business district - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T08:27:26Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/business+districtBoca Raton: City limits new buildings’ height in business zonehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-limits-new-buildings-height-in-business-zone2017-03-01T15:57:24.000Z2017-03-01T15:57:24.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> The hot-button issue of building height and how it affects residents who live on the barrier island near East Palmetto Park Road is cooling off. <br /> City Council members at their meeting Feb. 28 approved an amendment that establishes a 30-foot height limit on future construction in the area’s business district east of the Intracoastal Waterway and adjacent to East Palmetto Park Road. The amendment was crafted to quell residents’ fears that towering new buildings would mar the area’s unique ambiance. <br /> Specifically, the 30-foot height limit would apply to all structures east of the Intracoastal Waterway. Buildings west of the Intracoastal could rise to a maximum height of 50 feet if city officials determine the additional height is “not injurious” to surrounding property.<br /> The amendment was approved about three months after plans for the Chabad of East Boca to build a sprawling orthodox synagogue and museum in the area were halted in the wake of a series of court rulings. Height was a hotly contested aspect of the proposed worship center and museum. <br /> The synagogue/museum project came to a grinding halt after the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach declined to hear an appeal to allow the proposed 18,000-square-foot project, at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road. Chabad of East Boca had filed the appeal after a lower court in June ruled the city erred in allowing the project because zoning in the area did not permit a museum.<br /> Residents on the barrier island protested the synagogue and museum because of the project’s size, parking concerns, and proposed height, nearly 41 feet.<br /> The newly approved height limits along East Palmetto Park Road were established to eliminate similar conflicts in the future.<br />“This is sort of a very resident-friendly amendment to the ordinance,” said Glenn Gromann, a member of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, which also reviewed and recommended the height amendment.<br /> Resident Kevin Meaney was thrilled with the city’s action.<br /> “I live on the barrier island and my main concern is the barrier island and the homes adjacent to the B-1 [zoning]. I would like to support this being passed to protect those residents on either side of the road,” Meaney said. <br /> “We’ve come a long way,” he said at the Feb. 28 meeting.</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Owners get still more time to revise plans for commercial striphttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-owners-get-still-more-time-to-revise-plans-for-commer2014-06-04T18:36:22.000Z2014-06-04T18:36:22.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> Ocean Ridge commissioners have grudgingly agreed to give the owners of the town’s five-store business district a three-month extension to submit plans for overhauling the 60-foot-deep strip at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd.<br /> But they warned the Sivitilli family to make sure the application to renovate the property is complete because the commission isn’t inclined to grant more time.<br /> “You’ve had 10 years to do this — to convert from commercial to residential — and you didn’t do it,” Commissioner James Bonfiglio told Lisa Sivitilli, the daughter of owners Orlando and Lilianne Sivitilli. “You’re putting the pressure on us to resolve your problem at the last minute.”<br /> Bonfiglio served as chairman of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission before winning election to his commission seat in March and has dealt with the property’s issues for years. He was the lone dissenter in the 3-1 approval of the latest extension.<br /> Town Commissioner Gail Adams Aaskov owns a real estate business in the building and does not vote on issues related to it. The other businesses on the site are Colby’s Barber Shop and The Coastal Star. The second floor of the building has four apartments.<br /> “I’m fully in favor of giving you the extension because there’s not much else we can do,” said Town Commissioner Richard Lucibella, a comment that pretty much captures the exasperation town officials feel after trying unsuccessfully for decades to find a solution for the property.<br /> Back in 1969, the Town Commission voted to phase out the commercial district over 40 years.<br /> In 1997, Orlando and Lilianne Sivitilli sued the town to overturn the ban. A settlement of the suit allowed the family to continue operations until 2000, and then two subsequent extensions pushed the deadline back to this month.