More than 35 firefighters with 14 trucks from Delray Beach and elsewhere in the county responded to a fire at the Gulf Stream estate of Anthony Pugliese on Oct. 29. They contained the fire to the multi-car garage and guest quarters, preserving the main home that was once the Phipps Estate. The Phippses were the founders of Gulf Stream Polo. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

A fire at the oceanfront Pugliese estate in Gulf Stream closed down State Road A1A for six hours while Delray Beach firefighters worked to control the blaze and extinguish intermittent hot spots.
No one was hurt in the Oct. 29 fire, which apparently started in a three-car garage between the guest house and the historic mansion. Firefighters did rescue two dogs, Delray Beach Fire Rescue spokesman Kevin Saxton said.
Homeowner Laura Pugliese, who with her husband, Anthony, were driving back from Jupiter, said when the fire alarm company called, she first thought it was a false alarm.
“I think it’s an actual fire, because there’s a lot of 911 calls,” she said the dispatcher told her.
Delray Fire Rescue was alerted at 5:50 p.m.
“When the first units arrived there was significant fire showing,” Saxton said.
Town Manager Greg Dunham said he got to the scene about 7 o’clock. “I couldn’t see flames, but there was smoke fully billowing out,” he said.
Fourteen vehicles responded to the blaze, including Highland Beach’s ladder truck, which Delray Beach operates. The fire was under control in about an hour, Saxton said, but firefighters stayed at the estate until about midnight.
“There were a lot of hot spots,” Saxton said.
Pugliese said an SUV in the garage had a full tank of gas, which probably caused the explosion some people heard.
Ocean Ridge police diverted southbound A1A traffic onto Woolbright Road. Delray Beach police directed northbound motorists to turn around in the parking lot of the Gulf Stream Golf Club.
“We were lucky, very lucky,” Laura Pugliese said. “No one was home, no one was hurt.”
But she and her husband had to cope with having no power or lights. “We slept with all the doors and windows open last night,” she said.
The Puglieses restored the Roaring ’20s mansion rather than tear it down. It was built by a member of Gulf Stream’s founding Phipps family.
An inspector for the state fire marshal’s office was at their home the next day. The fire marshal would take a few days to report on the cause and other details, Saxton said.

The next morning Gulf Stream police were at the scene, awaiting a fire inspector’s investigation. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream’s new CodeRED emergency alert system is up and running.
“It is fully activated and ready to go,” Town Manager Greg Dunham told town commissioners at their Oct. 12 meeting.
The system allows town officials to send residents warnings via phone calls, email and cellphone text messages. CodeRED also has a smartphone app. But residents have to sign up to participate. “It’s not an automatic thing,” Dunham said.
The town is paying provider OnSolve LLC $1,500 a year for the service, which otherwise is free to residents.
CodeRED is designed to send critical and time-sensitive communications such as alerts about missing children, emergency preparedness, wildfires, emergency evacuation notices, a public health crisis and criminal activity.
Gulf Stream joins Delray Beach, Highland Beach and Boca Raton in offering CodeRED. The program is easily tailored to reach large and small audiences.
“We could do the whole town, or we could do one block of a street. Actually it could be as little as one or two houses,” Dunham said in July when he first pitched the idea to commissioners.
Some residents complained following Hurricane Irma last year that people in other cities got emergency notices on their cellphones, Dunham said then.
Vice Mayor Thomas Stanley, who was already signed up for Delray Beach’s CodeRED alerts, said he received six or seven text messages a day during Irma.
Town Finance Director Rebecca Tew said she hopes to convert everyone who sent Town Hall an email address for official notices into CodeRED participants. She has 300 to 500 email addresses of residents, house managers “and also a lot of personal assistants.”
Gulf Stream sent residents a letter urging them to go to the town’s website and click on CodeRED to sign up.
Residents can choose a user name and password or register with a Google, Facebook or Twitter account.
In other business, Dunham said Comcast has hired a subcontractor, Cypress Communications, to put its cable television and internet lines underground, much like Florida Power & Light hired subcontractor Wilco to bury its electric lines. Cypress, which expects to spend 90 days on the job, will start from Golfview and work north.
“We’re trying to get AT&T to start from the north side and move south,” Dunham said.

By Steve Plunkett

Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams, who leaves office Nov. 20, will spend only a few weeks unemployed before tackling his next job — as executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
His former colleagues on the SFRTA governing board hired him on a 9-1 vote to lead the agency that runs Tri-Rail, choosing his political savvy over the deep operational skills of rival job candidates.
“Oh, I’m thrilled,” Abrams exclaimed as well-wishers congratulated him following the Oct. 26 vote. “I’m excited about the opportunity.”
Abrams, who resigned as chairman of the governing board in May to apply for the director’s position, dismissed concerns about his lack of operational expertise.
“I have the background to jump right in,” he said.
The other finalists were Joe Giulietti, retired president of Metro-North Commuter Railroad in New York City and before that executive director of SFRTA for 13 years; Mikel Oglesby, SFRTA’s deputy executive director; Benjamin Limmer, assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority; and Tim Tenne, chief operating officer of the Maryland Transit Administration, who withdrew from consideration after his job interview.
Two other finalists — Joseph Black, a practice leader/director at Washington, D.C.-based Network Rail Consulting, and Raymond Suarez, chief operating officer of the Denton County Transportation Authority in Texas — withdrew before the interviews.
Jack Stephens, SFRTA’s current executive director, is retiring at the end of the year.
Abrams’ appointment seemed in jeopardy at first as board members discussed his nomination.
“I feel like the agency … needs some strong management right now,” said former state Sen. Jim Scott, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, who preferred Giulietti.
Broward County Commissioner Tim Ryan was dismayed that so many applicants dropped out, including Tenne, “who hit it out of the park” in his interview.
“It just gave me a sense that there’s something else going on that I haven’t figured out in this whole interview process,” said Ryan, whose second choice was Limmer.
But Miami-Dade County Commissioner Esteban Bovo, who succeeded Abrams as chair and supported his candidacy, said all the applicants had good points and flaws.
“We need a person, in my opinion, that can navigate the politics of the three counties, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” Bovo said. “We need somebody that’s going to be able to go to Tallahassee, to the federal government. We need somebody that’s going to be able to exploit relationships and needs to do it immediately, the moment they hit the ground running.
“There’s no learning curve here, and that, by definition, perhaps may disqualify a few.”
The Nov. 6 general election will decide who succeeds term-limited Abrams on the Palm Beach County Commission. Running are Democrat Robert Weinroth, a former deputy mayor of Boca Raton, and Republican William “Billy” Vale, a pharmaceutical representative and political newcomer. The district covers coastal communities in the southeast portion of the county.
“The timing works pretty well,” said Abrams, who still has to negotiate his salary with SFRTA. Stephens is paid $260,000 a year.
Abrams, 60, is finishing his ninth year as a county commissioner and sat on the Boca Raton City Council as a member and mayor for 17 years.

