By Dan Moffett

    Developer Gary Cohen came to the April town meeting in South Palm Beach armed with two lawyers, an architect, an assistant and a 5-foot wooden pole.
    Cohen and his Paragon Acquisition Group want to build a six-story condominium building on the site of the old Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn. But the developer says he has a problem: The town’s code allows 60 feet for the six stories, but Cohen says he needs 65 feet to make his design work.
    The pole was the visual aid he used to show the Town Council the size of his problem.
    The town’s 60-foot limit doesn’t allow enough room to build six floors with 10-foot ceilings, the size Paragon says it needs to attract upscale buyers.
    “People are just not interested today in luxury condominiums that are under 10 feet,” attorney Mitch Kirschner told the council.
    “I can’t recall that we’ve done a luxury condominium in an area as nice as this with ceilings less than 10 feet,” said architect Jorge Garcia of Miami.
    “We’re asking for your help to get us out of this conundrum,” attorney John Herin said.
    What Cohen and his team want council members to do is ask South Palm Beach voters to change their town charter to allow a 65-foot structure. That means putting an amendment on the ballot for the November election.
    Before Cohen bought the property in 2013, the previous owner, Pjeter Paloka and Kosova Realty, proposed building a 14-story condo and touched off an angry backlash that ultimately led voters in 2010 to approve new height limits, including the 60-foot cap. Council members are reluctant to go through another firestorm.
    “Seventy-nine percent of the citizens voted this in our charter,” Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan said of the limit. “I don’t think I can make a ruling against them.”
    Councilman Woodrow Gorbach, a real estate agent, pointed out that most of the units in the town have 8-foot ceilings, not 10-foot.
    Cohen told the council he has been a good neighbor since buying the dilapidated hotel and hasn’t asked for any other concessions.
    “We’ve been here for three years now,” Cohen said. “We’ve spent time and we’ve spent money working on this project. You can see what we’ve done the last six months — which is demolish the building, clear the site and build a sea wall. These are substantial things.”
    Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello told Cohen that residents aren’t inclined to rush into a decision, and neither are the council members. Flagello said they would discuss the request again at their May 24 meeting.
    In other business:
    • Town Manager Bob Vitas said the council has settled on a list of 14 projects for its long-term plan. Ranking at the top are preparations for shoreline stabilization and evaluation of the fire district study.
    Vitas said 14 of the 16 oceanfront property owners have agreed to easements that will allow the survey work to begin for the beach project, and he hopes to have the other two onboard by the end of May.
    • The town will honor veterans at a Memorial Day ceremony, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 30 at Town  Hall. Keynote speaker is State Sen. Jeff Clemens, and complimentary refreshments will be served. Ú

By Dan Moffett

    Briny Breezes council members unanimously voted preliminary approval for an ordinance that would restrict truck traffic on town streets.
    Now the council will have to try to figure out how to enforce it.
    The ordinance prohibits trucks with three or more axles and those with a rated capacity of more than one ton from driving through Briny, including Old Ocean Boulevard, which the state recently turned over to the town.
    But Town Attorney John Skrandel said he will need to research further how to penalize violators. Skrandel said he has contacted other towns with similar laws but hasn’t found much help.
    “When I call and ask them how they’re enforcing their restrictions, nobody knows how,” he said. “Everyone I talked to didn’t know, and a lot of them didn’t even know their law was on the books.”
    Skrandel said it might be possible to use state statutes to penalize violators. Under the state system, a trucker could be fined about $158 for each offense.
    “That would be the simplest way to do it, and the most cost-effective,” Skrandel said.
    Hal Hutchins, the town marshal and Ocean Ridge police chief, told the council he still has reservations about how, on a practical basis, officers will be able to enforce the law.
    “The ordinance is being voted on based on hypotheticals,” he said. The new rules do allow exemptions for truck traffic that provides services to town residents. There are no restrictions on trucks that are delivering goods to Briny homeowners, emergency vehicles, construction vehicles doing work in the town and utility vehicles.
    Council members say the focus of the law is preventing the potential street damage from trucks that are cutting through the town on their way to somewhere else.
    The council will consider approving a final version of the ordinance at the May 26 town meeting.
    In other business, Mike Hill announced he was resigning as mayor and leaving town to live the rest of the year in Illinois, where he’ll “spend more time” with his 11 grandchildren.
    Hill’s wife, Shirley Smith-Hill, died unexpectedly in March at age 66. “Next year I may be back,” Hill said. “But as for 2016, I’m resigning.”
    Council President Sue Thaler said she has appreciated Hill’s expertise as a lawyer and experience as a former elected official in Highland Beach since he became mayor in January 2014.
    Hill agreed to stay involved with the council until it finds a replacement.

A moving glass wall may enclose the Little House’s porch.

Renderings courtesy of AW Architects Inc.

Work proposed for the Oscar Magnuson House.

By Jane Smith

    Craft beers and tapas are coming to two new restaurants on Ocean Avenue.
    The owners received approval in April from the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency board for their casual concepts and site plans.
    The owners used the same architect, Jim Williams of Boca Raton. He raved about the potential of both venues.
    Of the Little House at 480 E. Ocean Ave., Williams said, “I’m happy to be part of this project and helping to establish the fabric of the neighborhood.”
    The owners, a partnership formed by Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella and Barbara Ceuleers, looked at what could be done, Williams said.
    They decided to enclose the porch with a moving glass wall.
    With 24 seats outside and 47 seats inside, the operator said she could make a go of it, Williams told the CRA board members.
    Lisa Mercado, who owns the Living Room restaurant on Congress Avenue, will rent the restaurant from the Lucibella partnership. She was mulling two names at press time.
    Renovations at the cottage-turned-restaurant also will include a hood for a stove and an open fireplace that sits on the eastern wall so that it is half outside, half inside. In addition, the eatery will have sidewalk seating. The porch addition will add 525 square feet to the restaurant.
    Lucibella said he hopes to open in the fall so that they can take advantage of seasonal visitors.
    For the Oscar Magnuson House at 211 E. Ocean Ave., Williams was effusive.
    “When (restaurant broker) Tom Prakas called us at the end of last year and asked us if we could help illustrate his concept, everyone in my office got excited,” Williams said. “They can’t wait for it to open and hang out.”
    The historic house will receive a 2,000-square-foot addition that includes a full kitchen and restrooms, a bar that starts inside and continues outdoors, a bocce court in the rear, fire pits in the front and back, and a beer garden under a trellis on the east side. For landscaping ideas, Prakas suggested visiting Guanabanas in Jupiter to see its lush tropical plantings.  
    That restaurant also will have a small plate focus and be a place to get “a meal in a comfortable, neighborhood environment,” Williams said.
    Because more work will be involved, he said it will take longer to finish and likely be ready in the fall of 2017.
    The CRA owned both properties and used Prakas to market them. Vivian Brooks, the CRA’s executive director, has high hopes for the two restaurants and the 500 Ocean apartment complex.
    “They are the game changers for Boynton Beach,” she said.

