coastal construction control line - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T08:33:54Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/coastal+construction+control+lineOcean Ridge: News briefshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-news-briefs-cccl-rules-flood-elevations2023-11-29T19:26:21.000Z2023-11-29T19:26:21.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>Coastal construction rule changes approved —</strong> The Town Commission gave final approval Nov. 6 to a pair of ordinances that relax some restrictions the town placed on coastal construction in 2020, eliminating the need for homeowners to get a variance in many situations where construction only involves changes to non-living spaces, such as patios and pools.</p>
<p>It also changed the status of older homes on Old Ocean Boulevard between Anna and Corrine streets built east of the 1979 Coastal Construction Control Line, moving them from “non-conforming” to “conforming” structures. That change will make it easier for homeowners there to rebuild.</p>
<p><strong>Minimum flood elevations levels in limbo—</strong> The town can’t enforce the preliminary FEMA maps it adopted in 2019 because they won’t be official until after Palm Beach County’s ongoing litigation over the maps is concluded. The state preempted local governments from using preliminary FEMA maps for any rules for permitting. </p>
<p>Commissioners are concerned some property owners in a high hazard flood zone could build to a lower height than would be allowed under the FEMA maps, putting their homes at greater risk of flooding. Commissioners asked to have the town send notices to affected property owners seeking to build, warning them of potential consequences of building lower than the levels in the contested maps. </p>
<p><strong>Limit sought on bridge openings —</strong> Vice Mayor Steve Coz, who lives near the Woolbright Road bridge, wants to see limits on how often the bridge opens and has asked Town Manager Lynne Ladner to bring up the issue with the county. Although the drawbridge opens “on demand” and timed openings — such as on the hour and half-hour — aren’t permitted, Coz said the county bridge tenders should make sure at least 15 minutes pass between openings.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Larry Barszewski</em></p></div>Ocean Ridge: Town set to relax rules for beachside constructionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-town-set-to-relax-rules-for-beachside-construction2023-08-30T16:54:43.000Z2023-08-30T16:54:43.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Owners’ argument for property rights awaits final votes</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12213926080,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12213926080,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="439" alt="12213926080?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Ocean Ridge is ready to draw a new, more accommodating line in the sand for the town’s beach property owners.</p>
<p>Town commissioners plan to scale back some earlier regulations that significantly limited how large of a home a coastal property owner could build. Those regulations also made it more cumbersome for the homeowners to get construction plans approved.</p>
<p>At their Aug. 7 meeting, commissioners gave preliminary approval to two ordinances that walk back some of the regulations imposed in 2020, regulations that coastal homeowners say were approved without their knowledge and that infringed on their private property rights.</p>
<p>Beach homeowners are paying attention now. Alvin Malnik, whose 3.43 acres at 6301 N. Ocean Blvd. is the largest oceanfront single-family home parcel in town — more than twice the size of the next largest one — has retained a law firm to lobby the commission to go even further than it has planned.</p>
<p>The commission will consider whether it wants to make any additional changes — before it gives final approval to the new ordinances — at its Sept. 5 meeting.</p>
<p>Currently, the proposed ordinances continue to protect dune parcels south of Corrine Street from being built upon, but they make it easier for property owners to get approval to construct non-habitable structures, such as pools and decks, seaward of the 1979 Coastal Construction Control Line.</p>
<p>The CCCL is used to demarcate beach areas where construction is given additional scrutiny because of its increased potential to cause erosion and destabilize dunes. </p>
<p>Construction projects along the beach also require separate approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. FDEP approval is needed for construction east of the state’s 1997 CCCL, which moved the CCCL line farther west, though still east of State Road A1A.</p>
<p>The proposed changes Ocean Ridge is considering relax the methodology used to calculate how big a new or expanded home can be on the beach. The town plans to revert to the mean high-water line and not the 1979 CCCL when determining a property’s size. Because the mean high-water line is seaward of the CCCL, the change makes the size of each property bigger, thereby increasing the permitted size of the home on each property.</p>
<p>For oceanfront homeowners between Anna and Corrine streets, whose homes all include portions built seaward of the 1979 CCCL, their homes will no longer be considered non-conforming uses. They will be able to rebuild within their homes’ existing footprints without triggering the need for them to get variances, which entails a more rigorous approval process.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Some hope to build larger</span><br />One of Malnik’s attorneys, Janice Rustin, suggested the changes don’t go far enough.</p>
<p>Rustin requested beach property owners be allowed to build larger homes — up to 50% greater than what would otherwise be permitted — through a waiver process instead of requiring them to get a more difficult variance. She said the change would be an incentive to bring beach structures into compliance with today’s stricter building code standards.</p>
<p>“I think that would encourage people to improve their houses,” Rustin said. “I think limiting the exemptions to only those developments within [a home’s existing] footprint misses an important tool that the town can use to encourage more hardy development.”</p>
<p>Vice Mayor Steve Coz wasn’t persuaded.</p>