Residents along the coast had to deal with the effects of red tide for more than a week. ABOVE: Dead reef fish lie south of the Boynton Inlet in early October. RIGHT: Lifeguard Lange Jacobs put up traffic cones and double red flags to warn of respiratory problems at South Inlet Park, a county beach in Boca Raton. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Henry Fitzgerald

Just as suddenly as red tide hit south Palm Beach County beaches a month ago, it went away. But officials say you can never be sure when these outbreaks — rare for our beaches compared to those on the Gulf Coast — will return.
“The latest results show the bacteria to be considered not present or at very low levels,” said Michael Stahl, deputy director of Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management. “It’s certainly in decline from where we were at the end of September.”
Officials are continuing to test at the county’s beaches once a week, but that’s down from twice a week at the height of the outbreak, Stahl said.
The latest round of tests by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at South County beaches took place Oct. 24 east of Ocean Inlet Park (very low), east of Gulfstream Park (not present), Delray Public Beach (not present), east of Spanish River Park (not present), Gumbo Limbo Nature Center (not present), east of Red Reef Park (not present), east of South Beach Park (very low), 2.9 miles east of the Boca Raton Inlet (not present) and South Inlet Park (very low).
“Countywide, we’re looking pretty good,” Stahl said.
At the end of September and beginning of October, beachgoers were complaining of runny noses, scratchy throats and burning eyes, as health officials confirmed the red tide.
Water samples from sites at south Palm Beach County beaches identified the presence of the Karenia brevis harmful algae bloom — the first appearance on Florida’s southeast coast since 2006-07.
At one point officials discovered dead fish ashore just south of the Boynton Inlet.
Officials in Lantana closed the beach there, but officials farther south monitored the situation and flew warning flags to let beachgoers know the risk.
“It was here for about two weeks,” said Kevin Saxton, public information officer for Delray Beach Fire Rescue. “We took down our warning flags on Oct. 12. I know it reduced the number of people on our beach at the time, but patrons are back. We’re glad it’s gone.”
Boca Raton took a similar approach at city beaches, deciding to keep them open, but flying a red hazard flag and the purple sea pest flag, said Chrissy Gibson, city spokeswoman.
“We monitored the situation closely, and we are still monitoring,” she said in an email. “We get daily reports from the lifeguards, are still taking samples at our beaches and are reviewing the results posted to the FWC map twice a week.”
Officials cautioned that even though red tide outbreaks are rare for this part of the state, you can never say never.
“It could return,” Stahl said. “It depends on the right environmental factors that allow for it to get into the Gulf Stream from the Gulf of Mexico and affect our beaches.”

Like its predecessor, the year-old 100-foot tree dominates the Delray Beach skyline. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

The 100-foot Christmas tree went up before Halloween this year, but it’s the same time as last year, said Stephanie Immelman of Grapevine Communications, LLC, the firm in charge of the tree.
Last year, Delray Beach purchased the new tree to replace the rusted structure that annually needed repair and moved the tree location to the east side of the Old School Square grounds.
“We wanted to make sure we had enough time to put it up,” Immelman said.
The tree-construction contractor, Christmas Designers Inc., finished its work in mid-October and will return in early November to build the ice skating rink and fill in the branches, she said.
The city needs volunteers to help assemble the holiday gift shop inside the tree and the interiors of the other gift shops nearby. Volunteers can sign up for shifts during the weeks of Nov. 5 and Nov. 12.
“We will start at 9 a.m. and go to 2 p.m. from Monday through Friday,” Immelman said.
Volunteers can sign up by emailing Tiffany Mazer, the tree’s “volunteer whisperer” and operations manager, at tmazer@delraybeach.com. Lunch will be provided each day.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the 100-foot tree in Delray Beach.
“We are asking people to tell their tree stories,” Immelman said.
Anyone with tree tales can contact Mazer via email and type “tree memories” in the subject line. Photos are welcome. The deadline is Nov. 15.
Entries will be posted on a special website created for the tree, www.100ftchristmastree.com, and on the tree’s Facebook page.
The 100-foot tree lighting will be Nov. 29, the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Festivities begin at 5 p.m. Santa will light the tree at 7:15 p.m. and will stay around for photos after the tree lighting.
The event is free; nearby activities such as ice skating and the carousel rides have a nominal charge.

By Dan Moffett

Confronted with threats posed by rising seas and overly aggressive builders, Ocean Ridge commissioners are grappling with tough decisions about how much to tighten the town’s building rules.
At their Nov. 5 meeting, the commissioners will have to decide between two competing ordinance proposals that would set minimum drainage standards for lots under development.
One proposal requires developers to set aside 35 percent of their lots for pervious, or drainable, materials such as landscaping. The other proposal would also impose the 35 percent standard, up from the current 25 percent, but would carve out an exemption for smaller lots, those less than 12,000 square feet.
The commission appears divided on which rule to approve.
Mayor James Bonfiglio and Commissioners Steve Coz and Philip Besler say they are concerned about the possible hardship on homeowners with smaller lots and are considering supporting the exemption. Vice Mayor Don MaGruder and Commissioner Kristine de Haseth favor the blanket 35 percent approach, arguing Ocean Ridge needs to fall in line with neighboring communities that have stronger requirements.
The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, on a 4-1 vote, recommended the 35 percent ordinance without exemptions, as did the town’s engineer, Lisa Tropepe, and outside planning consultant, Marty Minor of Urban Design Kilday Studios in West Palm Beach.
Mark Marsh, an architect who serves on the P&Z board, told the commission during a special meeting Oct. 15 that the stricter limit wasn’t innovative or unreasonable.
“It’s nothing out of the norm,” Marsh said. “We’re trying to catch up with other communities.”
Marsh said Manalapan already has the 35 percent standard, and Gulf Stream and Palm Beach are at 40 percent. He told commissioners that Ocean Ridge was under siege by builders who want to maximize profits.
“The whole goal is to preserve the ambience of this town,” Marsh said.
Tropepe told the commission that exceptions to the tougher standard would diminish the town’s ability to handle storm water and rising seas. She said the town needs more swales and green space — not more concrete, asphalt and brick.
“Any increase in impervious area compromises our stormwater drainage,” Tropepe said.
Bonfiglio said he thought residents should have one more chance to weigh in on the issue at the November meeting when both versions of the ordinance come up for a second reading and final approval. Only one can become law.
In May, the commission passed a moratorium on new construction projects in response to concerns about loopholes in the town’s building code. Commissioners could lift that moratorium on Nov. 5 by approving the proposed rule changes.
In other business, at the October special meeting, the commission unanimously approved the first readings of two proposed amendments to the town charter. With final approval in November, the amendments will be put on the ballot for residents to consider in the March 12 municipal election.
One amendment gives the town manager the authority to hire and fire all town employees without the commission’s approval — except for terminating the police chief, a matter that must come before the commissioners.
The other amendment provides for a limit of three consecutive three-year terms for commissioners. After serving the three terms, a commissioner must wait a year before running for office again.
At the commission’s regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 1, commissioners advanced after first reading three other charter amendment proposals for the March ballot. One clarifies candidate qualifying periods and the beginning of commission terms. Another requires 24 hours’ notice, instead of 12 hours’, for special commission meetings and sets a three-vote minimum for approving any action. At present only a simple majority vote is required.
The third and most controversial proposed change calls for requiring a four-vote supermajority for the commission to approve increases to the allowable density or height of new developments.

