planning and zoning board - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T05:53:29Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/planning+and+zoning+boardObituary: Patricia ‘Pat’ Estermanhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/obituary-patricia-pat-esterman2021-08-04T15:38:27.000Z2021-08-04T15:38:27.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9380761076,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9380761076,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="106" alt="9380761076?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>BRINY BREEZES — Patricia “Pat” Albers Esterman died May 10. She was 89.<br /> Born July 7, 1931, in Cincinnati to Frank and Blanche Albers, and married for 65 years to Harry Esterman, Mrs. Esterman was a devoted mother and homemaker with a professional career. <br />Before marrying, she was a hairstylist. While raising their five children, she returned to the University of Cincinnati, where she received a bachelor’s and a master’s in nutrition and dietetics. Licensed as a professional dietitian, she worked as an extension agent for Purdue University and for the Women, Infants and Children program. She developed innovative programs and consulted with individuals on nutrition issues. <br /> Mrs. Esterman was an avid reader. She shared her love of reading with children, volunteering at schools and libraries. While quiet and modest about her many volunteer activities, she took pride in founding a United Way chapter in Franklin County, Indiana, where she resided at the time. <br /> In 1977, the Estermans had surprised their children by moving to an 80-acre farm in Milan, Indiana. Their dream was to be able to live off their farm, its harvests and resources. Besides having a bountiful farm yielding fruits and vegetables, they raised cows and pigs. <br /> The couple also loved to travel, starting their life together with a honeymoon to Fort Lauderdale. In the 1960s they were founding members of the Travel-A-Go-Go Club in Cincinnati. They flew on numerous trips with their club friends. They invested in a 1970s movie about Coco Chanel and had the chance to meet the actors and tour France. <br /> They had a lifelong love of Florida, returning for many family vacations to Pensacola, the Keys, the West Coast, Orlando, and culminating in their retirement to The Villages and Briny Breezes. <br /> As a second-generation Brinyite, Mrs. Esterman served on the Town’s Planning and Zoning Board and was a devoted town library volunteer. She treasured the camaraderie and close friendships at Briny Breezes. She and Harry were active in bridge, square dancing, shuffleboard, history club and travel club. <br /> Harry Esterman died in 2016. They are survived by children Sue (Mike) Thaler, Sally (Paul) Lukez, Joyce (Wes) Culbertson, Bob Esterman, and Greg (Michelle) Esterman, as well as six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.<br /> In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at <a href="https://medicine.iu.edu/research-centers/alzheimers/giving">https://medicine.iu.edu/research-centers/alzheimers/giving</a> or Briny Breezes Library, 5000 N. Ocean Blvd., Briny Breezes, FL 33435.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Obituary submitted by family</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Advisory boards give thumbs-up to building Mizner condo in phaseshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-advisory-boards-give-thumbs-up-to-building-mizner-cond2018-10-31T14:45:12.000Z2018-10-31T14:45:12.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The developer of the luxury condo now rebranded as Alina Residences Boca Raton has cleared two hurdles in its effort to build the 384-unit downtown project in two phases.<br />The Community Appearance Board recommended that the Community Redevelopment Agency approve the phasing request by a 4-2 vote on Oct. 16, and the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended approval without debate two days later.<br />Those votes set the stage for the CRA commissioners, who double as Boca Raton City Council members, to make a final decision on Nov. 26.<br />“We are very disappointed, and we don’t believe there was enough attention paid to the community at large and the impact of extending the building process as a result of phasing,” Norman Waxman, an opponent to the proposal who is a condo board member at Townsend Place, said after the planning board meeting.<br />Opponents of the phasing plan now will meet to “develop our game plan” to convince CRA commissioners to reject developer El-Ad National Properties’ request, he said.<br />Alina Residences, formerly known as Mizner 200, is one of the most contentious projects in the city’s history. Downtown residents complained that it was too massive and a symbol of downtown overdevelopment.<br />El-Ad made concessions on building design, landscaping and setbacks that eventually won over critics, and the project was approved after a flurry of last-minute deal making in 2017. <br />But tensions flared again earlier this year when El-Ad asked to build the project in two phases, add valet parking and to not fully complete a pedestrian promenade until the second phase was finished.