<br /> Town Attorney Ken Spillias told commissioners that if they didn’t approve another extension at the May 5 meeting, then in June the Sivitillis would be in violation of just about everything — the suit settlement, the town’s code, the town’s comprehensive plan — and could be shut down.<br /> But boarding up the building runs the risk of creating an enduring eyesore. The property is too small to attract many developers willing to risk a residential redesign, and as Commissioner Lynn Allison puts it, “How many people want to be across from a Texaco station on A1A? ”<br /> Bonfiglio was irked that people who had sued the town now were coming forward to ask another favor from it. Why should the commission believe the Sivitillis can deliver in the next 90 days what they haven’t over the last 14 years?, he asked.<br /> Lisa Sivitilli blamed delays on the collapse of the real estate market and a family illness. She said that Marty Minor, a planning consultant with Urban Design Kilday Studios, would vouch that a complete mixed-use plan and application would be ready in time, at no cost to the town.<br /> “You have our history,” Lisa Sivitilli said. “We’ve always paid our way.”<br /> In other business, commissioners gave unanimous final approval to a resolution that abandons the western right of way in front of the homes at 5516, 5514 and 5512 Old Ocean Blvd.<br /> The town has no source of water to maintain vegetation on the 100-foot strip of land. Property owners will take over the strip, handle the landscaping, maintain the right of way and pay the town expenses. The property owners also have agreed to remove invasive, non-native plants. The town will retain an easement along the properties.</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Strip owners come to terms with townhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-strip-owners-come-to-terms-with-town2013-10-30T18:54:20.000Z2013-10-30T18:54:20.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><span><b>By Tim O’Meilia</b></span></p>
<p> The owners of Ocean Ridge’s five-store business district agreed to pay for a planning study that may forestall its demise, but not before clashing with town commissioners.</p>
<p> After requiring an engineering study of the property at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd. four months ago, commissioners were reluctant Oct. 7 to reconsider a 44-year-old decision to change the shops to residential use.</p>
<p> “I question why we want to change our comprehensive plan for one building. What does Ocean Ridge get out of it?” said Commissioner Zoanne Hennigan. “And why ask our residents to pay for that?”</p>
<p> An extension of a 2000 agreement gives owners Orlando and Lilianne Sivitilli until June to continue commercial operations in the 60-foot deep strip at the south entrance to town. </p>
<p> The property houses Colby’s Barber Shop, the Transition Area triathlon shop, <i>The Coastal Star</i> newspaper and Ocean Ridge Realty. Four apartments are on the second floor. Ten parking spaces serve the area. </p>
<p> Town Commissioner Gail Adams Aaskov, who owns the real estate firm, does not vote on issues regarding the strip. </p>
<p> “After all these years we’ve been fulfilling the rules, making applications,” said Lisa Sivitilli, the owners’ daughter, “then to come in tonight and hear suddenly you’ve changed again? It seems to me like you’ve playing with our affections.” </p>
<p> Later, Sivitilli and the commission agreed she would file for a plan change soon, estimated to cost $13,000, although the town is scheduled to pay for a plan change in 2015.</p>
<p> “We’re happy we can get this resolved,” Sivitilli said after the meeting, noting that dealing with an uncertain future has been a hardship. The study and possible zoning changes may take more than a year.</p>
<p> In 2012, the commission granted a two-year extension on the conversion to residential only because Sivitilli said the sinking real estate market made plans to convert to townhouses a financial risk. </p>
<p> In June, commissioners, including Mayor Geoff Pugh, fretted that the strip could be left abandoned. “I’m fearful of what could go up there,” Commissioner Lynn Allison said at the meeting, disagreeing with her fellow members. </p>
<p> Real estate agent Sandy Foster supported retaining the small shop area, saying it would be difficult to convert to an attractive residential area because of the aging cottages behind it and a gas station across the street. She said neighborhood businesses would be more attractive. </p>
<p><b>In other business</b>, commissioners took the following action:</p>
<p> • Refused to release liens of $50,000 against the oceanfront home at 6011 N. Ocean Blvd., recently sold for $3.3 million by Joseph Romano, who is serving 15 years in federal prison in New York on a business conspiracy conviction. Romano was cited in 2009 for not having a pool barrier and in 2010 for erecting columns without a permit. Romano’s money was being held in escrow. “The relations between the town and the Romanos has been quite prickly for a number of years. I don’t think we should resolve the lien by one penny,” Pugh said. “The pool barrier was a life safety issue and the columns were something they installed themselves.”</p>