By Mary Thurwachter

A zoning request that would allow the offices of the Old Key Lime House on Ocean Avenue to be moved next door to a historic home at 110 S. Lake Drive failed to win over the Lantana Town Council.
The home’s owner, Wayne Cordero, also owns the popular waterside restaurant.
Cordero, who appeared at the Oct. 22 council meeting, said business was so good at the restaurant that more space is needed for offices and parking.
“I live in the house now, but I’m planning to move to an apartment across the street,” Cordero said. “We could tear it down and use it for parking, but it’s a historic house (built in the late 1800s) and I don’t want to do that.”
Instead, he wants to use the home for business offices, which are crammed in the restaurant. During daytime hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., up to 10 cars could park at the house, he said. For this to happen, the property would require a zoning change from residential to commercial.
A half dozen people spoke in support of Cordero’s plan, including Dave Arm, president of the Chamber of Commerce.
“This is a no-brainer for me,” Arm said. “You’ve got a property that is adjacent to and contiguous with existing business. They’re not going to change the aspect of the property. It’s a beautiful house. They’ll use it for bookkeepers, so it’s not like it will be a restaurant or a bar. It will add parking, which will definitely help our parking situation on Ocean Avenue.
“For the future as long as we can see, this would be used for the purpose of bookkeepers. There wouldn’t be anybody there after business hours in the evenings. It’ll be quieter even than if it was a residence.”
But next-door neighbor Alfred Brode, whose home was built in 1935, said he had a big objection to a zoning change. Brode said the dock behind Cordero’s house intersects with his property. “If the property becomes commercial, I may have to go to an attorney,” he said.
Brode said that property values would decline if the house was zoned commercial. “The historic home next to it was already torn down for a parking lot and I always thought the area should be a historic district.” If Cordero’s home becomes commercial, Brode said it could be sold and used for any commercial business.
“I don’t think you should be encroaching on South Lake Drive with the commercial district,” Brode said.
Michelle Donahue, of Hypoluxo Island, said she was a huge fan of the Old Key Lime House and a regular customer, but disagreed with the proposed zoning change.
“I have no question in my mind that Wayne Cordero and his family are going to do the right thing with that property,” she said. “I would like to see them keep the house there, maintain it properly and beautify it. However, there’ll be a day when the family will have to sell it and as they sell it, what does that do? What’s the comprehensive plan? I’m afraid that by zoning that commercial you’re opening yourself to a whole different ballgame that could change the dynamic of the center of our town.”
Council members said they understood the need for more parking and office space but were concerned about what would happen to the property in the future. They were also sympathetic to the neighbor’s concern about encroachment.
“We have to make a decision where to start and stop the commercial zoning, and we’re at that point,” council member Phil Aridas said.
Mayor Dave Stewart didn’t doubt Cordero’s sincerity but said “as you know, Wayne, we’re not always going to be around. So we’ve kind of got to be statesmen and look to the future. We can’t condition a piece of commercial property. Once we change it to commercial, you can have a petting zoo in there.”
The council voted 5-0 to deny the request.

Marine Way resident Jerry Spivey tiptoes through rising water Oct. 9 to reach his vehicle during the annual king tides. Many residents along the coast were relieved that the effects of the seasonal high tides were not as bad as in some previous years. Municipalities along the beach continue to look for ways to mitigate the flooding. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

A year after Hurricane Irma left the trail at the Nature Preserve in shambles, the Lantana Town Council is still grappling with the best way to restore it. Only the front portion of the path is accessible.
In May, the council talked about constructing a concrete path, a $66,000 project that would be built over two years. But council members said they weren’t thrilled with the idea of a concrete walkway in a nature preserve, and some thought the cost was too high. They asked Town Manger Deborah Manzo to look into other options, including one with composite wood and hand railings.
On Oct. 8, Manzo presented an estimate of $709,470 from Marlin Marine Construction for a composite wood path with handrails and pilings. Council members said that project was out of its price range.
Manzo said another option for the 6½-acre preserve at 440 E. Ocean Ave. would be to use treated wood, where the planks for the same square footage as the composite trail would be $8,279 (installation costs were not available). Council member Phil Aridas said he thought a pressure-treated wood boardwalk was the way to go, but others had different ideas.
Vice Mayor Ed Shropshire suggested pavers and said Water Tower Commons was going to have them.
Council member Malcolm Balfour said a macadam path like those at many golf courses would be far less expensive.
“Concrete, which I’m not crazy about, is far better than pavers and certainly better than $709,470,” said council member Lynn Moorhouse. “Pavers move.”
To cover all bases, Manzo was directed to get estimates on a path made of pressure treated wood, from pavers and on macadam.
Mayor Dave Stewart said the town, because of an agreement made when the Nature Preserve was built in the late 1990s, cannot spend any more on the property than the $50,000 annual payment it receives from the Carlisle senior living facility next door. The town’s annual cost to maintain the park is about $20,000, leaving $30,000 to spend each year on needed improvements.
Manzo said some funds for the project could be carried over from this year “because we had planned on doing the smaller portion of the path in fiscal year 2018 and since we have not, we will carry those funds over and use the other funds for fiscal year 2019.”
The smaller loop of the trail would be tackled the first year and the larger loop the following year, Manzo said.
Between $1,000 and $2,000 for the pathway project would come from FEMA, which supports repairs such as this as an improvement or mitigation project.