<p>“That’s pretty huge,” Coz said. “That’s kind of what the town doesn’t want.”</p>
<p>Commissioners supported one idea Rustin presented, to create an administrative waiver — and not an administrative permit — for the town to use to approve non-habitable improvements east of the 1979 CCCL.</p>
<p>The town’s proposed ordinances say any rejected administrative permit would require a variance to move forward, forcing homeowners to show a hardship and requiring approval by the town’s Board of Adjustment and Town Commission. The waiver process would allow the appeal of any rejection to be heard just by the Planning and Zoning Commission.</p>
<p>“A setback waiver is a more common type of approach,” Rustin said. “There would be waivers granted administratively by the town manager, or after public hearing by the Planning and Zoning Commission.”</p>
<p>Commissioners asked Town Attorney Christy Goddeau to review all of the suggestions from Rustin’s firm — Lewis, Longman and Walker, P.A.</p>
<p>Goddeau said it was apparent the commission wants “to continue to make it harder for those new habitable structures — or expanded habitable structures — seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line” to be built by continuing to require such proposals go through the town’s variance process.</p>
<p>Goddeau planned to provide the commission with an alternative ordinance that would incorporate the suggested “waiver” criteria of Rustin’s request for the commission’s Sept. 5 consideration. </p></div>Gulf Stream: Golf club aims to get iconic clubhouse remodeled for the next centuryhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-golf-club-aims-to-get-iconic-clubhouse-remodeled-for-2023-06-28T15:38:51.000Z2023-06-28T15:38:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12127802093,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12127802093,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="12127802093?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>The Mizner-designed clubhouse at the Gulf Stream Golf Club is 100 years old. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>The Gulf Stream Golf Club is working on a plan to demolish a portion of its 100-year-old Addison Mizner-designed clubhouse and build a new two-story addition primarily to enclose its second-story ocean terrace.</p>
<p>Architect Mark Marsh of Bridges, Marsh & Associates had nothing but praise for the historic Spanish-style structure, which opened to club members in January 1924, even before the town incorporated the following year.</p>
<p>“It’s a gracious building. I think it’s one of Mizner’s best works at least in Palm Beach, and we want to preserve those standards and values of the architecture,” he said as he presented his “very preliminary” plan to town commissioners on June 9 seeking a variance on the rear setback.</p>
<p>Gulf Stream requires a 25-foot setback for oceanfront buildings from the state’s 1979 Coastal Construction Control Line. The golf club’s plan would encroach that limit by 14 feet and be just 11 feet from that CCCL, but still 35 feet from the existing bulkhead sea wall.</p>
<p>Marsh said the club’s bulkhead or sea wall near the ocean was the town’s original reference point for setbacks and that in 2000 the town adopted the 1979 CCCL, even though</p>
<p>Florida had moved the line farther west in 1997.</p>
<p>In its application for the variance, the golf club said Mizner “did not have the benefit of knowing where the rear setback would be located in the future. If Mizner knew the location of this rear setback, he may have positioned the clubhouse differently to allow for future renovation and expansion.”</p>
<p>Resident Bob Ganger, who is an emeritus board member of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County and who watched Marsh’s presentation, said his own restored home on A1A has “lots of Mizner stuff” and applauded Marsh’s efforts.</p>
<p>“I think what they’re doing makes eminently good sense,” he said. </p>
<p>Said Marsh: “I think we were selected not only because of our knowledge of Gulf Stream but we do an awful lot of work in Palm Beach on Mizner buildings and restorations so it suits our wheelhouse very well.” </p>
<p>The Gulf Stream Golf Club, at 2401 N. Ocean Blvd., is private with membership by invitation only.</p>
<p>Marsh will return for full commission approval of his project after he fine-tunes the plan and the club’s members vote to proceed.</p>
<p>Construction is anticipated to take place in spring 2025. </p></div>Ocean Ridge: New advisory board members seek easier path for construction projectshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-new-advisory-board-members-seek-easier-path-for-const2023-06-28T15:34:04.000Z2023-06-28T15:34:04.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>New members of Ocean Ridge’s Planning and Zoning Commission appear ready to give the Town Commission some advice: Make it less of a hassle for property owners to build in town.</p>
<p>They were appointed by a three-member Town Commission in May, following the resignation of two town commissioners in April. That three-member body chose not to return the three advisory board incumbents seeking reappointment, but instead picked new applicants — Stephen Varga, Shields Ferber and Sydney Ray — to fill the openings on the five-member advisory board. </p>
<p>At the June 20 P&Z meeting, the three new members formed a majority to recommend the town do away with a section of the code — adopted in 2020 and referred to as 2020-05 — that requires beachfront property owners who want to build east of the 1979 Coastal Construction Control Line to get a variance from the town first.</p>
<p>Varga said any such construction requires the owner to get a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection anyway, and the town has other requirements that need to be followed such as setbacks and house size limitations. </p>
<p>“I don’t know why we need this,” Varga said. Added Ray, “I don’t think we need to re-create the wheel for our town.”</p>
<p>Commission Chairman Ric Carey and Vice Chairman David Hutchins voted against the recommendation, instead supporting changes proposed by Town Attorney Christy Goddeau that would create less cumbersome “administrative permits” for non-habitable structures such as swimming pools or decks, but would still require variances in other situations.</p>
