docks - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T23:13:11Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/docksBoca Raton: Raising Silver Palm boat docks will cost $470,000https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-raising-silver-palm-boat-docks-will-cost-470-0002020-10-28T14:15:09.000Z2020-10-28T14:15:09.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p>By Mary Hladky</p>
<p>The city will raise docks at Silver Palm Park so they no longer will be inundated with water during king tides.<br />The project will cost about $470,000, including engineering and design work. City officials will have a firm number soon.<br />City Council member Monica Mayotte raised the issue with city staff after seeing the docks under water during recent king tides.<br />Other council members agreed with her at an Oct. 26 meeting that this work should be part of building a connected Wildflower/ Silver Palm Park at a cost of $8.25 million.<br />“It’s a lot of money,” said council member Andy Thomson. “But … we have taken the stance we take climate change in the form of higher tides seriously. If we are going to be serious about making our city resilient, this is a no-brainer.”<br />“The longer we wait, the more expensive this gets,” Mayotte said.<br />The work will include raising the decking along the Intracoastal Waterway, raising the boat ramp dock and building a floating dock at the boat launch.<br />The city is building a higher sea wall at the Wildflower site, but such work is not needed at Silver Palm, city officials said.<br />The dock work will not affect the January start of the 6.4-acre Wildflower/Silver Palm park project.</p></div>Delray Beach: Boaters get update on seawall and dock projectshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-boaters-get-update-on-seawall-and-dock-projects2017-05-03T16:27:14.000Z2017-05-03T16:27:14.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> Boat-loving residents came to Delray Beach’s outreach meeting to hear when work would begin on raising the seawall in Veterans Park and on replacing two docks there for marine access to the Intracoastal Waterway.<br /> The docks will be exactly where they are right now, said Brian LaMotte, project engineer with Wantman Group Inc., of West Palm Beach. Moving them would require more permits, delaying the project’s start, he said in late April.<br /> Delray Beach will pay about $80,000 to Wantman to survey, design and supervise the construction of the seawall cap and the two docks. <br /> The public seawall will be 20 inches higher and level for its entire 400-foot length to the Atlantic Avenue bridge, said Timothy DeLand, a Wantman engineer.<br /> Then in 25 years, the city can decide whether another 16 inches are needed because of rising sea levels. <br />The height can be raised with a triangular parapet on top of the seawall, LaMotte said.<br /> The docks, which have rotted wood, were closed last September because they were unsafe to use, LaMotte said. The replacement docks should be usable by January.<br /> The tentative schedule calls for the City Commission to approve the construction contract in June, said Isaac Kovner, city engineer. Callaway Marine Technologies Inc., of West Palm Beach, will do the work for $585,000, he said.<br /> Delray Beach is in the bidding process for the southern portion of the repair work along Marine Way and the city’s marina. That work is set to begin next year. <br /> One resident who lives on Marine Way questioned why the projects weren’t coordinated because rising water would find the low spot and flood the area. <br /> Kovner agreed and then he explained the government process for doing projects. First, the city has to budget the money, next hire a consultant who will survey the site to make recommendations of what should be done, then the construction project will go out for bid and the City Commission must approve the contract. <br /> Capt. Joe Reardon, who operates Delray Yacht Cruises out of Veterans Park, said during low tide times, some smaller boats won’t be able to tie off. “More ladders will be needed,” he said.<br /> The current contract calls for two ladders, Kovner said. But four more ladders and lower cleats for tying off can be added after commission approval, under the contingency portion, he said.<br /> Reardon will install a hydraulic lift for his yachts to use during low tide times.<br /> Depending on the boat sizes, LaMotte said, about three boats can use the 90-foot dock at one time. Dock parking is limited to two hours, according to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. <br /> Kovner asked the group of 20 people how often they would like to meet to get updates. Monthly was agreed to be appropriate.<br /> Delray Beach also is surveying the condition of public and private seawalls along the Intracoastal Waterway. The work is supposed to be finished in mid-summer, said Missie Barletto, assistant director of the Environmental Services Department. <br /> Two directors of the Beach Property Owners Association, Andy Katz and Bob Victorin, attended the meeting. They said they would spread the word when the survey is finished to their members who live on the east side of the waterway.