Incentive program planned to retain building heights

By Jane Smith

Some rule changes are coming to downtown Delray Beach after city commissioners finished a required review of the central business district’s land development regulations.
The rules regarding height, architectural styles and open spaces, passed in February 2015, mandated a three-year review to make sure the regulations worked to “shape the desired downtown environment.”
In addition, at the Oct. 9 city workshop meeting, commissioners directed staff to create an incentive program to keep property owners satisfied with the current one- and two-story building heights and to eliminate the pay-for-offsite-parking program that exists in the downtown, generally along East Atlantic Avenue between Swinton Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway.
The incentive program, known as a transfer of development rights, might encourage East Atlantic Avenue property owners to hold onto their one- and two-story buildings instead of selling to a developer who might desire to build to the allowed three-story height.
City Planner Anthea Gianniotes said it’s best to allow the private market to determine the value of each story. Then, a developer who wants extra stories or more density in another area would make a deal with an Atlantic Avenue property owner, paying for the extra story.
As a result, the Atlantic Avenue property would remain at its current height and the developer would be able to build a taller building in another area.
The problem, commissioners and staff agree, is finding where that area exists east of the Interstate. Congress Avenue already has development incentives.
“You can offer incentives using the carrot or the stick approach,” Gianniotes said.
For parking in the central core, commissioners want to eliminate the pay-for-extra-spaces program, called in-lieu parking. Restaurants have the highest parking requirement per square feet of all uses in the city. Retail is second highest, followed by residential.
“Parking is a policy choice, not a technical issue,” said Tim Stillings, development services director, when talking about the pay-for-spaces program.
For newly constructed buildings, developers can buy up to 30 percent of the required spaces, he said. For those who reuse existing buildings, developers can buy all of the parking spaces needed, Stillings said.
The cost varies by the subdistrict, with central core building owners paying the highest rate at $23,600 per space.
As of early October, the city has collected $1.9 million in these fees since 1993, when the in-lieu program started, Stillings said. That amount is well below the cost of building a new garage where spaces would cost between $25,000 to $35,000 each, he said.
The fee might be too low, if it’s paid only once, Mayor Shelly Petrolia said. “Maybe it should be an annual fee?” she said.
Petrolia also suggested the library surface lot as a possible parking garage site, because it already has the footings needed to support the building.
Also under the revised rules, which won’t require another review, owners of office buildings and hotels can now have enclosed and air-conditioned amenities on their roofs for guests, renters and walk-in users to enjoy.
Menin Co., which is developing the Ray hotel in Pineapple Grove, sought to define the percentage of the rooftop that can be enclosed and air-conditioned. Vice President Marc Yavinsky suggested 25 percent at the Sept. 25 commission meeting, saying the Ray’s rooftop kitchen needs to be enclosed to avoid outdoor cooking fires.
Planning staff agreed and the 25 percent figure made it into the revision.
But, at the Oct. 16 meeting, commissioners expressed concerns about light and noise pollution from rooftop uses affecting nearby condo residents. They decided to ban live bands and DJs on the roofs. Commissioners also limited the rooftop lounge hours to 10 p.m. from Sundays through Thursdays and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
In addition, they agreed to allow outdoor dining and other outside uses in the railroad corridors, increased the required amount of green space in proportion to the building size to break up the long buildings and limited the number of financial institutions that can occupy the first floor along Atlantic Avenue and Pineapple Grove Way (Northeast Second Avenue).

How rules define central business district

Revised rules cover four subdistricts:
• The central core, consisting of East Atlantic Avenue between Swinton Avenue and Intracoastal Waterway, Pineapple Grove neighborhood to Northeast Fourth Street and Federal Highway between George Bush Boulevard on the north and Southeast Fourth Street on the south.
• The beach, made up of East Atlantic between the Intracoastal and A1A.
• The West Atlantic neighborhoods, between West 12th and West Third avenues.
• The railroad corridors, along the FEC tracks from Northeast Second to Northeast Fourth streets and Southeast Second to nearly Southeast Seventh streets.

By Steve Plunkett

Municipal leaders are taking a cautious approach to the possibility that constitutional Amendment 1 will be approved on Election Day.
“If it passes then local governments, which are the ones that tax by property taxes, will see a decrease in revenue. We’re already estimating that if it passes it will be $1.8 million,” Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said.
“And yes, a tax cut sounds like a wonderful thing. As the League of Cities has been pointing out, this is not a tax cut, this is a tax shift,” Singer continued at the Oct. 10 City Council meeting. “So please give special consideration to that.”
The proposed amendment would give up to an additional $25,000 exemption to homesteads valued at $100,000 to $125,000. There already is a $25,000 exemption on the first $25,000 of assessed value and a second $25,000 exemption on the value between $50,000 and $75,000. The second and potential third exemptions do not apply to school district taxes.
In Ocean Ridge, Town Commissioner Kristine de Haseth also urged voters to educate themselves. The town would see tax revenues drop by about $75,000, while Palm Beach County government would lose $27.3 million.
De Haseth said 66 homesteads in Ocean Ridge are assessed at less than $100,000 and would not qualify for the additional exemption; 541 would be eligible for at least part of it.
“I encourage you to educate yourself on all the pieces, make sure that you know what it means to you personally and also what it means to your town,” she said Oct. 1.
Florida TaxWatch urged voters to say no.
“The proposed homestead benefits relatively few Florida families (29 percent) and property owners (24 percent). It also benefits only 57 percent of homestead owners,” the nonprofit watchdog group said. “It will likely lead to increases on everybody else, with higher taxes on lower-income homeowners and small businesses, and increased rents for renters.”
Also opposing the Florida Legislature-approved proposal were the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties and the Florida City and County Management Association.
Delray Beach passed a League of Cities-sponsored resolution as part of its Oct. 16 consent agenda urging residents “to carefully consider the potential adverse consequences of Amendment 1 before voting.”
The consequences include municipalities being forced to raise property tax rates, benefits going to only a handful of homeowners, and businesses being exposed to a “much higher” tax burden, the league said.
Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks said the maximum benefit for Boca Raton homesteads assessed at $125,000 and up is $282. Depending on the municipal tax rate, the benefit would range from $200 to $300, she said.
Robert Rollins, chairman of the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, said on its face, the proposal is appealing.
“As a homeowner I’d be leaning toward this,” he said.
But the district, which is funded almost 100 percent by property taxes, would have to either cut services or raise its tax rate if the amendment is approved, he said.
Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan was not too worried about the prospect of the third exemption.
“We’re a small town. I don’t think it’d be a particularly significant issue,” Morgan said.
Jacks estimated the amendment would mean a loss of $35,849 for Gulf Stream.
She also predicted lost tax revenues of $40,795 in South Palm Beach, $70,129 in Lantana, $9,294 in Manalapan, $11,595 in Briny Breezes, $1.6 million in Boynton Beach, $1.6 million in Delray Beach and $153,864 in Highland Beach.