Artists James Knill and Amanda Johnson at their gallery in Boynton Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lucy Lazarony

    Step into the Amanda James Gallery and be prepared to be enveloped in a world of vibrant textiles, breathtaking photos and bright modern art paintings.
    And color. Lots and lots of color.
    “We love color. We are color enthusiasts,” says artist Amanda Johnson, who shares the gallery with her husband, artist and photographer James Knill.  
    “We have a casual but luxurious style, modern,” Knill says. “I call it neo-baroque.”  
    In addition to her large figure paintings and smaller abstract pieces, Johnson paints everything from lampshades to silk scarves to plates, teacups and espresso cups. You can see her creations all around the gallery.
    “(There) are other ways to have art,” Johnson says. “It doesn’t just have to hang from your wall.”
    She also creates custom fine art fabrics for pillows, curtains and bedding. “And I’m just beginning a small clothing line,” Johnson says.
    Knill is a fine art photographer specializing in landscapes and a painter of bright modern paintings, experimenting with color theory and how colors interact with each other.
    He does custom work with his oil paintings and enjoys shooting photographs outdoors in Florida. “I love landscape photography as fine art,” Knill says. “I do surfing photography also. That’s a plus. I can be there when the sun comes up.”
    Topics of Knill’s fine art photography include “the ocean, the Everglades, Florida scenes, tropical scenes, black and white and in color. All the pretty stuff. I try to capture the beauty of Florida. I kind of want the photography to look like a painting.”  
    Johnson has a studio in Artists Alley where she creates her art, and Knill paints in his home studio in Boynton Beach.  
    The Amanda James Gallery, at 412 E. Ocean Ave. in Boynton Beach, is just for show — a colorful showcase for their art and a way to connect with customers, although you might find Johnson painting a plate or Knill editing a photo when you stop by.
    The city of Boynton Beach and the locals in the neighborhood have embraced the gallery.
    And the couple, who were married last September in Johnson’s hometown of Baltimore, celebrated the first anniversary of the Amanda James Gallery on April 29.
    “It’s also a benefit for Wayside House,” Johnson says. “We didn’t want to just have a party.”
    Wayside House is an addiction recovery house for women in Delray Beach.
    Johnson and Knill also support the Surfrider Foundation with their art.
    For the Surfrider Foundation, they collaborated on a new piece, a pillow, which Johnson designed from Knill’s photograph of a super moon over the beach in Ocean Ridge.
    A portion of the proceeds of each pillow sold will be given to the Surfrider Foundation.
    The hours for the Amanda James Gallery are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; and by appointment.   
    To make an appointment, call Johnson at (443) 823-5057  or Knill at 674-1927.  
    For more on the art of Amanda Johnson and James Knill, visit www.AmandaJamesGallery.com.

A walking path, seat wall and landscaping will be installed where the old dive shop building was razed in the Boynton Harbor Marina. Rendering courtesy of Boynton Beach CRA.

By Jane Smith

    The last phase of the Boynton Harbor Marina will start in July.
    Mike Simon, assistant director of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, gave that update in April to his new board. Three were just elected as commissioners who also sit as CRA board members.
    Simon provided a visual tour of the marina’s progress to date. The slip reconstruction project, tower entry feature and the harbor master building were completed.
    He called the final part the Waterfront Open Phase. The old dive shop building was demolished last year and will be replaced with a shaded park for the public with a walking path and seating, roadway realignment, extra parking spaces and other features.
    The roadway maintenance will be part of this phase, estimated to cost at least $1.4 million.
    “No breach was found in the sea wall. That’s good news,” Simon told the board. “Not having to redesign and rebuild the exfiltration trench (storm water drainage system) is even better news. The project is essentially a maintenance issue, not a complete rebuild of the road.”
    Shenandoah Construction vacuumed the trench to remove soils and water, and then did a video scan of the pipes, Simon wrote in the backup provided to the CRA board. No breaks or cracks in drainage pipes were found. Shenandoah will be paid $5,000 for that December work.
    Rosso Site Development Inc. did the exploratory roadway trenching in January to provide data on the existing conditions behind the seawall and the subsurface areas around the storm water inlets and the marina boardwalk.  Rosso will be paid $4,950 for this work.
    The CRA’s engineering consultant used that research data to enhance the design of the vertical support systems of the new boardwalk and seat wall, as well as the roadway project. Revised construction plans were submitted in early April.
    Simon hopes to put a bid on the street soon so that the board can select a contractor in June or July.
Construction will take 180 days to complete.

Delray Beach developer Frank McKinney is marketing a 4,042-square-foot micro-mansion

that is under construction in Ocean Ridge. He’s not set a price.

Rendering provided

By Christine Davis

    Frank McKinney, Delray Beach resident and “real estate artist” (“That’s what The Wall Street Journal called me, and I ran with it,” he says), has created his share of mega-million-dollar spec mega-mansions, but he is currently exploring the micro-mansion trend, building one in Ocean Ridge.
    Aligning with the concept “the best things come in small packages,” he’s not skimping. His 4,042-square-foot micro-mansion will offer $4,000-a-square-foot finishes, a floating sun deck, multiple pools, antique flooring from a sunken 16th-century Spanish galleon, and a second-floor outdoor master shower complete with trees.
    “I’ve watched the evolution of high-end buyers since my first spec house in 1992, and what’s changing is that a 10,000-square-foot house is no longer the trophy statement it used to be,” he says. “The ultra-wealthy don’t have time to be bothered with the maintenance.
    “I’m setting this trend, and I’ve never felt more convinced about it. The wealthy are already buying condos with this kind of money, but I’m thinking they don’t want to live in a 4,000-square-foot toolbox, surrounded by people on all sides, above and below.”
    His prototype three-bedroom, 3½-bath home, at 19 Tropical Drive, Ocean Ridge, is 345 feet from the ocean and has deeded beach access. His team includes architect George Brewer and Dale Construction.
    Currently, the second floor is going up, and McKinney aims to have the home completed by New Year’s Eve, turnkey ready and fully furnished with linens on the bed, thanks to his wife, Nilsa.
    As yet, he hasn’t set a price, but to give a hint, consider that the sea-glass countertops in the kitchen came in at $128,000. “I want the market to tell me if it’s the right size, so I don’t have a price on it.
    “If your paper didn’t have the name Coastal Star, I would take the name. This house hopes to be a coastal star.”
                                
    Menin Development Inc. entered into agreements with Capital One Café (offering financial services with coffee) and The Green Owl restaurant for its East Atlantic Avenue buildings. Capital One Café will lease 5,840 square feet at 326 E. Atlantic Ave. The Green Owl will move to 400 E. Atlantic Ave. behind Huber’s Pharmacy.
                                
    As you may recall, The Fite Group’s agent, Jack Elkins, holds the listings for 1920 and 1940 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan, which are on the market for $19.5 million and $9.5 million respectively. (Elkins and public records say they are owned by South Ocean Living LLC. Other sources, though, report the owner is Billy Joel.) While a buyer can still purchase the properties separately, Elkins has recently relisted them as a package for $27 million as well.
                                
    Lang Realty has announced that it leads among all residential real estate agencies in both sales volume and number of listings in Palm Beach County from January through March 2016, according to area Multiple Listing Systems.
                                