<br />Critics cried foul. They said they had a firm deal with El-Ad, and now the developer is reneging. <br />The most vocal objectors are Townsend Place residents who live next to the project site, but they have an important ally in Investments Limited, a major downtown landowner which was among those who negotiated with El-Ad.<br />Their main complaint is building the three-tower project in phases.<br />“If phasing is adopted for the Mizner 200 project, we cannot find this acceptable,” Waxman told the planning board. El-Ad’s proposal is “a bait and switch,” he said, and “we believe in the adage a deal is a deal.”<br />City records and El-Ad’s submissions to the city state that it was to be built all at once. But Noam Ziv, El-Ad’s executive director of development, told The Coastal Star in September that El-Ad never intended to do that. <br />“It would saturate the market,” he said.<br />Waxman and other critics argued at the planning board meeting that the change would benefit the developer, but not city residents. <br />They fear that if the condos don’t sell well, the second phase will never be built. That would result in one condo tower next to the run-down Mizner on the Green townhomes that Alina Residences was to replace.<br />If El-Ad decides to sell the second phase property, Townsend Place residents won’t know what the new owner would do with the property.<br />“That is one of the reasons we are against phasing,” Waxman said after the meeting. “If they decide not to build phase two, we have no control over what would happen next.”<br />Robert Eisen of Investments Limited said in an email that the company “stands with the good citizens of Townsend Place and Boca Beautiful and does not support the revised plan.”<br /> El-Ad’s request calls for 140 condos in one tower built on the northern portion of the nearly 9-acre site on Southeast Mizner Boulevard. Phase 2 would be 244 units in two towers on the southern portion adjacent to Townsend Place.<br />El-Ad attorney Bonnie Miskel told planning board members that the developer wants to build both phases but has the right to build only one.<br />“It is unfair to say we are changing the deal,” she said.<br /> El-Ad agreed to changes to satisfy critics, and those changes stand, she said.</p></div>Boca Raton: New requirements snag progress on Midtown projecthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-new-requirements-snag-progress-on-midtown-project2017-11-29T17:00:00.000Z2017-11-29T17:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p> The proposed Midtown development faces significant new obstacles as a result of conditions imposed by both city staff and a city board that would delay the start of construction, reduce the size of the project and possibly torpedo it.<br /> Developer Crocker Partners drafted proposed ordinances that set a framework for how Midtown can be built. But that prompted complaints that the developer had assumed control of a city process, and the City Council ordered staff six months ago take back the reins.<br /> Midtown, to be built between Interstate 95 and the Town Center at Boca Raton, is envisioned as a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people will live and walk or take shuttles to their jobs in the area, shopping and restaurants.<br /> As many as 2,500 mostly rental units would be built on nearly 300 acres where no residential exists. A new Tri-Rail station at or near Northwest 19th Street along the CSX railroad tracks would bring people to and from the area.<br /> The proposed ordinances would allow restaurants, bars under certain conditions, hotels, convenience stores and schools. Drive-in restaurants, gas stations, veterinary clinics and outdoor seating or entertainment would require City Council approval.<br /> The city’s redo of the proposed ordinances still allows 2,500 units. But they could not be built until the Tri-Rail station is constructed and operating and Military Trail is redesigned to make it easier to cross and more pedestrian friendly. The tallest buildings in the area now are 145 feet, but the height limit would be reduced to no more than 105 feet.<br /> “We were shocked when we saw that,” Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco said of the Tri-Rail station requirement.<br /> The city’s Planning and Zoning Board went even further at its Nov. 9 meeting. The board unanimously approved the proposed ordinances, but added conditions that it recommends the City Council adopt.<br /> Board members called for reducing the number of residential units to 600. They want no construction until streets in the area are redesigned, landscaping and other infrastructure work completed, and a shuttle system is operating. Crocker Partners proposed some residential units as small as 500 square feet, but the board recommended a minimum of 700 square feet.<br /> Several board members said the city may need to create a special taxing district for the Midtown area that would pay for roads, landscaping and other improvements.<br /> After Brandon Schaad, director of the city’s department of development services, outlined to planning board members changes city staff made to the proposed ordinances, attorneys representing Crocker Partners said some of the key changes are unconstitutional and violate Florida law.<br /> The Tri-Rail station requirement is “arbitrary and unreasonable and creates an indefinite moratorium [on Midtown construction],” said Deana Falce, a litigator with the Shubin & Bass law firm.