By Dan Moffett

For the third time, Publix tried to persuade the Manalapan Town Commission to allow a free-standing wine and liquor store near the company’s new supermarket in Plaza del Mar.
And for a third time, commissioners politely said thank you for your service, but no.
“You’re offering a convenience, but the community is telling us they don’t want that convenience,” Mayor Keith Waters said during the commission meeting on Oct. 23. “The feedback has not been positive.”
The opposition again was largely focused on the proposed liquor store’s proximity to the beach — roughly 200 yards. Commissioners worried that students on spring break would find it too easy to abuse alcohol and party in places and ways they shouldn’t.
“I’m worried about underage drinking,” said Vice Mayor Peter Isaac. “We could be enabling binge drinking at the beach.”
Commissioner Clark Appleby said even a “high-end liquor store” would be likely to “invite a certain crowd” that would cause problems for police and residents.
Mark Klein, general manager of the Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa, told the commission that a carryout liquor store would hurt the hotel’s business. Klein said that, though the Eau serves alcohol in its bars and restaurant, the drinking occurs in a controlled environment.
“No doubt that hard liquor does encourage poor decision-making,” Klein said. “However, every one of our service staff is trained to recognize potential overindulgence and poor behavior. We do have controls.”
The commission voted 6-1 against Publix, with Commissioner Hank Siemon siding with the company. Waters did not have a vote.
“I don’t see the moral hazard and health concern,” Siemon said. “We have a history with Publix. We know what they do and they do it very well. Publix is a good neighbor, and I think they would handle it very well.”
Matt Buehler, a retail vice president with plaza landlords Kitson & Partners, told the commission that Publix’s request for a separate liquor store was necessitated by a Florida law that prohibits selling hard liquor inside supermarkets. Only beer and wine are allowed in the main store.
“There has to be separation,” he said. “This is a retail package store. It is not a bar.”
Buehler promised the commission that the liquor store would be “an extension of the Publix retail store” and run as efficiently as the grocery operation, with a security guard on site.
But commissioners, as they have said repeatedly over the last two years, were steadfast against the idea.
“It diminishes the value of the property in the neighborhood,” Mayor Pro Tem Simone Bonutti said. “I’m looking at the public health and safety of our kids, too.”
When the original plans for building the Publix first came to town officials over two years ago, a liquor store some 30 feet west of the supermarket was included. But the company, faced with opposition, pulled the store from the site plan before the project got underway. Last March, with the supermarket’s grand opening nearing, Publix again brought the liquor store issue to the commission, and commissioners voted it down as they did in October.
Twenty years ago, Publix stayed out of the liquor business. But as competition within the supermarket industry intensified and grew even more cutthroat, the company has gradually changed course. Over the last decade, Publix has acquired or built more than 100 liquor stores throughout the Southeast as a way to maximize profits.
According to industry analysts and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a liquor store can generate more than twice the profit margin per square foot as its companion supermarket next door.
Waters said he would not be surprised if the company keeps trying.
“I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to see this again,” the mayor said. “I would hope logic would tell you that to move forward would be moving forward against the wishes of the community.”

By Steve Plunkett

The race for District 89 in the Florida House may well come down to which party gets more voters to the polls Nov. 6.
The ballot features two barrier island residents: Ocean Ridge Mayor and lawyer Jim Bonfiglio, the Democrat, and Delray Beach accountant Mike Caruso, the Republican.
The Aug. 28 primaries were close, party-wise, with 12,437 Democrats casting ballots compared with 12,028 Republicans. District 89, which typically leans Republican, stretches along the coast from Boca Raton to Singer Island.
A third candidate, business owner Deborah Wesson Gibson, a Delray Beach mainlander, was not affiliated with a party and dropped out of the race in August.
In a letter to the state Division of Elections, Gibson, 55, said she was withdrawing to not peel off votes from the Democrat in the race. “It is not my intent to split the party’s votes and effectively lend a hand to whoever wins the Republican primary,” she said.
Bonfiglio, 65, who has campaigned on making life “easier, safer and better,” has been on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission since 2014 following 14 years on its Planning and Zoning Commission. He had $84,258 in campaign contributions through Oct. 19, the latest numbers available. He also lent his campaign $270,000 and added $5,368 in in-kind donations.
Bonfiglio, who was named mayor by his fellow commissioners in March, received only $2,003 from six donors with Ocean Ridge addresses. He had $311,975 in expenses and $47,651 cash on hand.
Caruso, 60, a forensic CPA who qualified to run for the House by collecting 1,241 signatures, says he will bring “real, experienced, community-based leadership” to the state Capitol. He has been a member of the Delray Beach Police Advisory Board and president of his homeowners association. As of Oct. 19 he had collected $227,787 in contributions, lent his campaign $204,125 in cash and given $304 in kind. His 51 donors with Delray Beach addresses contributed $25,662. Caruso’s expenses were $374,212 and he had $58,004 cash on hand.
Caruso, a self-described fiscal conservative, says now is not the time to raise taxes. “Instead we need to allow [everyday Floridians] to keep more of their money in their own pockets to help continue to fuel our robust Florida economy,” Caruso told the League of Women Voters.
Bonfiglio says the state needs to find more equitable and reliable revenue streams.
“I support 1) legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana, 2) legalizing and taxing sports betting, 3) look more to corporations, LLCs and businesses to pay their fair share for the costs of government based on their revenue and degree they draw from our education system and use/over-use our infrastructure and threaten our environment, 4) claw back some of the tax breaks given to large businesses and corporations, especially the most recent federal income tax breaks,” he told the league.
Caruso has the endorsements of Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers, departing District 89 state Rep. Bill Hager, the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce and the county firefighters union.
Bonfiglio is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, Boynton Beach City Commissioner Justin Katz and School Board member Frank Barbieri, as well as the county Classroom Teachers Association.
Hager, who first won the District 89 seat in 2012, is leaving office because of term limits.

Patty Jones is chairwoman of the Palm Beach County Food Bank’s Empty Bowls fundraiser. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

Patty Jones was in her 20s when her father suffered an aneurysm at the age of 44 and went on disability.
“He was in rehab for two years, but luckily he had myself and other family, and we banded together to take care of him and pay his bills,” said Jones, who lives in coastal Delray Beach. “So I totally understand how someone gets in a position where they wind up living paycheck to paycheck because of a health issue.”
Three years ago, a friend invited Jones, 49, to join the board of the Palm Beach County Food Bank’s Empty Bowls program when it came to Delray Beach. She accepted and will serve as chairwoman when the program hosts a fundraiser at Old School Square from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 2.
“Realizing that one in six people in our community, a lot of whom are children and senior citizens, can’t afford meals, that really hits home to me,” she said. “It’s an event that brings awareness of the hunger in our community.”
The motto of the event is “Eat simply, so others may simply eat.”
For $25 in advance or $30 at the door, patrons get a picnic lunch of their choice of soup (more than 35 local restaurants will donate), bread and a cookie (donated by Old School Bakery) and water. Each customer takes a pottery bowl home as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the community. Additional bowls can be purchased.
Also available for purchase are painted pottery bowls that were created and donated by the local schools, and soup-to-go will also be for sale. Attendees will be able to support the restaurants by voting for the best soup.
All proceeds go to the PBC Food Bank.

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in Wyoming, Mich., where I attended the Godwin Heights school system all the way through high school. Wyoming was a suburb of Grand Rapids; it was a small hometown, and we played in the streets until dark and knew all the neighbors within a three-block radius. We were really raised “by the village.” I learned early how to be independent and responsible from my family and my surroundings. When I moved to Florida in 1987, I attended Palm Beach Community College while I worked.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I worked for the same company for 16 years. The company started as Circle K, was bought by several gas companies and was Conoco Phillips when I left. I started as a clerk and worked my way up, being promoted into the office and was administrative assistant to most of the departments: HR, marketing and operations. I learned how to adapt and accept change through the many restructures.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: College is a must in today’s world, but take your time to find your passion.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Delray Beach?
A: We lived on Hypoluxo Island for years, but we wanted to make it back to Delray Beach — my husband, Rod, grew up on Lake Ida — to be closer to the kids’ elementary school. We found the perfect location in the Seagate area and have stayed.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in coastal Delray Beach?
A: I love the feeling of Delray Beach. It has everything you need but still has the hometown feel. You can hop on the boat just about every day of the year. We have access to the beach, plenty of restaurants and shops. Who doesn’t love to drive a golf cart around town!