<p>“I really don’t feel comfortable relying on FDEP to be our oversight. We’re a town and we have a purpose,” Carey said. “I’d rather see us amend as proposed 2020-05 and if it comes around that there are still problems with it, it can be amended again. But just to say let’s abolish 2020-05 I think has unintended consequences and I prefer us not to go down that path.”</p>
<p>Ferber was concerned that an owner seeking an administrative permit might still need to get a variance if staff or neighbors objected to the plans.</p>
<p>“I like having our hand in it to some degree, but I’m just concerned if the neighbors look at the building and don’t like the way it looks, you know, they can say, ‘Hey listen, we don’t like the design of the building,’” Ferber said.</p>
<p>Goddeau had warned that removing the section in question may allow for homes to be built on some undeveloped dunes on Old Ocean Boulevard south of Corrine Street. </p>
<p>“I have to go back and look, because if we are solely reliant on FDEP to approve any construction, that may allow for those undeveloped dunes to be developed,” Goddeau said. </p>
<p>The three new commissioners also opposed requiring any portion of open roof porches or balconies on a planned house to be counted toward the house’s total permissible livable space — called the Floor Area Ratio — saying the size of balconies or porches is already limited by a house’s footprint. If the town is concerned that portions of balconies or porches might be enclosed later and become livable space in violation of code, then the town should go after violators as that happens.</p>
<p>“As long as we’re built to our lot coverage percentage ratios, why are we messing with people, putting more restrictions on them? In my opinion, we’re trying to make something to limit people for what they could possibly try to do some day at some point,” Varga said. “I think we’re overstepping ourselves here.”</p>
<p>The board did unanimously agree to recommend that beachfront homeowners living on Old Ocean Boulevard between Corrine and Anna streets should no longer need a variance if they’re planning construction seaward of the 1979 CCCL. The homes already include portions that extend over the line. </p>
<p>The 2020 ordinance had created the variance procedures for that construction. Instead of being non-conforming uses, the current homes would be considered conforming uses.</p>
<p>Resident Al Naar, who attended the meeting, liked what he was hearing.</p>
<p>“This is refreshing, this meeting,” Naar said. “Having been through the process of getting a variance and everything else that’s required near the water, this is very good to hear you all come to this conclusion. I’ve been through it. I wish you were here earlier.” </p></div>Ocean Ridge: Homeowners say town harmed property rightshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-homeowners-say-town-harmed-property-rights2023-05-31T17:39:50.000Z2023-05-31T17:39:50.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11200907289,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11200907289,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="271" alt="11200907289?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></strong><em><strong>LEFT:</strong> The 1979 Coastal Construction Control Line, shown in yellow, is farther east than the 1997 line, shown in purple. Both are east of State Road A1A. <strong>Map provided by Engenuity Group Inc. and Town of Ocean Ridge</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>A 2020 Ocean Ridge ordinance that got little notice at the time it was approved has become a major controversy for oceanfront property owners, who say they were given no warning about the changes in regulations it enacted, which they say have infringed on their property rights.</p>
<p>Town commissioners passed the ordinance giving the town some say on property construction east of the 1997 Coastal Construction Control Line. The state requires property owners to get a permit from its Department of Environmental Protection for any construction projects seaward of that line, but the ordinance required that any such work would also have to receive a permit from the town.</p>
<p>The ordinance also said no construction would be allowed east of an earlier, 1979 Coastal Construction Control Line, which is closer to the water than the 1997 line. On properties such as those between Anna and Corrine streets, where existing houses extend east of the 1979 control line, construction is only permitted within the structure’s existing footprint or with a variance from the town.</p>
<p>Other oceanfront homeowners have buildings sitting between the 1997 line and the 1979 line. Besides stating the requirement of a town permit for any construction, the ordinance also affected how big a rebuilt home or a home with an addition could be.</p>
<p>Previously, the amount of square footage was determined by the size of the property going out to the mean high-water line, which is to the east of the 1979 control line. The 2020 ordinance allows property owners to go only as far as the 1979 line when calculating allowable square footage.</p>
<p>Critics say they wouldn’t even be able to rebuild to the same size under the ordinance, let alone add space.</p>
<p>“Beach owners have been targeted,” said Merrilee Lundquist, whose home lies between the two control lines. “I think this ordinance has done more to destroy our net worth than the stock market ever had.”</p>
<p>Lundquist and other property owners requested the commission repeal the ordinance at its May 1 meeting, but commissioners decided more study was needed about the ramifications of any change. In addition, any change to a town ordinance would require two officially noticed readings before the commission. </p>
<p>“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Commissioner Ken Kaleel said of the request. “You just can’t repeal something that you don’t know what the effect of that repeal is going to be.”</p>
<p>Town Attorney Christy Goddeau was instructed to report at the commission’s June meeting about the potential consequences of a repeal or smaller changes to the ordinance, as well as other factors the commission might need to consider.</p>
<p>Brett Berish told commissioners the ordinance is affecting his plans to add space to better accommodate his family of six children.</p>
<p>“All of us on the water, our property size and value have been affected,” said his wife, Alana Berish. The couple bought their home at 6275 N. Ocean Blvd. in 2021 after the ordinance was passed, but said no one told them about the implications of the changes. </p>
