boynton coalition for responsible development - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T18:29:56Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/boynton+coalition+for+responsible+developmentBoynton Beach: Commissioners’ OK of taller buildings upsets nearby residentshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-commissioners-ok-of-taller-buildings-upsets-nearby-2016-11-02T16:54:53.000Z2016-11-02T16:54:53.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> Six city residents made last-minute pleas to change city commissioners’ minds before the final vote was cast on consolidated plans for the eastern half of Boynton Beach.<br /> The residents said they were disappointed, betrayed and disgusted by the commissioners’ not listening to them. One said her head was going to explode over the increased height allowed on Ocean Avenue, which historically has been a mostly residential street. <br /> “It’s a disappointment to the hundreds of citizens who want responsible development,” said Tom McClure, president of the Boynton Coalition for Responsible Development.<br /> The group said it represents 2,500 residents in Southeast Boynton Beach, primarily along the Intracoastal Waterway. Its members wanted the height limit at Woolbright Road and Federal Highway to remain at 75 feet, he told the City Commission in early October. <br /> The new plans will determine the look of the city’s eastern half, about 1,650 acres that make up the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency district. <br /> Some parts of the 20-year plans are not controversial. They include complete streets with bike lanes, shade trees, enhanced lighting and widened sidewalks. <br /> The troublesome areas, residents say, are the taller buildings along Federal Highway and Ocean Avenue.<br /> Despite the emotional pleas, the plans passed by a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Christina Romelus said she could not support the changes because her constituents opposed them. <br /> “We’re happy with Romelus,” McClure said. “She is listening to the citizens.”<br /> Just before the final vote on the overall changes, Mayor Steven Grant passed the gavel so that he could make a motion to keep the height at the Woolbright and Federal intersection at 75 feet. He and Romelus were in favor of it but lost because the other three commissioners were not.<br /> At the southeast corner of the intersection, the owner of Riverwalk Plaza wants to replace the aging shopping center with a 10-story or 100-foot-high apartment complex. Isram Realty submitted its plans Nov. 25, 2015, about three weeks after the CRA consolidated plans were unveiled. Riverwalk Plaza plans will be reviewed separately.<br /> Isram and its owners donated money to the previous mayor’s re-election campaign. But Jerry Taylor didn’t survive a March runoff when the same residents organized against him and supported his opponent, Grant. <br /> James “Buck” Buchanan reminded commissioners that last fall Taylor and two commissioners kicked Buchanan and another citizen representative off the CRA board. The commissioners didn’t like how the two citizen representatives voted in support of the now-departed executive director. <br /> “Tonight you have another situation with spreading the height around the city. Look at your voting record and at how many times you have found yourself voting against the will of the people,” Buchanan said. “Then after your next election, you might want to call Jerry Taylor and ask him to save you a seat out there.”<br /> Commissioner Joe Casello took offense by what he called “hidden messages. If we vote against the will of the people, we may be voted out of office. That may be so. But every vote I’ve taken up here is for the betterment of Boynton Beach.” <br /> Casello then said he would support property owner Arthur D’Almeida’s request for extra density and reduced setbacks. D’Almeida wants to build a mixed-use project on the west side of the FEC railroad tracks on nearly 3 acres between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, according to his land planner, Bradley Miller. <br /> He said the Ocean Avenue overlays allow his client to construct a building that is 85 feet tall, about eight stories, at the highest point.<br /> Miller said the setbacks required along Boynton Beach Boulevard would create wasted space. His client wants to provide 10-foot setbacks at 45 feet and 20-foot setbacks at 85 feet, totaling 30 feet.<br /> Boynton Beach Development Director Andrew Mack said the 30-foot setbacks were included to make the projects more presentable from the street.<br /> “The setbacks would avoid the tunnel effect when driving down the street,” said Assistant City Manager Colin Groff.<br /> But the commission sided with the property owner and unanimously approved Miller’s requests.