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I just finished The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, by David Lagercrantz.

Q: What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A: I like to listen to everything, from the oldies to alternative music. I enjoy listening to music and going to concerts. My favorite band at the moment is Maroon 5, which inspires me. To relax, I listen to Jewel.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A: One is from Stephen King: “Get busy living or get busy dying.” I’m always busy and over committing myself, but I enjoy that. I’m lucky enough to go out and do things that I love. Another one is, “Motivation comes from work, and working on things we care about,” from Sheryl Sandberg. My motivation comes from things I love and that I care about. That inspires me.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My former boss, Alex Brethauer, was a big influence on me. He taught me that hard work does pay off and if you make a mistake, always be the first to admit it.

Q: If your life story were made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Michelle Pfeiffer. That comes from my sister, but she made the point that I’m quiet and I’m motivated. She also mentioned Jodie Foster; I don’t look like her, but I guess I’m independent and quiet and tough. But I’d say Michelle Pfeiffer is the best one.

If you go

What: Empty Bowls Delray Beach, benefiting the Palm Beach County Food Bank
When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 2.
Where: Old School Square
Cost: $25 in advance, $30 at door
Info: 670-2518, oldschoolsquare.org/events/empty-bowls/

By Mary Hladky

Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon has prevailed in her long battle to ensure vacation rental hosts pay the 6 percent tourist development tax to the county.
The Palm Beach County Commission on Oct. 16 unanimously passed an ordinance that requires vacation rental platforms to collect and remit to the county the so-called bed tax that hotels and other short-term rentals are required to pay.
“We need more tools in our toolbox to enforce our bed tax,” Gannon told commissioners.
Vacation rentals are a $36 billion industry in the U.S. and growing rapidly. Airbnb, one of the best-known companies, had 2,300 hosts in Palm Beach County last year.
Gannon has long contended the county is not getting all the bed tax revenue it is owed because vacation rental hosts either do not know they are supposed to pay or simply don’t want to.
The ordinance adds to rules already in place that require hosts to pay the bed tax. But now, vacation rental platforms will have to take on the burden of making sure that happens.
The platforms must verify that vacation rentals are registered with the Tax Collector’s Office and have a business tax receipt and a tourist development tax account before they can list the rentals on their platforms.
They also will have to file monthly reports with the tax collector that include the names of all hosts, each vacation rental’s location, and number of nights rented and amount paid for each stay.
Any platform or booking service that violates the rules faces civil penalties of up to $500 per unit per day.
Although the ordinance applies to all hosting platforms and booking services, much of the focus has been on Airbnb because of its strong resistance.
“We don’t need this shakedown-style ordinance,” Airbnb’s Florida policy director Tom Martinelli told commissioners on Sept. 18.
“This Tax Collector’s Office has been particularly hostile to this industry in her public commentary,” he added.
Martinelli asked commissioners at that meeting to reject the ordinance or postpone voting on it until after the resolution of a 2014 lawsuit Gannon filed that alleged Airbnb, HomeAway, TripAdvisor and CouchSurfing International have not paid the bed taxes.
Any resolution doesn’t look likely to happen soon. Both sides will argue motions for summary judgment on Nov. 27 before Circuit Judge James Nutt. Gannon, who has vowed not to settle the case, has said it will go to trial.
Martinelli wants Gannon to enter into an agreement with Airbnb under which the company will collect the bed taxes and remit them to the county. Airbnb has reached such agreements with 39 Florida counties, including earlier this year with Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Both counties at the time said they would seek similar deals with other home-sharing platforms.
Airbnb reached an agreement with the state Department of Revenue in 2015 in which the company collects state sales tax from its Florida hosts and pays the state. The same year, it began reaching agreements with counties on the bed tax collections.
But Gannon won’t sign on. The problem, she has said, is that the agreements don’t require Airbnb to release any information about hosts or property addresses and don’t require payment of previous uncollected taxes.
Without host and property location information, Gannon said she can’t do an audit to see if Airbnb is paying all it owes.
“They give us a take-it-or- leave-it agreement,” Orfelia Mayor, Gannon’s general counsel, said at the September commission meeting. “It is take our word for it. This is what we owe you.”
Mayor raised another complaint at the October meeting, saying Airbnb has staged “a huge campaign of misinformation,” wrongly telling hosts that the ordinance would impose a new tax.
Vacation rental hosts attending the meeting said they were not trying to evade taxes.
Maria Vale was one of several hosts who thought Airbnb collected the bed tax.
“We thought Airbnb took care of everything,” she said.
Many said they did not understand what the county requires of them. Some had scoured the internet for information but could not find where the rules were spelled out.
One problem, it turned out, was that the information is not included on the county’s website. Instead, hosts need to look at the tax collector’s site, pbctax.com.
Speakers generally said they were in favor of the ordinance. But some said the county’s system is confusing and cumbersome, and asked for it to be simplified.
Mayor said that is, in part, what the ordinance will do by requiring platforms to tell hosts what the requirements are.
“It puts it all in one streamlined ordinance … so anyone knows how to stay in compliance,” she said.
But she agreed that the information should be included on the county’s website and that the tax collector’s site should be made “more robust.”
No officials from vacation rental platforms spoke at the meeting. But afterward, Airbnb released a statement saying the ordinance violates federal and state law by divulging private information about hosts. Mayor has disputed that and said Airbnb has not prevailed on that claim in any legal case.
“We will consider all options to protect the privacy and property rights of our Floridian hosts,” the statement said.

By Steve Plunkett

Defense attorneys for onetime Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella will be able to tell jurors in his January felony trial that he is 65 years old.
Judge Daliah Weiss on Oct. 12 denied prosecutor Danielle Grundt’s motion to bar any references to Lucibella’s age. “Any such reference would only serve to inflame the jury and suggest [an] improper basis for its verdict,” Grundt unsuccessfully argued.
Weiss granted Grundt’s request to not allow expert witnesses to testify on legal standards for probable cause, but reserved her rulings until the trial on requests to limit expert testimony that critiques the police investigation or focuses on an issue that is “within the realm of a common layperson’s understanding.”
She also reserved rulings on whether the defense can argue the search of Lucibella’s home was unlawful or the arrest was invalid.
Lucibella is charged with battery on an Ocean Ridge police officer and resisting arrest with violence, both felonies, and a misdemeanor count of using a firearm while intoxicated. The charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.
The trial is scheduled to open Jan. 28.
Meanwhile, the insurance company lawyers representing Lucibella in a related civil lawsuit withdrew from the case Oct. 10, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Nubia Plesnik, one of the arresting officers, is suing Lucibella for battery and negligence during the course of the arrest.
Lucibella, who has a $10 million umbrella liability policy, is chief executive of a multimillion-dollar Medicare shared savings group and publishes a magazine for gun aficionados.
Plesnik’s lawyer filed notice of a “proposal for settlement” of the lawsuit on Aug. 31. Lucibella’s lawyers filed their motion to withdraw two weeks later.
Police went to the backyard of Lucibella’s beachfront home Oct. 22, 2016, after neighbors reported hearing gunshots. He resigned from the Town Commission that December.

