public comment in half, and might eliminate entirely a key report required of DCA for objections, recommendations and comments. This ORC Report is a critical step between proposal and implementation of major changes in the character of a given community.
The proposed amendment also creates a waiver from transportation concurrency requirements for certain projects, particularly those that create jobs. Simplified, this says that a developer need not be concerned by the added traffic burden resulting from his project. For those of us living on the barrier island, doubling or tripling traffic on two-lane State Road A1A constitutes a major safety and quality-of-life issue.
What can we do?
Language in the proposed amendment is still being crafted, and it is not clear whether or how a major coastal community development, such as the rebuilding of Briny Breezes, might be impacted by a change in the Growth Management Act. Several major public interest groups have already commenced campaigns in opposition to the Growth Plan Amendments.
To stay abreast of the situation, we suggest visiting the Florida Coalition for Preservation Web site, www.preservationfla.org, for further details and actions available to us as citizens.
Robert W. Ganger is president of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, a grass roots organization championing responsible development in Florida’s coastal communities.Read more…
She thawed and saw a pussy cat. Now pet expert is taking your questions.
By Arden Moore
Once people find out what I do for a living, they unleash their questions. Why does my dog…? How can I get my cat to stop…? No place is off limits when it comes to fielding pet queries — weddings, supermarket lines and even public bathrooms.
A friend jokingly called me Dr. Doo — short for Doctor Doolittle — due to the number of times she has witnessed me walk through solutions with a confused cat owner or a frustrated dog owner.
Of course, I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. But I am a pet expert who has worked with the very best in the fields of veterinary medicine and companion animal behavior. I’ve hosted dog parties on CNN, prepared marvelous mutt meatballs on Fox and offered insights into the three pet P’s: pee, poop and puke during two national book tours that included stops in West Palm Beach and Boynton Beach.
I first arrived in Palm Beach County in 1988 — this month — grateful to thaw from yet-another bitter Chicago winter. Brought my leash-walking cat Samantha and let a street cat named Little Guy talk me into adopting him off my porch in Lantana. For the next nine years, I carved out bylines as a reporter for the Sun-Sentinel in the Delray Beach office with a view of steady traffic on I-95. I covered space shuttles and Super Bowls, Palm Beach schools and far too many parades in my quest for bylines. Ended up swapping the small home in Lantana for a bigger one in Lake Worth before opting to relocate to San Diego and launch my career in pets.
Today, I happily share my Oceanside, Calif., home with a furry fab four of second-chance pets — and one overworked vacuum cleaner.
My dogs, Chipper (a golden retriever-husky mix) and Cleo (a miniature poodle-basset hound mix — confirmed by a DNA test) live by the motto “have leash, will travel.” My cat, Murphy, lives by the modified motto “have leash, will lead.” My other cat, Callie, is the one with Florida roots, having been plucked off Biscayne Boulevard in Miami 14 years ago.
My ties to South Florida remain strong. So when The Coastal Star editors talked me into penning this pet column, I responded like an obedient Lab and eagerly said yes. Each time I return, I feel back at home.
Now that I have shared who I am, I hope to hear from you and what frustrates and fascinates you about why your dogs and cats do what they do. Let me unleash practical tips and tactics to improve harmony in your pet household. The legendary Doctor Doolittle could talk to the animals. I’m here to deliver straight talk to you. Together, we can make Palm Beach County a place that is truly going to the dogs … and cats.
Animal behavior consultant Arden Moore hosts “Oh Behave!” on Pet Life Radio.com.
Contact her at arden@ardenmoore.com.Read more…
By Christine Davis
You’ve driven up the Seaside Paspalum grass driveway. Along the way there was a water grotto and bamboo-clad guesthouse, swimmable water gardens and a palapa.
In the front courtyard, there’s a floating deck, infinity pool (with windows), 16-person spa with a fire pit, and a Tahitian cocktails balé supported by moose-pole pine columns.
Now, you are about to enter Frank McKinney’s brand-new, LEED-certified, South-Pacific-resort-style mansion, “Acqua Liana.”
But, this is not just any entry, real estate entrepreneur McKinney points out. This is an all-out “significant front-door event.”
Take a close look at the door itself. McKinney’s signature door-within-a-door is 1,200 pounds of compressed reeded bamboo, which can open with a mere touch of your pinky.
Now. Go ahead. Use your pinky and push either of the doors open…
Inside is a glass floor over a tiled lotus pond, water cascading down a two-story glass wall, and a coconut-wood-and-glass serpentine stairway. At the heart of the room, a 671-piece hand-blown chandelier releases water for a “cool melting effect.” In the wall separating the entry from the living room, a double-sided fireplace boasts a serious Mother-of-Pearl mantel.
“Fire and water,” McKinney said. “There’s a lot of feng shui in this house.”
Then, out of the corner of your eye, you glimpse the wine room. One of its walls is part of an enormous aquarium, where 60 fish of 18 species swim overhead, down a clear tower, and into the base of the bar.
“I’ve never gone this far,” McKinney said. “The fish didn’t swim over to the bar before.”
This home abounds with stunning features, but let’s get down to the green gritty. Acqua Liana is the largest LEED-certified house in the United States, making it super green.
This is not just a green experiment, though, McKinney said. “I have to make sure that the home’s design drives the buyer to buy. Green doesn’t drive the project, but everything must go through the green filter.”
To be USGBC (United States Green Building Council) LEED-H (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes) certified, this home had to garner a median threshold of 66 points in eight categories. A third-party evaluator performed third-party testing. Since McKinney’s house is large — 15,000 square feet with seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms — it was penalized and started with a -21. After the testing was done, Acqua Liana scored 79 points. That’s 2.5 points away from the LEED Silver certification. “If it wasn’t for that penalty, I’d be knocking on the door of Platinum,” McKinney said.
Gary Shlifer, the LEED-accredited professional who led the project’s design and construction team, gives some specifics on the green construction:
* 75 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill and incineration.
* The use of low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, adhesives and materials, provides healthy indoor air quality.
* The house would consume 45 percent more energy if it weren’t built “green.”
* Rainwater collection allows for a 68 percent reduction in the use of potable water for water features.
* Mold-and termite-resistant construction materials were used and the flooring material is 100 percent reclaimed or renewable.
Then, there’s the solar power system.
“Solar is not required by the LEED system,” explains Eric Martin, senior research engineer for the Florida Solar Energy Center. That’s the research institute selected by the USGBC to be a LEED provider and responsible for the third-party evaluations.
“McKinney’s house has a relatively large solar array for a residential project — 10 kilowatts. That’s big. A lot of renewable energy can be produced by that house.”
Shlifer gives the visual: “The array is about half the square footage of a basketball court.”
So, what’s next? Committed to building green, McKinney owns neighboring lots, and, on one of them, another green mega-mansion, Crystalina, is designed and permitted. “We will commence construction when Acqua Liana sells,” McKinney says.
Box:
Acqua Liana is at 620 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. It’s on the market for $29 million.
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