Plans for the revitalized shopping center would alter the entrance to the adjacent Tropic Isles neighborhood.
Rendering provided
By Jane Smith
A city board denied the site plan for Delray Place South in a chaotic late October meeting. Board members voted twice on the shopping center’s site plan. It was denied both times by a 3-2 vote. The votes took place about 11 p.m.
Delray Place South sits in the southeastern end of Delray Beach. It’s a 30-year-old center on the east side of Federal Highway just south of Linton Boulevard between Eve Street and Tropic Boulevard.
The site plan features a crosscut connection from Delray Place, home to Trader Joe’s, across Eve Street, into the 22,089-square-foot Delray Place South. The Planning Department recommended speed bumps be installed on the two-way, main driveway of Delray Place South.
The crosscut provides “better circulation of the overall area,” said the plazas’ owner, Joe Carosella.
The site plan also called for a five-lane gateway on Tropic Boulevard. It would be achieved by reducing the 20-foot median to 14 feet and creating three exit lanes going west onto Federal Highway. Two westbound lanes would be designated left-turn only. The eastbound lanes also would be widened by 2 feet. The right one would go directly to Tropic Isles, prompting resident Renee Radabaugh to ask: “Does anyone want an express lane to their homes?”
Site Plan Appearance and Review Board member Jim Chard, who voted against the site plan, said, “With this vote, we are changing the entrance to this community forever. It has narrow little lanes creating a village feeling with the shade trees.”
After the first vote denied the site plan, Carosella came up to the speaker’s podium and asked board member Alice Finst whether she understood the site plan. His firm had provided the crosscut connection that she wanted.
That approach offended acting City Attorney Janice Rustin, who reminded him to step away from the mic. Carosella already had spoken multiple times and coming up again was not allowed. His project was discussed at a quasi-judicial hearing with required procedures.
Rustin asked Finst whether she was clear on the site plan and wanted a revote. Finst then made a motion to reconsider the site plan vote. Chard was the lone dissenter. The site plan revote also turned out 3-2, with Chard, Finst and Vlad Dumitrescu voting no. Dumitrescu said he normally supports connections between properties, but in this case he thought the owner could do more. Finst, reached after the meeting, said, “My main objection was changing the traffic patterns for people who have lived in Tropic Isles for decades.”
Board Chairman Roger Cope voted for the site plan after he received a promise from Carosella to move the Dunkin’ Donuts northwestern tower 2 feet to the east. That move would improve safety for diners at the eatery’s sidewalk cafe and create more sidewalk space for pedestrians. Carosella was seeking a waiver from the 20-foot requirement to have the sidewalk width be just 7 ½ feet.
Shannon Dawson, a board member who also supported the site plan, said revitalizing the development was “a good thing.” She also commented that part of the problem was that the two shopping centers were not connected.
Board member Frederick Kaub had to step down because he works for an engineering firm that did work for Delray Place and was hoping to get work from Delray Place South. The two shopping centers are owned by the same firm, Retail Property Group of Boca Raton. The seventh board member, Linda Purdo-Enochs, was absent.
The meeting’s length was partly caused by the Tropic Isles Civic Association’s being granted an opportunity to present its side. Its attorney, Edwin Stacker, received the same amount of extended time — 15 minutes — that was requested by the project’s owner. The city Planning Department also was given the extended time.
“We have no objection to the renovation of Tropic Square [now known as Delray Place South],” Stacker said. “But don’t make Tropic Isles residents pay for the traffic problems of the developer.”
Twenty-six people spoke during public comment. Most objected to the site plan because of the traffic problems it would create at the entrance to their community.
Christina Morrison, a real estate broker and Tropic Isles resident, said the community had a history of mistrust with the developer over Delray Place. She wanted to see all the exit lanes on the developer’s property.
Despite the four meetings the property owner said he had with the Tropic Isles community, Valorie Loomer said she heard about the renovation from her hairdresser. She is in favor of redevelopment but not at the expense of the Tropic Isles entranceway.
She brought her 9-year-old son, Dylan, to the meeting. “When my mom showed me the plans, I didn’t think it was a good idea,” he said. “When Delray Place opened, it was unsafe for me to scooter and ride my bike around the neighborhood.”
The Loomers left at 9 p.m., already past Dylan’s bedtime, his mom said.
Carosella has 10 working days to appeal the board’s denial to the City Commission. As of press time, the appeal was not submitted.
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