By John Pacenti
When it comes to new construction on the barrier islands, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is requiring new houses to be elevated in response to climate change.
That means Delray Beach’s 6-foot height restriction on walls isn’t cutting it for the owners of some new coastal homes.
Jordan and Megan Dorfman, who are building a two-story home at 319 Andrews Ave., came before the City Commission on Dec. 17 seeking a waiver to build a 10-foot wall to accommodate their newly graded property.
“So, this is a kind of a unique situation that’s been happening over on the barrier island,” said Gary Eliopoulos, the architect of the home. “When you start talking about a 10-foot-high wall, it’s kind of extreme, but I think it goes back to site-specific and it goes back to the criteria people are having to deal with.”
While the commission approved the waiver, Mayor Tom Carney and Vice Mayor Juli Casale suggested that the city look into implementing a “zoning-in-progress” approach as an interim measure that would address the new reality of elevated homes on the barrier island.
Carney said he worried about the drainage issue for surrounding properties but acknowledged the city doesn’t have a rule for elevated homes.
“This is my old neighborhood,” he said. “The concept of a 10-foot wall — I don’t want to look like Palm Beach.”
City Attorney Lynn Gelin indicated she would research the zoning-in-progress option and come back to the commission on how it could be applied.
Commissioner Rob Long said he tends to side with property rights and the city needs to encourage forward-looking construction like the Dorfmans’ future home.
“This is a very nebulous issue that we’ve been dealing with for a while, and we’re not going to figure it out tonight, and I don’t want to conflate what we’re allowing here with the ordinance or whatever that we’re going to end up passing,” Long said.
Development Services Director Anthea Gianniotes told the commission there needs to be a larger public discussion.
“How much fill is too much fill?” she said. “Or do we just understand we’re going to have to live with incompatibilities between properties for a while?”
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