    Florida Realtors announced that home sales totaled $627 million in February, representing a 16.6 percent increase year over year. Also noted was a heightened demand for homes between $300,000 and $600,000 and above $1 million.
                                
    Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon R. Bock received the 2015 Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiving Legacy Award in the public policy category for her Guardianship Fraud program and hotline. In recognition of its accomplishments toward addressing the needs of Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers, Bock’s office received $20,000 in March.
    Through the hotline, callers can anonymously report potential incidents of financial fraud or waste involving court-appointed guardianships over elderly, minor or incapacitated individuals.
    Since the program’s inception, its Division of Inspector General has audited and investigated more than 900 guardianship cases and identified more than $4.5 million in unsubstantiated disbursements, missing assets and fraud. For information about the hotline, visit www.mypalmbeachclerk.com/fraud.
                                
In March, the Renaissance Boca Raton Hotel debuted its multimillion-dollar renovation featuring Spanish-inspired architecture, a new color palette, a transformed hotel lobby, and 189 renovated guest rooms. Other amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center, as well as 15,000 square feet of meeting and conference spaces. The hotel is at 2000 NW 19th St., Boca Raton.
                                
    Palm Beach Travel, founded by Annie Davis three years ago, was recently recognized with the 2015 Best of the Best Independent Agency award from the Avoya Travel Network, for the second year in a row. Also, Sharon Yale has joined Palm Beach Travel, specializing in trips for couples and families with Oceania, SilverSeas, Seabourn, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, River Cruise and other large group cruises. Palm Beach Travel is in Plaza del Mar at 257 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan.
                                
    In April at Florida Atlantic University, Student ACES (Athletics + Community + Education) hosted its first ACE Captains Leadership Summit, an event designed for high school athletic captains to learn leadership skills and techniques and life lessons that will enable them to lead their teams on and off the field. More than 200 students attended.
    The panel included Clay Shiver, former NFL player and Florida State Hall of Famer, and Pete Martinez, chairman and CEO of Game Changer.
    Sponsors for the event included Tire Kingdom, Garden of Life, Keiser University, Advanced Roofing, Walmart and Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA.
                                 
    Evelyn & Arthur’s president, Adrianne Weissman, received one of the 2016 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards at Enterprising Women magazine’s conference in Coconut Grove. Winners were recognized in March for having fast-growing businesses, and mentoring women and girls involved in entrepreneurship. Evelyn & Arthur’s Manalapan boutique for women’ fashions is in Plaza del Mar, at 227 S. Ocean Blvd.
                                

On the team at the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority are (l-r) Executive Director Laura Simon;

Lauren Lyall, operations coordinator; and Alexandra Farnsworth, program coordinator.

Photo provided

    In honor of Mother’s Day, the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority will present a “Downtown Delray Orchid Giveaway,” through May 7. Here’s how it works: Shop the more than 300 boutiques, galleries, shops, spas, salons and fitness studios in the downtown area, collect $200 in receipts and turn them in at one of two Orchid Stations, which are located in front of Hand’s Stationers, 325 E Atlantic Ave., and Petite Connection, 1049 E. Atlantic Ave.
    The stations will be open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 4 through 6, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7.  Restaurant receipts are excluded.  
    Also, until May 10, enter to win a Mother’s Day prize package (with more than $500 of certificates from downtown Delray Beach businesses) at delrayorchidgiveaway.com.  
    Other news from the DDA: Alexandra Farnsworth has joined its team as program coordinator, and Lauren Lyall has joined as operations coordinator.
                                
    On May 5, the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches honored four local women who make a difference in the county at its annual Women in Leadership Award event. Among them was Boca Raton resident Yvonne Boice, who received the 2016 Volunteer Sector Award. A businesswoman and philanthropist, she owns and operates two businesses in Boca Raton: The Shoppes at Village Pointe and Fugazy International Travel.
                                
    By doing what she loves — creating delicious low- and no-fat snacks, former Miss Georgia Linda Kamm has created a product, Fruitfull bars, which has sold 92 million pieces. Her company, Happy and Healthy, with an office at 1600 S. Dixie Highway, Boca Raton, has been in business for 25 years.
                                
    JFK Medical Center’s cancer program was granted a three-year accreditation with commendation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons in March. To earn the commission’s voluntary accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 34 of its quality-care standards, be surveyed and evaluated every three years, and maintain levels of excellence in care delivery.
    Also in March, JFK Medical Center made the pledge to help increase colorectal cancer screening rates by supporting the “80 percent by 2018” initiative, led by the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable. As part of the pledge, JFK received the Colorectal Cancer Partnership award and grant from the American Cancer Society to be used for funding colorectal cancer education, activities, and/or interventions. JFK Medical Center is at 5301 S. Congress Ave., Atlantis.
                                
    Heather L. Apicella was named a partner at the marital and family law firm Gladstone & Weissman PA.  Its main office is at 101 Renaissance Centre, 101 N. Federal Highway, Suite 702, Boca Raton.

The crew at Our Boat House is planning a tent sale May 12-15 at its new Delray Beach location.

Pictured (l-r): Christina Auer, Karen Marcil, Lori Auer-Smith, golden retriever Dune and Eleanor Auer.

Photo provided

    The family-owned Our Boat House has recently moved from Mizner Park to its own 3,500-square-foot building at 820 SE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach. On May 12-15, old and new customers are invited to take advantages of discounted prices at its tent sale. “Everyone who loves The Coastal Star loves us,” says co-owner Karen Marcil, referring to the store’s coastal vibe. Our Boat House has something for everyone. Men are attracted to its collection of old boating artifacts, fire pieces and local artwork —and women like those too, as well as everything else (which includes slip-covered furniture, lighting, accessories, rugs, large coral pieces, and a new line of outdoor furniture). And for those nautical types who like a good treasure hunt, here’s a riddle to solve: “When you need me, you throw me away. When you are done with me, you bring me home.” When visiting the tent sale, if you identify this object, you will receive an old sea-glass float.
                                
     As of May 1, organizational changes took place at Palm Beach State College focused on student success and quality customer service. Ginger Pedersen assumed the new position of vice president of information services. Jean Wihbey became the vice president for workforce development and provost of the Lake Worth campus. Maria Vallejo was named the vice president for growth and expansion and provost of the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses. Holly Bennett now serves as vice president for institutional effectiveness and provost of the Palm Beach Gardens campus. Bernadette Russell became the vice president for e-Learning and continues to serve as provost of the Boca Raton campus.
                                
     At 7 p.m. May 12, David Dweck, president of the Boca Real Estate Investment Club, will give a presentation, “The Landlord/Tenant Boot Camp,” with Dan DeMott of Rent Pro and landlord-tenant attorney Jerron Kelley.
     The presentation will be held at the Renaissance Boca Raton Hotel, 2000 NW 19th St., Boca Raton. The cost is $20 for nonmembers. For information, call 391-REAL.
                                
     John M. Campanola, with New York Life Insurance Company at 401 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, recently joined a group of agents who are authorized to offer AARP members a range of financial solutions through AARP Life Insurance, and annuity and long-term care options from New York Life.
                                