<p>“No one knew. Even now, no one truly understands,” Alana Berish said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p></div>Boca Raton: Judges quash council decision against beachfront duplexhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-judges-quash-council-decision-against-beachfront-duple2020-09-18T00:30:00.000Z2020-09-18T00:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>Boca Raton’s City Council must reconsider its 5-0 decision not to grant permission to build a duplex on the beach, Palm Beach County circuit judges say.</p>
<p>Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte prejudged the application by 2600 N Ocean LLC proposing a four-story, 14,270-square-foot residence east of A1A between Spanish River Park and Ocean Strand, the judges decided.</p>
<p>At a Feb. 26, 2019, City Council meeting, attorney Robert Sweetapple, representing the landowner, showed a campaign video of then-council member and now Mayor Scott Singer standing on a dune and declaring he could not support plans for a house on the beach. Sweetapple also had copies of emails that O’Rourke and Mayotte had sent constituents saying they would vote against variances for construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.</p>
<p>In a ruling issued Sept. 16, Circuit Judges Jaimie Goodman, Janis Keyser and G. Joseph Curley said Singer’s statements constituted a “general political stance made in a campaign video” and were permissible. But O’Rourke’s and Mayotte’s emails to residents — saying they had “no intention of granting [the application]” and “[would] do all I can to prevent this from happening” — showed they were not impartial, the judges said.</p>
<p>“This was more than mere political bias or an adverse political philosophy — it was express prejudgment of Petitioner’s application,” they said.</p>
<p>Their ruling said 2600 N. Ocean LLC “is entitled to a new hearing without the participation” of Mayotte and O’Rourke, who has since become deputy mayor. That would leave Singer and council members Jeremy Rodgers and Andy Thomson to rehear the application.</p>
<p>But Rodgers, a Navy Reserve officer, has been deployed on active duty to the Mideast and has not attended a council meeting since late June.</p>
<p>Sweetapple promised even more litigation over the parcel, which was recently appraised at $7.2 million.</p>
<p>“Boca Raton has engaged in a decades-long program to deny any development of this private, taxpaying, oceanfront property. To date it has failed to acquire the property as part of its spectacular oceanfront park system,” he said. “The continued denial of any reasonable development of this parcel constitutes a taking. The ongoing illegal actions of the city will continue to be addressed in the courts.”</p>
<p>Each side of the proposed duplex would have had a roof level with a pool, spa, fire pit and outdoor kitchen. Sweetapple said the building would have special glass facing the ocean that would transmit only 10 percent of interior light, below the city’s request for 15 percent, and have only 8 percent reflectivity. Lighting is a concern for nesting and hatchling sea turtles.</p>
<p>Council members caused an uproar when they gave a zoning variance in late 2015 for a four-story beachfront home two parcels south, at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice to proceed with that project, which still needs review by the city's Environmental Advisory Board and another council vote.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council nixes request to build home east of A1Ahttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-nixes-request-to-build-home-east-of-a1a2019-07-31T14:20:39.000Z2019-07-31T14:20:39.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p3">Lawyers for the owner of an undeveloped lot at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. made another unsuccessful attempt July 23 to win permission to build on the beach.</p>
<p class="p3">The City Council voted 5-0 not to grant a variance allowing construction east of the city’s Coastal Construction Control Line.</p>
<p class="p3">“I believe the applicant has failed to meet its burden to provide competent and substantial evidence that it has met the criteria for the variance,” Mayor Scott Singer said.</p>
<p class="p3">The result matched a unanimous recommendation for denial in April by the city’s Environmental Advisory Board. The city’s Development Services Department also urged that the request not be approved.</p>
<p class="p3">The council’s decision, the final word on the issue unless landowner Natural Lands LLC goes to the courts, was its second affirmation of the CCCL this year; in February it denied a CCCL variance to build a four-story duplex two parcels north, at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd.</p>
<p class="p3">But 2500 N. Ocean’s application came with approvals that 2600 lacked — from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and its Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.</p>
<p class="p3">Natural Lands wants to build a 48-foot-tall, 8,666-square-foot single-family home at the site, and obtained a Notice to Proceed from the state DEP in October 2016.</p>
<p class="p3">Brandon Schaad, Boca Raton’s development services director, said that notice was based on a zoning confirmation letter the city “mistakenly issued” that did not point out the property owner still would have to get a city CCCL variance. Also, he said, the state agency sent the city’s copy of the notice to an “incorrect” email address.</p>
<p class="p3">“In any case, the city has its own CCCL regulations that are separate and apart from any addition to the state’s regulations, meaning that the FDEP’s actions are irrelevant to the proposed variance,” Schaad said.</p>
<p class="p3">Attorney Neil Schiller, representing the property owner, asked Singer and council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte to recuse themselves from the vote based on comments they made when running for office about protecting the beach.</p>
<p class="p3">He also asked that Schaad’s statements on sea turtles and environmental impacts be ignored, saying Schaad was not a qualified expert on those topics.</p>
<p class="p3">In its review the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wrote that “the project does not significantly impact marine sea turtles and their habitat,” Schiller said.</p>