<br /> “Private property owners have no control over whether the Tri-Rail station is ever built,” she said.<br /> The requirement for completion of improvements to Military Trail, the main artery through Midtown, leaves the project at the mercy of the city and county, which would jointly plan the work, she said.<br /> The building height requirement is “arbitrary” and will discourage development, Falce said.<br /> An angry Planning and Zoning chair William Fairman chastised the attorneys for not submitting a packet outlining their objections before the meeting. Board member Larry Snowden called the unconstitutionality claim “insulting.”<br /> “We never want to commence legal action unless it is absolutely necessary,” Bianco said after he meeting. “But we need to protect our property rights.”<br /> He expressed hope that Crocker Partners and the city can work together to “find common ground.” But the city restrictions, Bianco said, will “create unreasonable barriers to development.” <br /> Downsizing the project to 600 units is unrealistic for a 300-acre site, he said. “It is such a small number of units, it would not allow us to achieve the minimum necessary to create the integrated, pedestrian-walkable neighborhood we want to develop,” he said.<br /> Midtown should not be dependent on construction of a Tri-Rail station, he said. While he supports mass transit and the station, it “is not necessary for us to achieve … what we want to achieve,” he said.<br /> The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, has been considering building a second station in Boca Raton since 2007 and recently launched a new study to evaluate the idea. If SFRTA decides to build one, construction would not begin until 2022.<br /> When Schaad briefed City Council members on the planning board’s decision at their Nov. 13 workshop meeting, Mayor Susan Haynie and council member Scott Singer weren’t certain how to proceed. Council members Robert Weinroth and Andrea O’Rourke said a master plan should be created for the Midtown area, which also would delay construction.<br /> The City Council will consider the ordinances and the planning board’s recommendations again after Schaad completes an analysis. <br /> Two public hearings will be held before final decisions are made.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council requests more changes for Mizner 200https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-requests-more-changes-for-mizner-2002017-08-02T15:30:00.000Z2017-08-02T15:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960734296,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960734296,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="623" alt="7960734296?profile=original" /></a><em>Critics have complained that Mizner 200 is too large and would obstruct sunlight and views for adjacent buildings. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /> <br /> Boca Raton City Council members have demanded yet another redesign of the proposed Mizner 200 luxury condominium, giving developer Elad National Properties one month to complete the task before they reconsider the project Aug. 21.<br /> Council members, sitting as Community Redevelopment Agency commissioners at a July 24 meeting, praised the design of the project, which would replace the 246 Mizner on the Green townhouses on nearly 9 acres along Southeast Mizner Boulevard.<br /> But four council members said they want more design tweaks before they will give the project their blessing. Only one, Robert Weinroth, said he was ready to vote in favor of it.<br /> “I personally feel this is a project that has come to the point it deserves to be embraced by the city,” Weinroth said.<br /> Other council members recognized that Mizner 200 has been redesigned four times in an effort to win support of vocal critics who contend it is too massive. Even so, they want more space between three sections of the project to open up views toward the ocean, more landscaping along Southeast Mizner Boulevard, and developer meetings with critics in an effort to win them over.<br /> “I think we are on our way. I think this is going to happen,” said council member Andrea O’Rourke, who then added, “It is important we reach out to the people concerned. Please get with the neighbors.”<br /> “I don’t feel we are all the way there,” said Mayor Susan Haynie.<br /> Elad chief executive Amnon Safran contended his team has met with critics, to little avail. <br /> “We negotiated for a year and a half with everybody. They would never agree to anything,” he said.<br /> Elad is unwilling to start over on the design, Safran said, noting that the developer and architects GarciaStromberg/GS4Studios already have cut the size of the proposed 384-unit condo by 60,000 square feet to decrease its density. <br /> Other changes included increased setbacks, additional green space, varied roof heights and increasing the distance between the project and the neighboring Townsend Place condominiums.<br /> After a brief huddle between the Elad team and city staff, Elad agreed to meet again with critics and make additional changes.<br /> “As quickly as we can, we will reach out to interested parties and talk to them about our ideas,” said Elad attorney Bonnie Miskel. <br /> Within days of the meeting, architects for Mizner 200 and architects hired by project critics were working to make design changes acceptable to all by the first week of August to meet a city deadline to place the project on the Aug. 21 agenda.