</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Developer Swaim claims ownership of condo’s lagoon dockshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-developer-swaim-claims-ownership-of-condo-s-lagoon-do2015-12-02T21:00:12.000Z2015-12-02T21:00:12.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960616457,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960616457,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="413" alt="7960616457?profile=original" /></a>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br />Wellington Arms Condominium homeowners and developer William Swaim are lawyering up for a legal border war that could determine the fate of the mangrove-rich lagoon behind Ocean Ridge Town Hall.<br /> For nearly two years, Swaim has been trying to persuade the town to give him an easement behind the building so he can develop lots he controls in the lagoon. Condo homeowners have steadfastly and publicly opposed him.<br /> In October, the dispute sharpened when Swaim’s Waterfront ICW Properties obtained a deed to another lot, this one owned by Todd Flato and Diana Fenimore. The developer claims the property includes submerged land that reaches under the Wellington Arms docks. Alfred LaSorte, Swaim’s West Palm Beach-based attorney, has told the condo owners he wants them to tear out the docks — or agree to a deal.<br /> LaSorte says Swaim is willing to lease the docks back to Wellington Arms for $50,000, providing the homeowners are willing to support his efforts to develop all his property in the lagoon. Also, the homeowners must agree to retract public objections they have made to the South Florida Water Management District, the agency that must give permission for building.<br /> Pat Ganley, Wellington Arms treasurer, wrote the Town Commission asking for help. He calls Swaim’s move a “land grab,” pure and simple. Ganley and the condo group believe the property covered about 1.29 acres before Swaim got the deed and now stretches some 5.7 acres under his new interpretation.<br /> “The Swaim land grab puts the Ocean Ridge lagoon and the Wellington Arms docks in peril,” Ganley told the commission. “In my eyes, this can only be considered theft of property.”<br /> The condo’s attorney, Julia Jennison of Lewis, Longman & Walker in West Palm Beach, did not respond to requests for comment. For 13 years, she worked as a legal research assistant for the SFWMD, so she knows something about the complexities of submerged land disputes.<br /> As for the town, Mayor Geoff Pugh has told Swaim the commission won’t consider giving him an easement until he gets the permits he needs from the SFWMD, and the agency continues to reject him, asserting the lagoon and its mangroves are environmentally protected. Swaim has told the town he’s in a Catch-22 predicament: He can’t get the permits until the town approves an easement. In May, an administrative law judge in Tallahassee upheld the latest SFWMD rejection.<br /> “I know you have helped to stop Swaim’s access to easement recently and thank you for your efforts to keep him out,” Ganley wrote Pugh and the commission. “I hope the city has the ability to keep the easement away from Swaim and not allow any access to this property for development.”<br /> <strong>In other business:</strong><br /> • Police Chief Hal Hutchins says the town was prepared to go forward with plans to close off the entrance to Midlane Road at Woolbright Road during the first week of December. Signs marking the intersection for “local access only” have been up for weeks to prepare residents. “It won’t take long for me to hear what people think,” Hutchins said of the closure.<br /> • Qualifying for the March 15 municipal election opened Nov. 24 and runs until Dec. 8. Vice Mayor Lynn Allison is the only commissioner up for reelection. <br /><br /></p></div>Delray Beach: Park docks closed for safety reviewhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-park-docks-closed-for-safety-review2015-12-02T20:48:34.000Z2015-12-02T20:48:34.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960614059,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960614059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="588" alt="7960614059?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Seasonal high tides inundated the walkway along the docks at Veterans Park in Delray Beach on Nov. 25.</em> <strong><em>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</em></strong></p>
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<p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong></p>
<p><br />Delray Beach closed its public boat docks at Veterans Park in late November while it assesses the stability of the structures at 802 NE First St.<br />The city sent out a consulting engineer to review the stability of the docks and seawall at the park, the docks at the city’s marina and also a portion of Marine Way between Southeast First Street and the Deck 84 restaurant, said Randal Krejcarek, director of Environmental Services. <br />That report won’t be finished until early next year when it will be reviewed by the city commission for possible fixes, Krejcarek said.