<br /> In other business, commissioners selected a new vendor to operate the snack bar at Oceanfront Park. The selection won’t result in the most money to the city. The operator who runs the snack bar at the city’s golf course was picked as “the most responsive, responsible proposer.”<br /> Ultimate Bakery and Pastry Inc., of South Palm Beach, took over Nov. 1 for a two-year lease, paying rent of $6,600 or 6.5 percent of gross sales the first year and $7,200 or 7 percent of gross sales the second year. <br /> Current operator Culinary Solutions had offered to pay $12,000 annually in rent for the first two years.</p></div>Boynton Beach: Riverwalk plans hitting some snagshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-riverwalk-plans-hitting-some-snags2016-03-02T20:43:04.000Z2016-03-02T20:43:04.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:left;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960628899,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960628899,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="413" alt="7960628899?profile=original" /></a><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /> <br /> The owner of Riverwalk Plaza expected a quick approval of its redevelopment application in Boynton Beach, but it’s slogging through the process. <br /> City staff compiled 132 comments to Isram Realty’s December application. At the behest of Mayor Jerry Taylor, the two sides met on Feb. 11. Taylor did not see his early intervention before the city staff report was complete as unusual. “I didn’t do anything special,” he said.<br /> The Isram representatives told city staff, “We thought you liked our plan.”<br /> “They were under the opinion that the design and extra height was supported by staff,” said Michael Rumpf, the city’s planning and zoning director, after the first meeting. “But we said the city has design requirements.” <br /> A second, technical meeting was held in mid-February on the details for the mixed-use development. The former Winn-Dixie shopping center at the southeast corner of Federal Highway and Woolbright Road is slated to house a 10-story, U-shaped apartment building with 326 units.<br /> It also will contain 41,970 square feet of retail space, the 7,889-square-foot Prime Catch restaurant and the 2,988-square-foot Wendy’s with a drive-thru lane. The Wells Fargo bank branch will remain, along with a Walgreen’s drug store and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store in a separate building. <br /> Walgreen’s has 42 years left on its lease if the drugstore chain exercises all of its options, said Steven Wherry, Isram’s land-use attorney. <br /> The plaza also contains the Bond and Smolders coffee shop/bakery, Josie’s Ristorante & Pizzeria, Sushi Simon and Rice Fine Thai & Asian Fusion that Isram will either relocate within the new project or buy out their leases. <br /> The 9.8-acre complex sits in a zoning district that allows building heights of seven stories, but Isram wants to build 10. The Planning Department would consider some extra height if the developer put in what Boynton Beach planners are calling “view corridors.”<br /> But Isram objects to redesigning the whole project, because of the cost involved, Wherry said. “We need to build higher to allow upper floors to get an ocean view,” he said.<br /> Wherry also said the tall building would not block anyone’s views or create shadows on nearby properties. As to the precedent it would set for others who want to construct tall buildings along the Intracoastal, he said residents can vote out the commissioners who approve those plans.<br /> Isram will submit an addition that calls for a 4,500-square-foot retail building just north of Walgreen’s on Federal to address the staff’s concerns about limited retail along Federal, Wherry said. <br /> The developer also will create a public linear park along the Intracoastal Waterway, Wherry said. Art festivals and other similar activities could be held there, he said.<br /> The Florida Coalition for Preservation, a grass-roots group that promotes responsible development, held two meetings in late February for members of its newly created Boynton Coalition for Responsible Development. The Boynton Coalition represents 3,500 Intracoastal residents. The meetings focused on the Riverwalk Plaza redevelopment. <br /> Wherry and Mati Rikman, Isram president, saw the flyers about one meeting at the Crown Colony Clubhouse and decided to attend, Wherry said. They tried to stay in the background, but Kristine de Haseth, executive director of the Florida Coalition, noticed them.<br /> When asked why 10 stories, Wherry said, “The city is asking for it. They want a high-density building filled with people who will use mass transit.”<br /> The other choice, Rikman said, would be to have a Whole Foods or other grocery store as a tenant there, which the Boynton Coalition members liked, according to de Haseth.