     The annual Boynton Beach Food, Wine & Brew Festival, offering cuisine from 30 of the town’s restaurants and lounges as well as wine and craft beer tastings, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. May 26 at Benvenuto restaurant, 1730 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Tickets are $35. For information, call 732-9501.
                                
     For “We [Heart] Small Biz Month,” the Delray Beach City Commission has planned a series of activities in May that include networking events, business walks, workshops and giveaways. For a schedule, visit www.WeHeartSmallBiz.org or call 243-7054.

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

People are living in parks,

woods near city’s downtown

Billy Palmieri shows off a “Boca” tattoo on the inside of his arm.  He is part of a group

of homeless people who camp in the woods in Boca Raton.

A homeless person sleeps under a blanket beneath the bridge at Silver Palm Park in Boca Raton.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Sallie James

    Their makeshift camp was tucked carefully out of sight, nestled amid the sea grapes, just north of the entrance to South Beach Park.
    The homeless group — five strong — had pitched three tattered tents together, but the tangle of clothes, coolers and grubby shoes drew attention.
    A park ranger warned them to leave, or else.
    “They told us if they catch us camping on the beach again, they are going to call the cops,” sighed Kara Hine, 20, who was eight weeks pregnant and has said she has camped at three different beach locations in Boca Raton. “We went back to our tent and packed up.”
    Within 20 minutes, the group had moved on. Rousted again.
    In a city where property values rank first out of 38 municipalities across Palm Beach County, Boca Raton ranks fourth in the county for the number of homeless, estimated at 69 people within its city limits, according to the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County.
    Only West Palm Beach (332), Lake Worth (142) and Riviera Beach (80) had higher estimated numbers, according to the coalition’s August census.
    Homeless numbers are rising, said the coalition’s executive director, Marilyn Munoz. Even in what some call “ritzy” Boca Raton.
    “Some people are surprised by how many individuals and families are homeless in the Boca Raton area. The last official count revealed high numbers in the southern part of Palm Beach County,” Munoz said. “That’s why we held ‘Project Homeless’ in Boca Raton in August. That day we helped more than 100 people get connected with services.”

Theresa Rouse sits with her daughter, Aaliyah, at a bus stop in Boca Raton. With them is Rodney Miera,

who, like Rouse, is homeless. Miera lost his leg after unsuccessful surgery to remove a tumor.

David Bartolino was shot during a fight in which his benefactor was killed by another man. Bartolino is back on the streets.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    Among Boca Raton’s homeless were the five camped on the beach: Hine and her boyfriend, Chris Dawson, 19, Pittsburgh transplants who headed south after their own families fell on hard times; Theresa Rouse, 29, and Gus Byam, 33, a streetwise couple who joined forces to survive; and Billy Palmieri, 32, a chronically homeless Boca Raton native with a mischievous smile and a checkered past.
    They are the not-so-invisible street people who live in the shadows of this community, where the median annual household income is $71,867, U.S. Census figures show.
    By contrast, the median income in Delray Beach is $51,833, according to the U.S. Census.

Homeless people vs. property values
    At times the two worlds clash in Boca Raton.
    During a January 2016 City Council meeting, residents of the Mizner Court condominium on the south side of Silver Palm Park accused homeless people of setting smoky fires in the park’s grills, defecating in the grass, fighting and urinating near the boat dock. The park, at 600 E. Palmetto Park Road, is open to the public 24 hours a day so boaters can access the water.
    “The park is owned by the homeless right now. I feel bad for them, but at the same time it is depreciating the value of the property,” resident Paul Cohen fumed to the council. “Some way, somehow something’s got to be done about the homeless in Boca Raton, especially in this park. So before anything really bad happens, maybe we can put up a sign that says this boating ramp is for boaters only?”
    Boca Raton police spokeswoman Sandra Boonenberg acknowledged the presence of homeless people in some city parks, but said they generally cause few real problems.
    “Silver Palm Park is unique in the fact that it is open 24/7, 365 days a year and people are more likely to see them there. They are just more visible,” Boonenberg said. “We let the facts speak. We don’t have a lot of incidents at Silver Palm Park.”

A fatal incident
    David Bartolino, 47, once a regular among Silver Palm Park’s homeless population, said condo residents have called the Boca Raton Fire Department repeatedly to report homeless people’s cooking fires.
    “We became an eyesore. The people didn’t want to see us,” he said.
    In late March, Bartolino made headlines when a Silver Palm Park fisherman who had taken him in was fatally shot.
    Thang Nguyen, 62, was gunned down outside his house in the 2800 block of Northeast Second Avenue after Bartolino got into an altercation with a man down the block. Police said Nguyen was killed when he confronted Dylan Cirillo, 24, with a gun. Bartolino was shot in the shoulder.
    Bartolino was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon because he picked up Nguyen’s gun and shot it into the air several times to attract help, police said. Cirillo told police he shot Nguyen in self-defense.
    Cirillo has been charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license and is free on $3,000 bail.
    A teary-eyed Bartolino said later that Nguyen had generously given him a home, arranged for him to work as a janitor at a relative’s nail salon, and watched over him. Since Nguyen’s death, Bartolino has been back on the street.
    “Thang was my blessing,” Bartolino said sadly. “People couldn’t stand that Thang stood up for me. He treated me like a human, not a homeless person.”
    Bartolino is now staying somewhere in Lake Worth because of fallout related to the shooting.
    James Gavrilos, who runs the nonprofit agency Boca Helping Hands, said the existence of homeless people in Boca Raton is well known. His agency provides free lunches to the working poor six times a week at its facility at 1500 NW First Court. Lately, more homeless people are showing up to eat.
    “We are not technically [an agency for the homeless]. Our goal is to help people break the cycle of dependence,” Gavrilos said. “But when the homeless come, we will feed them. There seems to be an increase in the number of homeless people who are living in our area.”
    Hine and her tent-mates are usually among Gavrilos’ lunch guests.
    On a recent night, Hine’s group gathered on park benches outside Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in the 200 block of Northeast 12th Street to socialize. The site is familiar to local homeless people because Love Boca Outreach Ministries holds Thursday night dinners at the church for those in need.