<p class="p3">And he argued that reports by Boca Raton’s experts, consultant Mike Jenkins of Applied Technology & Management Inc. and city marine conservationist Kirt Rusenko, were “flawed” by contradictions and incorrect information, citing an email advising Jenkins that a map of turtle nesting patterns was off due to a “slight geo-shift.”</p>
<p class="p3">Even so, Schiller said, “Based on this graphical representation, there is zero sea turtle activity close to the structure itself or the cantilevered area under the structure.”</p>
<p class="p3">The City Council caused a public outcry in December 2015 when it approved a zoning variance at 2500 N. Ocean to allow something to be built on the 85-foot-wide lot. City rules normally require lots at least 100 feet wide.</p>
<p class="p3">Fewer than 10 members of the public spoke at the July 23 hearing; all opposed the CCCL request.</p>
<p class="p3">“This isn’t about property values. This isn’t about views. This is about preserving and protecting our city’s code of ordinances and our sensitive marine ecosystem,” said Jessica Gray, who founded the group Boca Save Our Beaches after the council’s 2015 decision.</p>
<p class="p3">David Sergi, another beach advocate, said there was a reason the council chamber was not filled with more opponents.</p>
<p class="p3">“I think people have been talking about trains a lot this week and golf courses, and they’re just not here tonight; they’re tired,” Sergi said, referring to a five-hour meeting the day before on a possible Virgin Trains station downtown and the proposed Boca National Golf Course.</p>
<p class="p3">Schiller repeatedly stressed that the previous lot-width variance showed that 2500 N. Ocean was “suitable for construction.”</p>
<p class="p3">“Again — I’m harping on this because it’s so important — in 2015 this body determined this property was developable and buildable by granting the minimum lot-width variance. The property has not moved location since, neither has the CCCL,” Schiller said.</p>
<p class="p3">After the City Council denied a CCCL variance in February for a four-story duplex at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., that applicant asked that a Palm Beach County circuit judge review the EAB and council decisions for irregularities. The legal request is pending.</p>
<p class="p3">A court review is a prerequisite to filing a Bert Harris Act lawsuit for damages resulting from a government taking of private property. </p></div>Boca Raton: Last-minute revisions delay beach duplex discussionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-last-minute-revisions-delay-beach-duplex-discussion2018-10-31T14:58:28.000Z2018-10-31T14:58:28.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830285,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830285,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="410" alt="7960830285?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>A long-anticipated review of controversial plans to build a four-story duplex on Boca Raton’s beach has been delayed indefinitely.<br />The city’s Environmental Advisory Board was scheduled to review the proposal for 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. on Oct. 18, but its meeting was canceled Oct. 12.<br />“The applicant for 2600 submitted last-minute revisions to the plans that required review by staff and the consultant,” city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said. “I don’t have an estimate on how long that might take, but the item will be rescheduled for EAB when staff and consultants have had time to review the changes.”<br />Property owner Grand Bank N.A. proposes building each side of its 14,270-square-foot duplex with four bedrooms, five and one-half baths, a glass elevator and a four-car garage, according to Delray Beach-based Azure Development, which is marketing the site. The duplex would also have a 40-foot boardwalk and a rooftop swimming pool.<br />The site needs the Boca Raton City Council to grant a variance for building seaward of Florida’s restrictive Coastal Construction Control Line. The City Charter directs the Environmental Advisory Board to advise council members “on the environmental impact of proposed developments which contain environmentally sensitive lands, listed species, or wetlands … and to recommend ways in which adverse environmental impact might be minimized.”<br />The idea of building on the beach erupted into public view in 2015 when the council approved a variance for the owner of 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. two lots south to build a four-story, 10,432-square-foot “mini-mansion.” <br />Both lots are east of State Road A1A between Spanish River Park and the undeveloped Ocean Strand parcel.<br />“2500 is under review and has not been scheduled,” Gibson said. <br />The council’s newest member, Andy Thomson, reported Oct. 23 that a lawyer for 2600 N. Ocean told him the owner is still willing to sell the lot. The council told city staff to ask if the price has come down.</p></div>Boca Raton: Beach building plan set for environmental reviewhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-beach-building-plan-set-for-environmental-review2018-10-03T14:21:12.000Z2018-10-03T14:21:12.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong></p>
<p>A plan to build a controversial 49-foot-tall, 14,270-square-foot duplex and a mansion on the north end of Boca Raton’s beach is slated for review Oct. 18 by the city’s Environmental Advisory Board. <br /> The EAB advises the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Council about the possible environmental impact of proposed development and recommends ways to minimize adverse environmental impacts.<br />Exactly what can be built on privately owned oceanfront property has been a hot topic in Boca Raton since 2015, when a four-story mega-mansion was tentatively approved for an undersized oceanfront parcel at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. <br />The duplex is proposed to be built at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd.<br /> Residents complained at the time that the structure would change the face of the beach, disorient nesting sea turtles and set a precedent for more development. That project has not yet been constructed.