<br />“The elevation of the Intracoastal Waterway is actually higher than the road (portion of Marine Way),” he said. “We want to be sure the road can handle the weight of a garbage truck without cracking the water main” that lies 30 inches below the road surface. Traffic is limited to residents only in that area. <br />That portion of Marine Way shows erosion and cracking, made worse by the king tides in late October, Krejcarek said. <br />The other areas of Veterans Park remain open, the city said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Docks not likely at new Houston’s waterfront restauranthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-docks-not-likely-at-new-houston-s-waterfront-restauran2015-09-02T18:42:58.000Z2015-09-02T18:42:58.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /><br /> The proposed Houston’s restaurant at the old Wildflower site will have a breathtaking view of the Intracoastal Waterway, but it won’t have docks, the developer says.<br /> And a fence will block access on the waterfront walkway to the boat launch area at adjacent Silver Palm Park, said Glenn Viers, vice president of the Hillstone Restaurant Group, which the city chose to build the eatery.<br /> Viers told a crowded Sept.1 meeting of the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations that his company was simply reacting to the concerns of boaters who want to protect Silver Palm Park from restaurant traffic.<br /> “Really, the only way that we felt that we could effectively deal with that was to put a fence up,” he said.<br /> The restaurant will not have docks because the Intracoastal’s right of way comes too close to shore and the waterway’s bed is filled with sensitive plant life.<br /> “We’ve looked into it, and we’ll continue to look into it, but the indications are that it’s infeasible,” Viers said.<br /> Neither proposal went over big with the audience.<br /> “You really need to get the city to work with you, the county, whoever it is, to get the … dockage. That is important,” resident Craig Ehrnst said. “And No. 2, the whole idea of a fence that’s underneath there in Silver Palm Park, I understand the logic and the development of how it got there, but it defeats the mobile, pedestrian-friendly city we are. And that would just be a tragedy.”<br /> The restaurant, originally projected to open in December, will not be ready for business until sometime in 2017, Viers said. The one-story structure will be 7,000 square feet, smaller than the 7,800-square-foot Houston’s the company operates off Glades Road west of Interstate 95.<br /> Viers said the new Houston’s would have 30 tables inside, an undetermined number outside and 11 more parking spaces than the code-required 120. The entrance will be on Northeast Fifth Avenue, and the restaurant, he said, will offer “some of the best views available of the Intracoastal in South Florida.”<br /> Houston’s will rent the land from the city for $500,000 a year plus 5 percent of any gross above $10 million. Boca Raton bought the 2.3-acre parcel at the northwest base of the Palmetto Park Road bridge in 2009 for $7.5 million.<br /> Any issues with traffic are the responsibility of the city, Viers said, as is changing the zoning for the parcel.<br /> Viers also said the restaurant, at the former site of the raucous Wildflower restaurant and bar, would be vigilant about keeping noise down.<br /> “We’re committed to being a good neighbor,” he said.<br /> The city’s marine advisory board, its planning and zoning board and the City Council are scheduled to discuss the restaurant this month.</p></div>Lantana: Two docks planned for Sportsman's Parkhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-two-docks-planned-for2010-03-04T20:47:57.000Z2010-03-04T20:47:57.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><br />By Margie Plunkett<br /><br /> Lantana’s plan to build two docks to provide staging for the boat launch at Sportsman’s Park will cost about $224,000, part of $300,000 county funds earmarked for the project.<br /> Council approved the design presented by Kimley-Horn & Associates Feb. 22, which consists of a two-dock structure built with timber decking and concrete piles.<br /> “The goal of the project is to provide slips to reduce the congestion and to provide day slips to let boaters come and enjoy the shops and restaurants,” said Kevin Schanen of Kimley-Horn.<br /> The eastern pier is primarily for staging, and a breakwater underneath it is designed to quell waves, he said. The other provides four slips for boats to dock for the day.<br /> The timber decking raised concern from Councilmember Elizabeth Tennyson, who pointed out the hazards of splinters and maintenance costs – and well as replacement costs if the materials are washed away in the storm. <br /> A more expensive material is available that would extend the life of the docks, Town Manager Mike Bornstein pointed out. Mayor David Stewart noted that Council’s approval was only for the initial design, that Kimberly Horn would return many times as the project progresses and Council would have the opportunity to change materials used. <br /> Public comment on the dock noted the project could benefit from making the space for the entrance ramp wider to facilitate navigation into and out of the ramp. Environmental concerns raised included whether the pressure treated wood would leach into the Intracoastal Waterway.<br /> The county granted Lantana the funds for Sportsman’s Park from $300,000 that was unused from another project. The cost of the staging docks also includes a 24 percent contingency, according to Kimley-Horn.<br /><br /></div>