Life on the streets
    Hine said she and her boyfriend stayed in Fort Lauderdale when they first arrived in Florida, but headed north to find a safer place after she was almost attacked.
    “Everybody kept telling us about Boca Raton, that you can get fed every day at the same place,” Hine said. “I’m scared. I don’t want my baby to be homeless.”
    Rouse, the mother of three young children, said she knows firsthand that bad things can happen in the streets because she’s been on them 10 years. Her own children are being cared for by others.
    On her own since 18, Rouse turned to prostitution to survive and eventually got pregnant. Her daughter, Aaliyah, 10, has a guardian and lives in Boca Raton. Rouse sees her regularly. She has two other young children, 6 and 4, with whom she keeps in close contact.
    Rouse relies on her partner of seven years, Gus Byam, to help keep her safe. Six months ago, she learned she is HIV-positive and has struggled with the diagnosis since.
    It is Aaliyah who brings brief flashes of light back into Rouse’s grim life.
    “My daughter is in church programs and ballet,” Rouse said proudly. “She has lots of ties to the community.”
    Suddenly the 10-year-old is in her mother’s lap. She lives just down the block from Ebenezer Baptist. Aaliyah knows everyone in her mother’s homeless cluster, and goes from person to person, getting hugs and kisses. They are her extended family.
    She worries about her mother’s homelessness.
    “She lives in the woods where there are snakes and stuff. But she tells me everything is going to be OK. ‘Think happy things,’ she says. She said she found a great spot where everything is going to be OK,” Aaliyah said.
    The group pools the little money it collects from asking passers-by and detailing cars so Rouse can take Aaliyah bowling, to Boomers! or the movies.
    “My mom is my personal favorite parent,” Aaliyah said smiling, her arm again around her mother as they sat. “The best thing about my mom is that I have her.”
    Palmieri mugs wickedly at Aaliyah, trying to make her smile. Aaliyah calls him “the funniest guy I have ever met.”
    Palmieri, who said he is also HIV-positive, is a Boca Raton native who’s been in and out of jail most of his adult life. He’s been a street dweller for 10 years. Palmieri’s life fell to chaos after his mother threw herself in front of a train. His stability comes from his friends.
    He and Byam have been close since elementary school.
The childhood friends — Palmieri has a tattoo of the name “Gus” — detail cars to survive, carrying their cleaning supplies on bicycles and stashing them in their tents at night.
    When Palmieri looks at Aaliyah, he sees hope.
    “What do I want to see happen for this kid? College,” Palmieri said. “Me, Gus and [another friend, Bubba] will make sure she has the money to go to college, even if we have to panhandle.”
    Aaliyah’s mother agrees.
    “I want her to be better than what I am,” Rouse said softly.
    Anne Cann, executive director of Love Boca Outreach Ministries, provides food, clothing and showers to homeless people through her program. She worries constantly for her “guys” because she knows how hard it is to live on the street.
    “I love these guys. I wake up in the middle of the night if it’s pouring rain and say a prayer because I know the majority of my guys are soaking wet,” Cann said. “We don’t know what events have occurred in any of our homeless people’s lives as to why they are in the situation they are in. These are just individuals and everyone has a story. It’s better to be part of a community.”

By Steve Plunkett

    After a five-year hiatus, Boca Raton, Palm Beach County and the Florida Inland Navigation District are talking again about restoring Lake Wyman and its neighboring parks.
    Officials with FIND, the taxing body that maintains the Intracoastal Waterway, are “very excited that this has come back to life,” said Jennifer Bistyga, the city’s coastal program manager.
    Bistyga updated City Council members at their April 25 workshop on recent discussions she has had with the county and FIND and gave a short history of the Lake Wyman project for the three members who were not on the dais in 2011.
    She also listed several simpler alternatives that might garner more support from neighbors, such as making a walkway through the parks unpaved instead of using asphalt. The first time around, neighbors scuttled the proposal over concerns about whether it would create a mosquito nuisance, whether a paved path would cause erosion, and whether manatees drawn to the enhanced park would be maimed or killed by weekend boat traffic, Bistyga said. They also feared new amenities at the south end of the project would be too far away from the restrooms in Rutherford Park.
    The original plan called for the removal of invasive, non-native plants in the northern part of Rutherford Park; restoration of the mangrove habitat; and restoring tidal flushing by dredging one mile of the canoe system, which is “pretty much unnavigable at this point,” Bistyga said.  The proposal also would have connected paths and boardwalks to create a 1-mile walkway, built a six-slip day dock and submerged 4 acres of land to create seagrass habitat and a coastal hammock.
    At the southern end of the project this time, Bistyga said, the city could decide to follow the 2011 plan or make Lake Wyman more like the county’s Ocean Ridge Natural Area with an unpaved trail. It could also choose to do nothing, which would not enhance the park, she said. The day dock could be moved to the north end, she said, and the north end could also become a more passive project.
    County and FIND officials “are still very interested in working with the city and developing and constructing a Lake Wyman project, whether it be the original or a hybrid project,” Bistyga said.
    In 2011, the estimated cost of the restoration was just more than $3 million, with FIND contributing $2.1 million and the county and city $450,000 each. Coincidentally, Bistyga said, a “third party” has volunteered to pay for the construction of a mangrove ecosystem at the north end of the project as well as its continued maintenance. Mayor Susan Haynie said the third party is a developer from Highland Beach that needs mitigation credits for mangroves.
    As part of the deal, FIND wants permanent access to a storage site for dredged material at the northwest end of Spanish River Park.
    Council member Scott Singer asked whether a boat launch could be put in the north end of Rutherford Park. Bistyga said it would be more difficult to get the necessary permits but not impossible.
    Real estate agent Gary Youngman, who lives in Boca Towers on the barrier island facing Lake Wyman, said it’s no place for a boat launch.
    “The potential for environmental disaster by putting a dock in there is tremendous,” he said.
    Deputy Mayor Michael Mullaugh, who supported the restoration the first time, was still in favor.
    “Everything you’ve said that I’m hearing today tells me that what we really ought to do is implement the 2011 plan,” he said.
    There’s a narrow timeframe for getting a deal done. FIND would want all permits in hand by September 2017. Boca Raton needs to reapply for a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, which will take a year if there are no big changes to the original plan and more time if new options are chosen, Bistyga said.
    “We certainly hope that out of this is going to come something that we can really make happen,” said Jim Miller, president of the Friends of Gumbo Limbo, which operates canoe trips from the nature center across the lake to Rutherford Park twice a month.