Dan Moffett contributed to this story.

By Jane Smith

Trolley service was scheduled to return to downtown Delray Beach on Nov. 1.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board, made up of the city commissioners and two citizens, voted 6-1 on Oct. 22 to pay for three months of the trolley operations along Atlantic Avenue, costing about $120,000.
To allow for flexibility in the season, the contract can be extended another three months, said Jeff Costello, CRA executive director.
During that time, data on the number of trolley riders and stops will be collected to adjust the trolley schedule every 30 days. An existing app, called Transit, will be available for riders with smartphones to find out when the next trolley will stop. And trolleys may have signs that say they’re free.
“Putting the trolley back into service is a Band-Aid,” said Bill Bathurst, a board member and city commissioner. “It won’t be one-size-fits-all with the trolley. … But when we pulled the trolley out and the Downtowner left at the same time, it showed how weak our system is.”
Both services stopped on Sept. 30.
The CRA board will meet with the Downtown Development Authority board for a Nov. 14 workshop to discuss downtown transportation. Members will talk about route changes, other sources of money to pay for the transportation services, natural gas or electric-powered vehicles and other topics related to reducing the number of vehicles downtown.
Board member Adam Frankel, who also is a city commissioner, was the lone no vote.
To ease his concern about whether the numbers provided by the trolley driver can be trusted, the DDA has some money to do a count of the riders at a particular stop, said Laura Simon, DDA executive director.
Four people spoke at the CRA meeting during public comments. All were for the trolley or some other form of downtown transportation.
Scott Roberts, general manager of the Fairfield Inn, told the CRA board members he’s OK with a nominal fee to keep the trolley operating. “If my guests have to use their cars or rental cars, they go to other cities to have dinner and not Atlantic Avenue,” he said.
When commercial real estate agent Christina Morrison sat on the Congress Avenue Task Force, the group wanted to supply transportation to allow workers west of the interstate to travel east to have lunch downtown, without using their cars. “Keep the trolley,” she said.
“Our tourism depends on the transportation system,” said Rick Konsavage, regional operations director for Ocean Properties. In Delray Beach, its holdings are the Marriott and Residence Inn hotels, Boston’s and 50 Ocean restaurants, and the tiki bar called Sandbar — all on the barrier island.
In mid-October, one group that stayed at the Marriott for its annual meeting was disappointed when it arrived, Konsavage said. “They picked our site because their members would not need to rent a car. But when they got here, there was no trolley and no Downtowner,” an electric vehicle ride service.
For the five properties, about 20 percent of the staff relies on the trolley to get to work, Konsavage said.
Even so, the two citizen members on the CRA board, Angie Gray and Pamela Brinson, don’t think the agency should have to pay the entire bill for the trolley’s operating costs.
“That’s a great question for the future,” said Shelly Petrolia, CRA board chairwoman and mayor. Petrolia suggested possible money sources may come from a nominal fee, advertising and the hotels. All will be discussed Nov. 14.

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach commissioners will let a judge determine whether two East Atlantic Avenue property owners have the right to build an extra floor in the three-story district.
The split vote, 3-2 against settling the $6.9 million lawsuit by carving out the contested parcels, took place in mid-October. Commissioner Ryan Boylston was concerned that chopping away at the district would lead to more lawsuits against the city.
“Every time you move that line, a new property owner is on the line,” he said after the meeting. “The city attorney could not prove that this was a one-stop situation.” Boylston rents space for his marketing firm in a corner building on that block.
Boylston joined Commissioner Bill Bathurst and Mayor Shelly Petrolia for letting a judge decide.
“This is the first cut, a slow and steady chipping away at something we worked hard to get,” Petrolia said at the meeting.
After 18 months of meetings, a previous City Commission had capped East Atlantic’s height at three stories between Swinton Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Petrolia and Commissioner Adam Frankel were part of the unanimous vote in February 2015.
City Attorney Max Lohman told commissioners that the owners of two properties had not been notified in early 2015 as required by state law. He said notices were sent out in late January to the owners. They have a year to bring a site plan for a four-story project to the city. Lohman was not the city attorney in early 2015.
One owner, William R. Burke Jr., who bought the building at 123 E. Atlantic Ave. in 1996, could not be reached for comment.
In May, Old School Bakery owner Billy Himmelrich and his business partner sued the city for $6.9 million to be able to build four stories on their parcels just east of the Old School Square cultural center. They own two parking lots and two buildings that house Tramonti and Cabana El Rey restaurants. Both restaurants have leases that expire in 2024, Himmelrich said.
Himmelrich and David Hosokawa have a history with the city and its Community Redevelopment Agency. In the mid-2000s, they sold a parcel through eminent domain to the CRA to complete the Old School Square park and in return bought a small parcel with 26 parking places. The partners lease that parcel to the CRA for parking for the Greenmarket and other events.
At the mid-October meeting, Himmelrich said, “I don’t want anything special.” After the meeting, he said, “I offered them a great solution and they are playing Russian roulette with the taxpayers’ dollars.”
Delray Beach real estate agent Brian Rosen said at the meeting that Himmelrich had helped to create the Old School Square park. “It’s not setting a precedent,” Rosen said.
Longtime resident Linda Oxford spoke about the height cap. “We want to be able to walk downtown and let sun hit our faces,” she said.
Resident Kelly Barrette reminded the commission that when the height cap was passed in 2015, people in the chambers stood and clapped. “One of the few standing ovations,” she said. Barrette also said the commissioners are “the last line of defense against inappropriate development.” She urged the commission to fight the lawsuit.
Lohman, though, said settling the lawsuit was not about the merits of the case. “The settlement is about certainty,” he said.
He declined to say how his office determined that only the owners of two properties had not been notified, citing the “ongoing litigation.”
“The Florida Statute notice requirements do not require confirmation of receipt of notices,” wrote Tim Stillings, development services director, in response to how the city tracks the notices. “When we send notices, we keep a record of the mailing labels.
“With respect to the changes to the Central Business District, the city sent notices during the consideration of the changes but did not send any immediately following the adoption.”
Stillings was not employed by the city in 2015.
Longtime East Atlantic Avenue building owner Bruce Gimmy said he did not receive a notice, but he knew about the height cap because he sat on the city’s Parking Management Advisory Board.
At the mid-October commission meeting, Lohman said the hearing on the city’s motion to dismiss, set for Oct. 19, had been canceled based on the 3-2 vote to settle the lawsuit that took place Sept. 25.
As of press time, the hearing had not been reset.
“I’m really concerned that the city’s motion to dismiss was canceled, based on the vote from one public hearing. It was a close vote,” Petrolia said after the meeting. “There were a lot of questions that were not answered for us to be making major decisions.”