<p> • Agreed to consider allowing commissioners to participate in meetings over the phone if there was good cause but not to count toward establishing a quorum. Town Attorney Ken Spillias said state law and attorney general’s opinions are unclear, but advised against allowing commissioners to vote by telephone for fear of such decisions being later overturned. </p>
<p> • Allowed the $2,500 purchase of 300 7-by-10-inch alarm warning signs to be sold to town residents to put on their lawns. Homeowners can have their alarms monitored directly by the town police force for $200 annually.</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Board suggests planning firm help steer strip’s futurehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-board-suggests-planning-firm-help-steer-strip-s-futur2013-05-02T14:41:12.000Z2013-05-02T14:41:12.000ZScott Simmonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ScottSimmons<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /> <br /> The fate of Ocean Ridge’s five-store business district is back in the hands of town commissioners with the town’s planning and zoning board’s advice to hire a firm to recommend a plan for the next few decades. <br /> The board urged that the planning firm interview residents and hold workshops to determine the feelings of townspeople and the business community, including real estate professionals.<br /> The tiny blip of a commercial district at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd., at the south entrance to town, is scheduled to be phased out by July 2014 under the extension of an agreement with the property owners, Orlando and Liliane Sivitilli.<br /> “This is a discussion we’ve been having for years,” said Town Attorney Ken Spillias, “whether to allow a small commercial district to continue to exist.”<br /> The 5011 property houses Colby’s Barber Shop, the Transition Area triathlon shop, The Coastal Star newspaper, Ocean Ridge Realty and an empty store. Four apartments are on the second floor. Town Commissioner Gail Adams Aaskov, who owns the real estate firm, does not vote on issues regarding the strip. <br /> At the April 15 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, former Mayor Ken Kaleel urged the board to recommend the study. “What do we want to see in this corridor for the next 20 to 25 years?” he asked. <br /> In general, the board members favored the idea of small, town-serving businesses that don’t generate much traffic. But commission Chairman James Bonfiglio noted that there was no great clamoring for the businesses to remain.<br /> “I see it as a benefit to its neighbors,” said town planning consultant Marty Minor of Urban Design Kilday Studios. “It won’t have a great commercial impact.”<br /> The 5011 property is flanked by apartments and backs up to a residential area of largely duplexes. Minor said because of the shallow depth of the parcel — only 60 feet — it would be difficult to house more than small businesses. The 10 parking spaces in front would not be attractive to a high-traffic business.<br /> Across the street, in an unincorporated strip along A1A, are a Texaco station, a real estate office and an empty branch bank building. <br /> The town of Briny Breezes approved a new comprehensive plan last month that would allow a mix of commercial, town-serving businesses and condominiums along its A1A corridor across the street and just south of the 5011 building. <br /> Planning board member Mark Marsh said the strip is not ideal for residential use as called for in Ocean Ridge’s plan. <br /> “If Briny does go ahead and do a village market, you would have one piece of that — a small commercial entity,” he said. <br /> In 1969, the Town Commission voted to phase out the commercial district over 40 years. The Sivitillis sued in 1997 to overturn the commercial ban. A settlement entitled them to stay until 2000. That was extended and extended again last year to 2014.<br /> The Sivitillis had plans to convert the property to three townhouses. “We really have a full intention of doing it,” their daughter, Lisa Sivitilli, told the board. “We asked for the extension because of the real estate market.”<br /> She said that several years ago the family gathered 1,200 signatures of people who wanted the commercial strip to remain.<br /> “We live here. We work here. We’ve always been in the community as residents,” Sivitilli said.<br /> One concern is that should the businesses be forced out, the Sivitillis may not be able to convert the property to residential immediately. <br /> “Let’s try to keep the status quo because we don’t want an empty building. We don’t want a blighted area,” Kaleel said. “Now is the time to do that planning.”</p></div>