By Mary Hladky

    After raising concerns that the city may have mistakenly allowed developers to skimp on providing required open space in downtown development projects, city officials now have reached this conclusion: Never mind.
    An exhaustive four-month review of projects approved since 1988 found that rather than providing too little open space, developers have delivered 26.3 percent more than required under city ordinance.
    Of 59 projects examined, the city found open space miscalculations in 11. But after recalculating, overages and shortages canceled out, and only one project failed to meet compliance.
    The outlier was Townsend Place condominium, at 500 SE Mizner Blvd., which fell short by 21 percent, or 14,826 square feet. The mistake, counting a pool area as open space even though it is above ground, was made because of confusion caused by several changes to project plans rather than using wrong standards, officials said.
    Since the purpose of the review was to prevent errors in the future, no action will be taken against the condo.
    After officials delivered their report at the April 11 Community Redevelopment Agency board meeting, city resident Norman Waxman criticized them for raising the potential problem, spending four months on a study, and then concluding the concerns were unfounded.
    “Is this the way to run a city?” he said.
    City Council member Scott Singer, speaking as CRA chairman, defended the review in light of the fact that downtown activists distrust how the city is handling development.
    “I think it was necessary to restore our public trust,” Singer said. “I regret it took as long as it did, but I thought given the climate it was essential.”
    Other council members agreed that the effort was worthwhile.
    “I think this has been a very informative exercise …,” Deputy Mayor Michael Mullaugh said. “I don’t think it has been a waste. It has given each of us … a better understanding of the policy decisions that were made.”
    “I applaud staff for going through this exercise,” said Mayor Susan Haynie, adding they had support of council members to undertake it.
    The controversy erupted in December, when city officials discovered a 2003 memo of which they were unaware. It was written by a city employee and was used to guide planning staff on what developers can and cannot count as open space in their projects.
    City Manager Leif Ahnell and City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser said the memo misinterpreted rules dating back to 1988 and were included in a 1992 ordinance that set out open space requirements. City Council members, sitting as the CRA board, directed them to find out if the memo had caused city staff to make mistakes in open space calculations.
    Downtown activists pounced on the issue, brandishing allegations of “corruption” and “conspiracy” that likely robbed residents of open space that would have made downtown projects more appealing. Al Zucaro, chairman of the watchdog organization BocaWatch, called for Ahnell’s resignation.
    The city review, however, found no problems with two parts of the memo. But the third part wrongly termed the open space provisions of the ordinance as a guideline rather than a requirement and said a developer could request a “deviation” from open space requirements even though the ordinance does not state that.
    Even so, no harm was done. The ordinance makes clear that open space is required and no developer has asked for or been allowed a deviation, according to the report.
    City officials now plan to add the first two parts of the memo into the ordinance to clarify how it should be implemented.
    When the memo was discovered, attention turned to former CRA director Jorge Camejo, who reviewed the memo before it was given to staff. Camejo, now executive director of the Hollywood CRA, has previously said the memo was distributed openly and intended to formalize how staff should adhere to open space requirements.
    Camejo was in the audience for the April 11 meeting but did not speak.  
    “The process came to the right conclusion,” he said in a telephone interview afterward.
    “Someone said it appeared someone was gaming the system,” Camejo said of suspicions that the memo was intended to help developers get around the rules. “If you are going to game the system, the last thing you would do is put something in writing.”
    While all but one downtown building met the open space requirements, recent projects criticized by activists for being too massive barely squeaked by the rules.
    The much-derided Mark at CityScape mixed-use project on Palmetto Park Road exceeds the requirements by 333 square feet, while the nearby Hyatt hotel exceed them by just 12 square feet. Palmetto Promenade, a mixed-use project also on Palmetto Park Road, exactly meets the requirements. The large Via Mizner development on Camino Real exceeds the requirements by 150 square feet.
    In comparison, Mizner Park, extolled by downtown residents for its appearance, exceeds requirements by more than 175,000 square feet.
    Downtown activists were more tempered in their criticisms of city officials than at previous meetings after staff delivered the report. Only a few stood to speak, saying that they remain concerned that new downtown buildings are not attractive and that not enough is being done to decrease traffic.
    Frequent critic John Gore, president of BocaBeautiful, offered a bit of praise.
    “I do want to congratulate you on enforcing the law,” he said.
    While the review was under way, developers could submit new project proposals to the city, but no approvals were granted.
    Now, the city is back to “business as usual,” said city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson.

By Steven J. Smith

    Boca Raton police arrested five people, handed out seven citations and issued numerous warnings during the April 24 Boca Bash at Lake Boca, said Public Information Officer Sandra Boonenberg.
    “There were two boating under the influence arrests and no reported crashes,” Boonenberg said. “The number of juvenile referrals for underage drinking are not yet available, but there were many. We called parents to pick up their kids.”
    Boonenberg said the other arrests were one for disorderly conduct, one for assault and one for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
    “Not unlike other large gatherings such as football games, concerts, etc., we had to respond to fights and disturbances,” she said. “Things like this happen, but we’re not considering shutting down the Boca Bash. Given the thousands of people in attendance, the event went very well and the public safety strategy was effectively implemented.”

By Steve Plunkett

    The long-awaited construction of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s boardwalk loop may begin by the middle of May.
    The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District awarded a contract for $581,680 to low-bidder Close Construction LLC of Okeechobee at its April 4 meeting. The contract was subject to the district’s engineering consultant approving the use of a substitute composite material for the boardwalk and subject to city approval of the contract language.
    Both conditions were met by the district’s April 18 meeting.
    “As soon as we can get all the forms and the insurance together, we’ll be ready to roll,” Arthur Koski, the district’s interim executive director, said.
    Koski said the city promised to expedite issuing a building permit. “We should be under construction shortly,” he said.
    The project covers the first phase of repairing the boardwalk, from the nature center building to the observation tower. The high bid was nearly $1.2 million. Construction is expected to take four months.
    Gumbo Limbo’s boardwalk has been closed since February 2015 when engineers warned it was near collapse.
    The city, which owns the property, asked the beach and park district, which pays the nature center’s operating and maintenance costs, for money to replace the boardwalk.
    The district decided to take a leading role, yielded to the city when it said it could handle the project as quickly as an outside consultant could, then reassumed control when the city changed its mind.
    Additional phases to cover the boardwalk portion through some mangroves and the observation tower will be put out to bid in the future.

    If you’re planning to be on Interstate 95 through Boca Raton after midnight in early May, check with the Florida Department of Transportation first.
    The department, which is building a new I-95 interchange, planned to close northbound lanes from May 8 to 12 from midnight to 5 a.m. while it demolishes the Spanish River Boulevard bridge. Traffic will be detoured at Palmetto Park Road, then north to Yamato Road via Military Trail, the FDOT said. The schedule may change due to inclement weather or other unexpected conditions, it said.
    Southbound I-95 traffic was scheduled for similar detours the first week of May.
    Motorists can visit www.d4fdot.com or call the FDOT at 954-777-4090 or 561-214-3358 for more information.

By Sallie James

    Height is hot. At least talking about it is in Boca Raton.
    That’s why council members plan to discuss later this month an ordinance that would limit building heights in areas zoned local business and multifamily residential.
    Council members scrapped plans to review the height-related ordinance on April 26 and voted to continue the matter until May 24 because so few residents were in attendance.
    The proposed ordinance would limit building heights in the B-1 business-zoning district to 30 feet and accessory buildings in the R-2 multifamily zoning district to 25 feet.
    Both zoning categories currently allow building heights up to 50 feet with City Council approval.
    The issue rose to new heights in May 2015 when City Council members approved Chabad of East Boca’s plans to build an 18,000-square-foot synagogue and high-tech Israel museum at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road in a B-1 zoning district.
    The city gave Chabad permission to exceed the permitted 30-foot height limit by about 10 feet, touching off a furor among local home and business owners.
    Opponents of the project protested loudly, claiming the increased height would be intrusive.
    Many homeowners said the city’s approval of the project’s increased height would set a precedent for even taller developments, which could ruin the ambiance of the area.
    Two residents also sued the city in federal court, claiming their rights to equal protection and due process were violated when the city created a special zoning classification that paved the way for the controversial synagogue.
    A trial date was recently set for April 17, 2017, in the case.
    Deputy Mayor Mike Mullaugh said the city wants to proceed sensibly, so waiting until more residents were in attendance seemed logical.
    “The basic idea was: Let’s just figure out how we can make as formal rules as we can about height so we don’t get into so much of this controversy,” Mullaugh said. “Everyone who is planning [to build] will know exactly what the rules are and what height they are allowed to build to.”
    On the other hand, he acknowledged, such height restrictions could be limiting.
    “You take away the flexibility if something different were to come along,” Mullaugh said. “Because of that, we obviously need a lot of public comment.”
    City Council member Scott Singer said the proposed ordinance wasn’t the result of neighbors’ concerns but rather an acknowledgement by the council that existing height standards might not be appropriate.