<br /> “It’s a big deal,” said Councilwoman Andrea O’Rourke. “I understand the staff is not recommending it. The EAB will then have to take the staff report into consideration, their own findings into consideration and what the petitioner wants to build there. Then the EAB makes a recommendation that will ultimately come to City Council.” <br /> O’Rourke was not on the City Council when the first residence was approved in 2015. She said it was that approval that spurred her to eventually run for City Council.<br /> “At the time I was up in arms,” O’Rourke said.<br /> The EAB will base its recommendation on environmental impact, she said.<br /> “It’s just a question of whether the land is viable to build on,” O’Rourke said.<br /> City resident Jessica Gray formed the group Boca Save Our Beaches after the first project was proposed, and has been vocal in her opposition to any beachside construction.<br /> “We need to preserve what is left of nature for future generations, and respect the habitat of other organisms, who lived here first,” Gray said. <br /> Boca Save Our Beaches opposes both projects and posts its opposition regularly on Facebook.<br /> “Here you have it: a green sign of death at 2600 N. Ocean. Coming soon, construction at a beach near you!!” read an August post. “Once our beaches are gone, we can never get them back. Say no to $$$$ and yes to the environment.”<br /> The proposed structure for 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. is imposing. Each side of the duplex will have four bedrooms, five full baths, one half-bath, a glass elevator and a four-car garage, according to Delray Beach-based Azure Development, which is marketing the site. It would also have a 40-foot boardwalk and a rooftop swimming pool. <br />No sale price has been set for the duplex.<br /> Gray is especially concerned about the long-term impact on endangered sea turtles.<br /> “When the 2500 and the 2600 N. Ocean structures are completed, the turtles nesting on the property will be forced to nest closer to the erosion control line, which would put them at more risk of destruction by wave action and washout,” she said.<br /> Gray is also worried about erosion if the dunes are compromised due to construction.<br /> “The dunes of 2500 and 2600 will be permanently destroyed and almost nonexistent. Dune systems protect existing buildings west of the Coastal Construction Control Line during storms,” she noted. “When a large dune is not present, more damage is done by wind and water to the west side of A1A.”</p></div>Along the Coast… A line in the sandhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-a-line-in-the-sand2017-08-30T14:30:00.000Z2017-08-30T14:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-4">At issue is whether building should continue east of Coastal Construction Line</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-4"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731090,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731090,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="588" alt="7960731090?profile=original" /></a></span></p>
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<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731290,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731290,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="593" alt="7960731290?profile=original" /></a></strong><strong>By Jane Smith and Michelle Quigley</strong><br /> <br /> If a major hurricane were to hit the barrier island in southern Palm Beach County, $6.4 billion in mansions and condos sitting east of A1A would likely be damaged or destroyed. <br /> Would the property owners be allowed to rebuild?<br /> Yes, if the past is an indication.<br /> The state has OK’d nearly all applications to build seaward of what is called the Coastal Construction Control Line in the past 10 years, according to a local spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. <br /> The mansions and condos, including sea walls and swimming pools, lie perilously close to the ocean. Some of the pools and sea walls washed away in October 2012 when Hurricane Sandy brushed the South Florida coast.<br /> “This is criminal,” said Harold Wanless, professor and department chairman of geological sciences at the University of Miami. “Someone should be brought up on charges because it affects the health, safety and welfare of citizens.”<br /> Why are these applications approved? In Florida, property rights are highly regarded. <br /> The only time a person is guaranteed a 12-person jury is when the government wants to take your life — or your property. The state Legislature passed the Bert J. Harris Act in 1995, strengthening a property owner’s rights. The act, toughened in 2015, reads that local governments must prove that not allowing owners to use their property would be in the public’s interest.<br /> But Wanless and other scientists, concerned about rising sea levels and increased predictions for stronger storms, think the state is being shortsighted.<br /> “The state should be looking out 50 or more years,” Wanless said. “The sea level will rise by about 2 feet by 2048. <br /> “Most of Florida’s coasts will be lost to sea level rise,” he continued, pointing to the January report on “Global and Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States.” <br /> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration produced the report from the work of leading government scientists, including William Sweet, an oceanographer at NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, and Jayantha Obeysekera, the chief modeler at the South Florida Water Management District. <br /> Wanless said the state should stop approving structures seaward of the line and have the line consider the effects of sea level rise. <br /> <br /> <strong>State laws lack enforcement</strong><br /> In 1971, state legislators created the Coastal Construction Setback Line, which banned construction seaward of the line. That was altered in 1978 to become the Coastal Construction Control Line, which does not prohibit such construction but puts the buildings under increased review. <br /> The CCCL is set on a county-by-county basis. Palm Beach County’s line was last reset in 1997. The line is supposed to preserve and protect beaches from badly designed construction that can harm the beach-dune system, speed up the rate of erosion, endanger adjacent properties or interfere with public beach access. <br /> The state DEP leaves it up to the cities to determine how their coastlines will be used, said spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller. <br /> South County municipalities, though, are leaving that decision up to the state — concerned they may be denying property owners their rights to use the land to the fullest.