Briny Breezes residents say that having a crosswalk stop at an intersection with a traffic light is confusing. The state may have erred when it put in the sign. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

Briny Breezes residents will get the chance to learn a lot more about plans for the Gulf Stream Views townhouse project next door when developers come to town for a question-and-answer session on Nov. 13.
The event, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. in Briny’s ocean clubhouse.
Mayor Roger Bennett said he expects Ocean Ridge officials and County Pocket representatives to attend, as well as members of Briny’s corporate board and the Town Council.
“I’m getting a lot of questions and comments from returning snowbirds,” Bennett said during the Town Council meeting Oct. 25. “So everyone’s invited.”
The developers, NR Living, a division of National Realty Investment Advisors of Secaucus, N.J., plan to build 14 three-bedroom townhouse units on a roughly 2-acre site just south of Briny’s boundary line, north of the County Pocket, with pre-construction prices ranging from $1.8 million to $2.7 million.
Briny Breezes Town Manager Dale Sugerman said work to prepare the site for construction has already begun, with trucks hauling in large amounts of fill to “bring the grade of the property up significantly.” The developers have not yet released a work schedule for the project, Sugerman said.
In recent weeks, the Town Council has tried to clarify ownership of Briny Breezes Boulevard, a street that would provide access to the townhouses from the north off A1A. The town appears to own only a part of the 45-foot-wide right of way, Sugerman said, but it remains unclear exactly which part.
“The story gets interesting,” he said of talks with Palm Beach County officials over ownership.
Sugerman says it would appear that Briny owns the northern 30 feet of the right of way and the county owns the southern 15 feet. “However, there is only 18 feet plus or minus of pavement,” the manager said.
It remains unclear whether that 18 feet of pavement is under control of Briny or the county, he said, and that the county’s engineering department is working to resolve the matter.
With the townhome development on the horizon, several council members have said it may benefit Briny Breezes to assume full control of the right of way, if the county is willing to give up its share.
In other business, Sugerman said he is working with the Florida Department of Transportation to determine whether a “Stop for Pedestrians Within Crosswalk” sign belongs in the A1A crosswalk at the Cordova Avenue intersection.
Sugerman said FDOT inexplicably put the sign there recently, not long after the town requested a replacement sign for the one damaged by a motorist in September at the Ruthmary Avenue crosswalk. FDOT installed a new sign at that crosswalk two weeks prior to the Cordova replacement.
Residents have complained that the Cordova sign causes confusion because the intersection has a traffic light to assist pedestrians.
“I agree that there are conflicting commands,” he said, telling the council FDOT plans to examine the sign to see if it is appropriate.

The 29-room hotel will be demolished to make way for a condo project. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

This will be the last Thanksgiving holiday that Dorothy Gay “GiGi” Wright Vela, her siblings, their children and grandchildren will gather for dinner at Wright by the Sea, the beach hotel that has been in her family since 1950.
“My daughter cooks the turkey,” Vela said. “We eat it in the chickee hut that the Seminoles built for us 40 years ago.
“Its roof has been replaced only once and that was after Hurricane Sandy,” she says of the 2012 storm. “All of our children and grandchildren get to be with each other.”
On Oct. 1, Vela and her family sold their oceanfront property, the 29-room Wright by the Sea at 1901 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, to National Realty Investment Advisors and U.S. Construction Inc. for $25 million. The Wright family corporation is leasing it back through November, then the hotel will close permanently.
“We never put it up for sale. The buyer came to us. When I signed the contract, I felt like someone had socked me in the stomach. I couldn’t take a breath,” said Vela, 83.
Candace Friis, an agent with the Corcoran Group, brought the buyers and handled both sides of the off-market deal.
It was time to sell, Vela acknowledged.
“We were being taxed out of business. The property taxes were a quarter of a million for 29 rooms. And then there’s the 10 percent bed tax, and there are other taxes and we had health insurance to pay for our employees.”
No one connected with the hotel is happy about the sale, Vela added.
“Our family is devastated. Our staff is devastated — they’ve been with us for years. And we have 7,500 guests who come stay with us a year and they will now have no place to go.
“We are directly on the beach. Our property is so lovely, and when I walk through the breezeway, I think it’s just like paradise. But we realized that we couldn’t keep a hotel that’s not making money, and decided we had to sell it.”
On the upside, longevity runs in the family. Vela’s father lived well into his 90s, and Vela, who received a doctorate in psychology and human development in 1996, feels time is on her side. She looks forward to working in her new field.
“My friends say, ‘Now you have time to play bridge with us,’ but I don’t think so. I don’t want to play cards when there’s so much to do that’s exciting.”
And where will the family celebrate Thanksgiving in the future? “That’s to be determined,” Vela said.

Plans for property
National Realty Investment Advisors and U.S. Construction will redevelop the property into a condominium project and beach club on the almost 2-acre beachfront parcel. On the half-acre across the street at 1060 Del Harbor Drive, a parcel that was included in the deal, they plan to build townhomes.
The buyers received a $22 million mortgage from affiliates of New York-based Ares Commercial Real Estate Management.
“It’s going to be totally new construction, a luxurious offering of 19 units on the ocean, envisioned to feel like you are living in your own private beachfront residence,” said Stephann Cotton, president of the Stuart-based marketing and advertising firm representing the owners. “Today’s sophisticated buyers will appreciate the rare opportunity of buying direct oceanfront in one of America’s most sought-after towns. It’s the best design, the finest quality and oceanfront location to come to market in decades.”
Delray Beach architect Randall Stofft has already put together some designs, which will, in time, be released along with timetables on a registrants website, oceandelray.com.
National Realty Investment Advisors is a New Jersey-based development and investment firm with a focus on construction and renovation of townhomes, condos and multifamily projects in the Northeast. It has developed about 715 units since 2010 and has $335 million worth of projects in progress.
Local projects include the purchase of a $7 million waterfront development at 1248 and 1240 Seaspray Ave. in Delray Beach, and the $13 million purchase of two vacant waterfront lots at 2929 and 3565 N. Ocean Blvd. in Gulf Stream.
In June, the firm secured a $16.5 million loan to build a 14-townhome project, Gulfstream Views, on 2 acres at 30 Briny Breezes Blvd. in the County Pocket.
U.S. Construction Inc. of Philadelphia has developed and constructed more than 1,500 luxury homes and units among 50 complexes over the past 10 years. Its website notes the following Delray Beach projects underway: residences at 316 N. Ocean Blvd., 322 N. Ocean Blvd., 707 N. Ocean Blvd., 2929 N. Ocean Blvd. and 3565 N. Ocean Blvd.; four residences at 142 NE Seventh Ave.; a residence at 1239 Laing St.; and two townhomes at 837 Denery Lane.
Stephann Cotton’s Cotton & Company will take the marketing lead on this project. IMI Living will manage sales.