By Sallie James

    If someone was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Boca Raton City Council, that person could serve up to two years without voter approval.
    It’s a dynamic that council member Scott Singer thinks is just too long.
    Singer has proposed a charter amendment that would require council vacancies to be filled by special election. Singer introduced the proposed charter change at the April 26 council meeting, saying the amendment would put control back into voters’ hands.
    “When the city switched to the three-year term and election cycle, it left open the possibility that voters would have an appointed member who served nearly two-thirds of the term before an election,” Singer said. A deputy mayor who fills a mayoral vacancy could also serve nearly two years, he noted.
    “Shouldn’t residents have the greatest say?” Singer said.
    The measure would come before voters on the Aug. 30 ballot if council members approve the amendment.
    According to the proposed change, a special election to fill a council vacancy would be held no more than 60 days after the day the vacancy occurred, or as soon as possible. But if the vacancy occurred within 150 days of a previously scheduled federal, state, countywide or regular city election, the special election could be held concurrently with the previously scheduled election.
    The charter change does allow for a temporary council appointment to serve until the office is filled by election.
    The same parameters would apply for mayoral vacancies.
    “Giving residents the right to choose their elected officials, rather than by appointment, is much more representative of democracy,” Singer said. “While this issue comes up rarely, when it does, I think people should have their say.”

By Steve Plunkett
    
    Boca Raton’s deputy fire chief has moved two towns north to take the reins as chief of Boynton Beach’s Fire Rescue Department.
    “I know about the passion of the firefighters that work here (and) bring to the job every day, the passion about the city, the commitment,” new Chief Glenn Joseph said. “I want to be a part of that passion.”
    Joseph, who took command May 2, worked for the city of Boca Raton for 29 years, the past nine as deputy fire chief. “He must have started when he was 10,” City Manager Lori LaVerriere joked as she introduced Joseph to the city commission April 5.
    Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes both contract with Boynton Beach for fire services.
    LaVerriere said she, the city’s HR chief and Ray Carter, the now-retired fire chief Joseph replaces, interviewed nine or 10 people for the job. “He rose to the top of a very competitive candidate pool,” she said.
    Joseph, who lives in Delray Beach, also is an instructor at the National Fire Academy in Maryland and develops and coordinates class courses for Jupiter-based Advanced Technical and Educational Consultants Inc., which trains federal, state and local emergency services providers.
    The new chief has a wide range of experience, including coordinating and managing emergency and administrative functions, the city said. Prior to his position as Boca Raton’s deputy fire chief, Joseph served as its acting division chief of safety and training, captain of the training and safety division, EMS captain, station captain, paramedic, fire safety inspector and hazardous materials technician.
    Joseph has a bachelor’s in organizational management at Palm Beach Atlantic University and a master’s in emergency planning and administration at Lynn University. He holds eight state licenses: paramedic, firefighter, safety inspector, fire-fighting instructor, fire officer 1, fire instructor III, hazardous materials technician and fire investigator 1.
    In addition, he is licensed as a registered professional nurse; he worked at Delray Medical Center from 1996 to 2004.
    “I am confident that working together we can continue the city of Boynton Beach’s long-standing tradition of excellence and grow the department well into the future,” Joseph said in a statement.
    Carter resigned Jan. 31 after 11½ years with Boynton Beach and 32 years as a firefighter and fire chief in West Palm Beach. The Boynton Beach fire union presented him with a hunting rifle at a retirement party in February.
    Deputy Chief Greg Hoggatt served as interim fire chief until Joseph took over.

By Steve Plunkett
    
    Boca Raton officials are reviewing plans for a second, four-story residence on the ocean east of A1A.
    Vero Beach-based civil engineers Schulke, Bittle & Stoddard LLC designed a 14,270-square-foot duplex for the 0.42-acre parcel at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd.
    The city’s Planning Advisory Review was notified of the oceanfront development proposal at its April 5 meeting. The Planning Advisory Review consists of representatives from city departments and noncity agencies who meet regularly to discuss proposals for development.
    The plans for 2600 N. Ocean were sent to the city just as the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District was deciding not to pursue buying undeveloped parcels on the beach. It had developed a list of possible purchases, with 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. seeming to be the most available, after being asked to do so by Mayor Susan Haynie.
    Her request followed a public outcry after the City Council approved variances for a 10,432-square-foot mega-mansion at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. Residents said the four-story structure would change the face of the beach, disorient sea turtles and set an unwelcome precedent for development.
    “If sellers know that you are in the market for property and this is your goal, trying to acquire property for market value is going to be extremely difficult. You’re going to be paying somewhat of a very unknown premium,” Arthur Koski, the district’s interim executive director, said at the district’s April 4 meeting.
    “I have little interest in using tax dollars to buy noncontiguous pieces,” Commissioner Dennis Frisch said. “Public property that people can’t access and use in my opinion would be a waste of the funds that we have.”
    Details of the larger structure proposed for 2600 N. Ocean have not been discussed in public. The parcel is owned by Grand Bank National Association. The submission is considered “preliminary” and was done to obtain general comments about whether the proposal meets the city’s development requirements or can be supported by city staff.
    Janet Graham, part-owner along with other residents of Northeast 24th Street of a beach access corridor east of A1A, told the beach and park district in February that she is not interested in selling her portion for public use.
    Al Petruzzelli, her uncle, who owns a duplex next to the pathway and just north of the district’s Ocean Strand parcel, also is not willing to sell, Graham said.

By Steve Plunkett
    
    Arthur Koski’s job at the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District seems secure if district commissioners, his bosses, have any say.
    Or perhaps, because they have very little to say.
    Only one has responded to City Council member Robert Weinroth’s demand that they hire a full-time executive director instead of Koski, who also has a private law practice downtown.
    “I would like to go on the record,” Commissioner Susan Vogelgesang said at the April 4 meeting. “Mr. Koski, I owe you an apology for not speaking up at our last meeting when someone thought you should be ousted as the interim executive director. I think you do a fine job.”
    It wasn’t the first time the city has angled for Koski’s being replaced. City officials last year inserted a clause in a proposed agreement requiring the district to have a full-time executive director.
    Vogelgesang also said she thinks Koski, as a lawyer, would recuse himself from a legal case if there ever was a conflict.
    “I appreciate the work that you do,” she said.
    Weinroth, at the time Boca Raton’s deputy mayor, complained at the district’s March 14 meeting that Koski is representing two residents in a lawsuit against the city challenging its approval of the development of the Chabad of East Boca Raton on the barrier island portion of Palmetto Park Road.
    Koski has said he sees no conflict.