<br /> Wanless said, “The DEP and the state make the laws and should be responsible for their implementation.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Lifestyle worth the risk</strong><br /> Manalapan residents Don Silpe and his wife, Linda, don’t worry about sea level rise. At their stage in life, they know they won’t be around to see its effects.<br /> Instead, they worry about a strong storm, a Category 3 or higher hurricane, destroying their 1940s house, where they have lived for the past 30 years. <br /> “If we lose this house to a strong hurricane, we are choosing to do so,” Linda Silpe said. “We are going into it with our eyes wide open, knowing we could not rebuild as close to the ocean as the home is. It would have to be set back.” <br /> They don’t have windstorm insurance but they do carry flood insurance.<br /> Their oceanfront compound is named Ariel, after the spirit in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.<br /> The main house has more than 3,600 square feet, facing the ocean. Tennis courts and a swimming pool sit on the west side of the 1.63-acre property.<br /> “I like the sense of timelessness, that you are just a grain of sand and the ocean goes on forever,” said Linda Silpe on a hot August afternoon when the ocean breeze made it comfortable to sit outside on the deck.<br /> Her husband pointed out the pluses of living next to the ocean: sea turtle nests every 4 feet, reefs for snorkeling, ocean breeze in the heat of the day and few people walking along the stretch of the beach in front of their home. <br /> He proudly showed the “400 or 500 pictures of sunrises” on his mobile phone, all taken from his deck. <br /> “I grew up near the water and have an affinity for it,” Don Silpe said. “Being here is a way of life.”</p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731475,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731475,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="415" alt="7960731475?profile=original" /></a><strong>A building too far </strong> </p>
<p>In southern Ocean Ridge, beach-walkers talk about the new multistory duplex going up on the former site of a single-story hotel at 5001 Old Ocean Blvd.<br /> “If a building had not already existed on Old Ocean Boulevard with an existing sea wall, the new building would not have been approved,” said Geoff Pugh, mayor of Ocean Ridge. “It extends too far out.”<br /> Sea turtle monitor Joan Lorne says the sea wall is too high and leads to false crawls. Those occur when the turtles crawl up on the beach, hit the sea wall and then retreat into the ocean before laying eggs.<br /> Her daughter, Jackie Kingston, holds the sea turtle monitoring permit from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Her group of five, called <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1504191087678_173140">Sea Turtle Adventurers</span>, counts turtle nests daily in southern Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream.<br /> At the Old Ocean site, the number of sea turtle nests and false crawls are the same as last year: five for each category, Kingston said in late August.<br /> <br /> <strong>Property rights prevail</strong><br /> Local governments can’t just deny property owners the right to build near the ocean if the state allows it, Pugh said. <br /> “Just to say, ‘sea level rise’ would not be enough,” he said.<br /> Citizens Property Insurance, the insurer of last resort, had 684 policies in southern Palm Beach County as of June 30, according to its spokesman. The policies insure structures east of A1A. Homeowners with mortgages are required to have windstorm coverage. <br /> Citizens caps windstorm property damage claims at $700,000 for personal policies and $1 million for commercial policies, spokesman Michael Peltier said.<br /> Boca Raton had the highest number, with 170 personal policies and 25 commercial policies. Commercial policies cover apartment buildings and condo associations, Peltier said.<br /> The county’s southernmost city passed its own coastal construction setback in 1981. With that resolution, Boca Raton reviews the oceanfront projects after they receive their state permits.<br /> One test may come as soon as November. An ultramodern, four-story duplex is planned for 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. The proposed 14,270-square-foot building has a nearly all-glass front facing the ocean.<br /> The city’s environmental consultant returned its draft report in mid-August, said Boca Raton spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson. <br /> The draft report said the project did not do enough to keep its lights from shining on the beach and disturbing nesting sea turtles, the dune vegetation study lacks sufficient detail to determine whether it addresses all on-site vegetative impacts and the proposed dune walkover structure extends out into the active beach and turtle-nesting zones. All three violate the city’s codes. <br /> The results will make it onto the city’s Environmental Advisory Board agenda within 30 days. The board’s recommendation makes it to the Boca Raton City Council agenda within 30 days. The City Council has the final say.<br /> Because of sea turtle nesting, the state requires a tinted glass or a film that allows 45 percent or less light to filter through the windows and doors facing the ocean and on the sides of the building. <br /> “Any development on the beach affects the sea turtles,” said Kirt Rusenko, who leads a group of eight to monitor Boca Raton’s beaches during the nesting season. Rusenko is the marine conservationist at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731492,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731492,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960731492?profile=original" /></a><strong>No holding back the tide</strong><br /> A volunteer group, led by barrier island resident Jessica Gray, is trying to stop coastal construction in Boca Raton. <br /> She formed Boca Save Our Beaches in December 2015, right after the City Council gave a variance to allow a property owner to build a four-story, 10,270-square-foot mansion at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. on a lot less than 100 feet wide. <br /> During that December 2015 meeting, the owner’s attorney hinted at possibly suing Boca Raton if the council denied the variance. <br /> “If you deprive the property owner of all use,” said attorney Charles Siemon, “you must pay the property owner.”