<br /> Isram Realty will keep tweaking its plan for the 10-story apartment building with the hopes of going to the city’s Planning and Zoning Board in May and then onto the City Commission in June.<br /> If its current plan is not approved, Wherry said, Isram has a backup measure: Company founder and Mati’s father, Shaul Rikman, said he would freshen up the grocery store to find a new tenant, restripe the parking lot and let his grandchildren worry about it.</p></div>Boynton Beach: New coalition offers input as Riverwalk developer works with cityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-new-coalition-offers-input-as-riverwalk-developer-w2016-02-04T16:33:38.000Z2016-02-04T16:33:38.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /> <br /> A new coalition of 3,500 Intracoastal residents will monitor the Riverwalk Plaza development in Boynton Beach.<br /> The Boynton Coalition for Responsible Development was created by the Florida Coalition for Preservation, a grass-roots group that promotes responsible development.<br /> “The Riverwalk site has certain field conditions, such as the nearby fire station and a bridge opening on demand, that make traffic a big concern,” said Kristine de Haseth, executive director of the Florida Coalition.<br /> Traffic was one of the major issues that Boynton Beach planners planned to discuss at a Feb. 3 meeting. <br /> “Everything can be addressed,” said Shaul Rikman, founder and president of Isram Realty, Riverwalk’s owner. “Everyone wants to see the new project. I’m hopeful.”</p>
<p> Isram’s plans, filed in December, call for a 10-story, U-shaped apartment building with 326 units along the Intracoastal Waterway. This allows Isram to make the best use of the waterfront views.<br /> The site of the Riverwalk Plaza complex is at an aging shopping center previously anchored by a Winn-Dixie store until early 2015, when the grocery left as part of a company plan to close some stores. <br /> The complex, which sits along Woolbright Road, will contain 41,970 square feet of retail space, the 7,889-square-foot Prime Catch restaurant and the 2,988-square-foot Wendy’s with a drive-through lane. The Wells Fargo bank branch will remain, along with a Walgreen’s drugstore and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store in a separate building. <br /> Federal Highway makes up the western boundary.<br /> The plans were sent to various city departments, including engineering and planning, along with the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency. That resulted in 132 comments, with the major ones focused on traffic, height, parking and sidewalks.<br /> The 9.8-acre complex sits in a zoning district that allows building heights of seven stories, but Isram wants to build 10. The Planning Department would consider some extra height if the developer put in what Boynton Beach planners are calling “view corridors.”<br /> The urban design elements aren’t defined currently but will be in the new master plan, said Michael Rumpf, planning and zoning director. Basically the corridors are open spaces between buildings, he said, that allow passers-by on Federal Highway to see the Intracoastal.<br /> Staff also recommends extending the apartment building over the proposed parking area to the west and possibly connecting to the existing commercial structure. Right now, the commercial building is separate from the residential one. <br /> The engineering staff had concerns about the entrances and exits from the project onto Federal and Woolbright. If traffic is traveling at 35 to 40 mph when someone suddenly slows to 25 mph, that can create a rear-end collision if there isn’t a deceleration lane, Rumpf said. Staff recommended changing the entrance on Woolbright to right-out only.<br /> Plans also call for the Intracoastal Promenade, a linear public park, to sit along the Intracoastal. But the north and south entrances are not wide enough to encourage pedestrian use, according to CRA staff. Public art should be placed at the entrances to identify them, the CRA said. <br /> The agency also wants to see more retail uses along the first floor that abuts the promenade.<br /> De Haseth likes the thoroughness of Boynton Beach’s review and plans to meet again with city planning staff to share input from the new coalition.</p>
<p> The Boynton Intracoastal Group that represents 2,400 residents on the east side of the Intracoastal is part of the new coalition, said Tom McClure, group president. <br /> “We all have the same concerns — height and traffic,” he said. “We want it to be built, but responsibly.”<br /> McClure likes being involved in the initial design stage. <br /> “There are no good surprises. If we are involved from the get-go,” he said, “I’m optimistic that we can come together with the coalition, the CRA and the developer.”</p></div>