By Mary Hladky

    Hoping to mollify residents who oppose their plans for a 384-unit luxury condominium, the developer and architect of the proposed $500 million Mizner 200 have redrawn their plans once again.
    Unveiling them to residents attending a May 3 meeting of the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations, architect Peter Stromberg, of Garcia Stromberg/GS4Studios in West Palm Beach, said he and developer Elad National Properties have listened to residents’ concerns and made substantial adjustments to the project. It would replace the Mizner on the Green rental townhomes — which will be demolished — on Southeast Mizner Boulevard.
    The square footage has been reduced by 10 percent and, in turn, the size of the units decreased to an average of 2,000 square feet, setbacks have been increased by 30 to 60 feet, and more green space has been added.
    In response to residents’ main complaint that, at more than 900 feet in length, the nine-story building is too massive, Stromberg said it has, in effect, been divided into three sections connected only on the first and second floors. A portion adjacent to the neighboring Townsend Place condo has been redesigned so that condo’s ocean views are not impeded.
    Traffic generated by the development would not be significantly more than that created by residents of the 246-unit, Mizner on the Green, he said.
    “[Mizner 200] is a great project for Boca Raton,” Stromberg said.
    The revisions follow an outcry from BocaWatch and BocaBeautiful, two organizations that have said Mizner 200 is not compatible with the city’s signature Addison Mizner architecture.
    Several residents who spoke at the meeting heralded the changes.
    “I must admit what I have seen here is impressive,” said James Hendrey. “They have made significant changes.”
    But those who live near the proposed Mizner 200 are not yet won over.
    One Townsend Place resident said her property value would decrease if the project is built because the building will block the sun and her ocean views.
    “We implore you to rethink the south side of your design,” Eileen Sweeney said.  “We won’t be able to see anything from our property.”
    Financial and economic consultant Ann Witte, a Townsend Place resident and vice president of BocaBeautiful, said after the meeting that Mizner 200 would be detrimental to most of her condo’s 195 units and seriously so to about 50.
    She also has concerns that, given the high cost of the project, the units will be priced too high to attract buyers.
    “Developers and commercial real estate brokers have concerns about the economic viability of the project and if Elad will be putting money into the project,” she said. “If it’s not economically viable, what are their intentions?”
    Bonnie Miskel, a Boca Raton attorney who represents Elad, said the cost is not as high as some residents have calculated, and that for Elad to get a construction loan, banks will require it to put up 20-25 percent equity.
    Elad officials “are talking to banks now,” Miskel said. “They wouldn’t even be talking if [Elad] didn’t have the financial wherewithal.”
    The latest proposal marks the fourth time Elad has floated plans for the nearly 9-acre site. When first proposed, it included four towers designed by prominent “starchitect” Daniel Libeskind that rose as high as 30 stories and greatly exceeded the city’s height limits for that part of downtown.
    When that proposal stirred outrage and proved to be a non-starter, Elad returned with the proposed Sol-A-Mar, but four of its seven buildings exceeded height limits.
    In January, Elad submitted plans for Mizner 200 — this time right in line with what the city allows.
    Plans for the latest iteration of Mizner 200 have not yet been submitted to the city. Additional changes may be made before that happens.

Jellybean, a Lhasa apso-shih tzu mix, was kicked

into the Intracoastal after having speaker wire

wrapped around its neck and a hind leg.

Photo provided

By Sallie James

    A dog bound with speaker wire and then kicked into the Intracoastal Waterway has been returned to its original owner: the son of the woman who is accused of leaving the animal to drown.
    Jellybean, as police named the dog, was returned to Richard Ostrovski on April 22, 11 days after his mother, Eva Klein, was accused of kicking the bound animal into the water off a boat ramp at Silver Palm Park.
    Bystanders rescued the struggling dog, a Lhasa apso-shih tzu mix.
    Klein, 60, is charged with felony cruelty to animals and was issued a “no contact” order to stay away from the dog. Bystanders told police the dog had speaker wire wrapped tightly around its neck and also tied to one of its back legs when they pulled it out of the water.
    David Walesky, operations manager for Palm Beach Animal Care and Control, said the dog was returned to Ostrovski under a settlement agreement that bars Klein from ever being near the dog.
    “The woman has a no-contact order. She is not allowed around the dog,” Walesky said. “The legal owner is the son, and there was no legal reason why we could justify not giving it back to him.”
    Klein’s attorney, Craig Blinderman, said Ostrovski gave the dog to his mother a few years ago because he lived in an apartment and couldn’t keep the animal there. But Ostrovski now lives in a house and was able to take back the dog, Blinderman said.
    Blinderman declined to discuss further details of the case, but said Klein does not admit to any wrongdoing.
    According to a police report, Klein had the dog with her about 9:30 p.m. on April 11 at the Silver Palm Park boat ramp, at 600 E. Palmetto Park Road, when she wrapped black speaker wire several times around the dog’s neck, tied the wire to one of its back legs and then kicked it into the water.
    Klein, who called the dog “Chappy,” told fisherman Greg Bunch, 53, that her dog liked to swim from one side of the Intracoastal Waterway to the other. Bunch questioned Klein about the perils of rough water and predators such as sharks, but walked off when she changed the subject to dancing, according to the report.
    A short time later, Bunch told police he saw Klein leave the park without the dog. Then he heard a whimper.
    “Bunch observed Klein’s dog in the water near the north corner of the dock that is connected to the drawbridge,” the police report states.
    Bunch summoned two others, who used a boat to help pluck the struggling animal from the rough water. Bunch used his fishing knife to cut the speaker wire from around the dog’s neck and rear leg, according to the police report.
    “It should be noted that Klein’s method of tightly wrapping a wire around the dog’s neck, tying it to one back leg, and then pushing it into the Intracoastal is a premeditated action that will surely cause the death of the animal if it had not been rescued,” an officer wrote in the report. “When the dog swam, the wire would tighten around the neck, eventually causing the dog to strangle himself due to the lack of oxygen . . . in a short period of time the dog would have drowned.

By Ron Hayes

    City Manager Don Cooper has named Neal de Jesus, a veteran fire chief of two South Florida departments, to replace Chief Danielle Connor, who retires May 31 after a 23-year career with Delray Beach.
    De Jesus, 54, retired from Coral Gables Fire-Rescue in 2002 after a 20-year career with that city. In 2010, he resigned after two years as a city commissioner of Cooper City to join the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue and Emergency Services, which he left in 2013 after the election of Sheriff Scott Israel.
    In announcing de Jesus’ selection, Cooper said he would begin work in early May to provide a smooth transition by working with Connor.
    “I am excited for the opportunity to serve alongside Fire Chief Connor during the transition as I begin to lead the men and women of this great organization,” de Jesus said in a statement.
     “I am confident that by committing to working collaboratively with the community, all fire rescue personnel, the union leadership and city staff, we will build a team that delivers an extremely high level of service that sets the standard for best practice and which is second to none.”
    Connor introduced de Jesus at the April 12 Delray Beach City Commission meeting.
    Mayor Cary Glickstein thanked Connor for her professionalism and dignified manner in running the department, particularly in the past few years when two consolidations with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue were considered.

Jane Smith contributed to this story.