By Steve Plunkett
A landlord’s request to let businesses stay an additional three years at the south end of town has some commissioners asking whether Ocean Ridge still needs its ban on commercial properties.
“Different commissions, different times — is everybody still in agreement that we don’t want commercial property there?” Commissioner Ed Brookes said.
“Do we need more townhouses?” asked Vice Mayor Lynn Allison.
Orlando and Liliane Sivitilli own 5011 N. Ocean Blvd., which houses The Coastal Star, Commissioner Gail Adams Aaskov’s real estate office, three other business spaces and four apartments.
In 2000 they sued to block the town from enforcing its ban, Town Attorney Ken Spillias said. Three years later Ocean Ridge and the Sivitillis settled the suit by agreeing that the couple would convert their building to townhomes by June 2013, he said.
But, the Sivitillis said in a letter asking the town for additional time, “now is no time to be planning such a residential real estate redevelopment.”
Resident Mark Hanna, who sits on the town’s Board of Adjustment, urged commissioners to grant an extension, noting the fluctuating property values of the past decade.
“They were kind of caught in the middle between Briny Breezes [failed buyout] and the real estate collapse,” Hanna said.
A longtime tenant of 5011, Aaskov recused herself from the discussion. Brookes and Allison voted to give the Sivitillis until 2016 to phase out the businesses, but Commissioner Zoanne Hennigan and Mayor Geoff Pugh wanted more information.
Following the tie vote, commissioners agreed to defer the request to the June 4 meeting.
Other businesses at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd. are Colby’s Barbershop and Transition-Area Triathlon shop.
“Our property, because it’s a mixed-use, has always been local business — like, at the moment, the newspaper and the barbershop. It really is for the local residents. It doesn’t bring people from far away,” said Lisa Sivitilli, the property owners’ daughter.
A 1969 ordinance established the ban on commercial properties but granted businesses a 40-year amortization period, Spillias said. A number of motels converted to multi-family residences, he said.
Busch’s Seafood Restaurant, which attracted diners from as far as Miami, challenged the ordinance in court but ultimately left town.
The Sun Dek Resort also went to court and continues to operate, Spillias said.
A bank, real estate office and gas station operate in unincorporated county enclaves across Ocean Boulevard from the 5011 property. Ú
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