<br /> Boca Raton is waiting for the owner to provide an updated environmental assessment to send it out for review, Gibson said. <br /> Gray and others in her group fear the 2500 and 2600 Ocean projects would change the face of the beach, disorient nesting sea turtles and lead to more development along the beach. <br /> In late July, she opened a GoFundMe.com campaign with the goal of raising $5,000. As of late August, she had collected $4,000. <br /> “Attorneys are expensive,” Gray said.<br /> All this turmoil could be avoided, said Keren Bolter, adjunct geosciences professor at Florida Atlantic University.<br /> Five years ago, she wrote a scholarly paper on the state’s Coastal Construction Control Line. The research behind the line’s establishment was sound, she wrote. But the practice of allowing most structures to be built seaward of it does not “protect the public and the environment.”<br /> Her paper ended with this question: “What is the point of drawing a line in the sand if there is no line drawn to restrict people from building beyond it?”</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731863,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731863,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="431" alt="7960731863?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731880,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960731880,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="594" alt="7960731880?profile=original" /></a><em>For additional maps of the Coastal Construction Control Line visit <a href="https://ca.dep.state.fl.us/mapdirect/?focus=beaches">https://ca.dep.state.fl.us/mapdirect/?focus=beaches</a></em></p></div>Boca Raton: Group fighting second proposed residence on undeveloped stretch of beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-group-fighting-second-proposed-residence-on-undevelope2017-08-02T15:17:30.000Z2017-08-02T15:17:30.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960729496,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="600" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960729496,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960729496?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><em>ABOVE: The ultra-modern four-story duplex could feature wide open glass exposure on the beach side. BELOW: The side facing A1A would have access to the four-car garage. <strong>Renderings provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /><br /> A volunteer group led by a barrier island resident is mounting a last-ditch effort to stop construction of a four-story duplex on the beach between Spanish River Park and Ocean Strand — the second project planned in the area.<br /> Boca Save Our Beaches opposes the 14,270-square-foot project planned for the east side of A1A at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. The proposal is hurtling toward a City Council showdown perhaps as soon as October.<br /> In late July, group founder Jessica Gray opened an online fundraising campaign with a goal of $5,000.<br /> “Once our beaches are gone, we cannot get them back,” she wrote on the GoFundMe.com website. <br /> Gray’s group also collects PayPal donations via a link on <a href="http://www.bocasob.com">www.bocasob.com</a>, its main webpage. So far the group has about $4,000, she said.<br /> The group equally opposes a 10,432-square-foot house proposed for a parcel two lots south, at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. That project sparked Gray to form Boca Save Our Beaches in December 2015, right after the City Council granted a zoning variance allowing the single-family mansion to be built on a parcel less than 100 feet wide. Gray and other furious residents complained that the structure would change the face of the beach, disorient nesting sea turtles and set a precedent for more development.<br /> The proposed duplex site is wide enough not to need a zoning variance, but both sites will need the council to grant a variance for building seaward of Florida’s restrictive Coastal Construction Control Line. <br /> The state issued 2500 N. Ocean a “notice to proceed” in October, ruling that the project would not “weaken, damage or destroy the integrity of the beach and dune system.”<br /> Boca Raton’s procedure for granting a CCCL variance is separate from the state’s.<br /> “Neither project is currently scheduled for Environmental Advisory Board or City Council review,” city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said.<br /> But the city sent coastal engineering consultant Applied Technology Management Inc. the 2600 N. Ocean duplex’s applications for the CCCL variance and EAB review on June 26, Gibson said. It has until Aug. 8 to return its recommendation.<br /> ATM’s review must be put on the environmental board agenda within the following 30 days, and the board’s recommendation must go to the City Council 30 days later.<br /> Gibson said paperwork for the CCCL variance and EAB applications at 2500 N. Ocean has not been sent to the consultant yet because the applicant has not provided an updated environmental assessment.<br /> Each side of the planned duplex will have four bedrooms, five full baths, one half-bath, a glass elevator and a four-car garage, according to Delray Beach-based Azure Development, which is marketing the site. It will also boast a 40-foot boardwalk and a rooftop swimming pool. No price has been set, Richard Caster, an Azure principal, said.<br /> Gray, 31, moved to east Boca Raton in 2004 to attend Florida Atlantic University and fell in love with the area. She moved to the barrier island four years ago.<br /> “I’m right in front of these two properties,” she said.<br /> She and the group’s two other directors sponsor events to create awareness and raise money. Attendance varies from 50 to 140, she said.<br /> The mission of the group is clear on its Instagram page: “Boca Save our Beaches was organized in Boca Raton, Fla., with one purpose: to save our beaches from coastal construction.”</p>
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