<br /> The changes will be presented to two city consultants for their review before going to the City Council.<br /> The strongest criticism has come from Townsend Place unit owners, who complain Mizner 200 will block their eastward views and sunlight, reducing their property values.<br /> “The residents of Townsend Place are against this project in its present form,” said Townsend Place president Craig Sherman. “We are not against development.”<br /> Investments Limited, a prominent city developer which is planning a makeover of its Royal Palm Place shopping and dining destination on the west side of Southeast Mizner Boulevard, joined them. <br /> The views from Royal Palm Place, whose residential component would compete with Mizner 200, also would be partially blocked and its representatives contend the condo project does not comply with the city’s architectural guidelines.<br /> Architects Doug Mummaw, who has designed several downtown projects, and Derek Vander Ploeg, who is on the Downtown Boca Raton Advisory Committee, and former Boca Raton CRA executive director Jorge Camejo support Investment Limited’s objections.<br /> The meeting was punctuated by the spectacle of Mizner 200 attorney Robert Sweetapple employing a little-used procedure that allowed him to cross-examine some of those who spoke against the project.<br /> Sweetapple questioned other attorneys in sometimes testy exchanges. <br /> “I felt I got to witness Law and Order, Boca Raton edition tonight,” quipped Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers, referencing the TV show.<br /> Sweetapple’s intent, in part, appeared to be to show that some opponents had been recruited to the cause by Investments Limited, which had paid at least one of the opponents to review the project.<br /> Elad has struggled for three years to get approval to begin construction. The tide began turning in its favor this year when two city consultants reviewed plans for Mizner 200 and determined it complies with the city ordinance that governs downtown development.<br /> In May, the Community Appearance Board and Planning and Zoning Board voted in favor of it. City staff also has recommended that the City Council approve it.<br /> At nine stories, Mizner 200 meets the building height limit for that part of downtown. It also meets the city’s requirements for setbacks, parking and open space. It incorporates a reinterpretation of design elements that appear in architect Addison Mizner’s signature buildings.<br /> The building has supporters, including a number of downtown residents who would love to see the old Mizner on the Green rental units replaced with a more visually appealing project.<br /> The City Council has been lobbied intensely on the project. At the start of the meeting, Weinroth and Haynie held up thick binders filled with emails they have received.<br /> Regardless of whether the council gives the project the go-ahead or nixes it, a court battle is likely to follow. Elad’s legal team now includes Sweetapple, a well-known litigator. <br /> BocaBeautiful, a citizens group that opposes the project, and two residents of Townsend Place also have hired attorneys.</p></div>Boca Raton: Two boards' approvals send Mizner 200 on to City Councilhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-two-boards-approvals-send-mizner-200-on-to-city-counci2017-05-31T18:00:00.000Z2017-05-31T18:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960722463,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960722463,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960722463?profile=original" /></a><em>The plans for the 384-unit Mizner 200 condo complex have been through a few revisions.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Mary Hladky<br /> <br /></strong> Nearly three years after a developer first proposed a luxury condominium now named Mizner 200, the city’s most controversial downtown project has gained approvals from two boards.<br /> The only hurdle remaining for the 384-unit condo is a July 24 vote of the City Council, sitting as Community Redevelopment Agency commissioners.<br /> The relief of developer Elad National Properties and architect GarciaStromberg /GS4Studios was palpable after the Community Appearance Board’s 5-2 vote in favor of the project May 16.<br /> “You do not know the joy that brought us, that that was the last thing we had to deal with,” GarciaStromberg CEO Jorge Garcia told Planning and Zoning Board members two days later, after explaining his agreement to make two minor design changes CAB members requested.<br /> Minutes later, the Planning and Zoning Board gave the project its blessing with a 5-1 vote.<br /> John Gore, president of BocaBeautiful.org which opposes the project, said his citizens group still thinks it is too massive.<br /> “We think it is the last nail in the coffin as far as downtown development is concerned, because if they can build a building like this — twisting the interpretation of 4035 — they can build anything,” he said, referring to the city ordinance that governs downtown development.<br /> Gore is far from conceding defeat, saying he always expected the two boards to recommend approval.<br /> Mizner 200 “is going to where the real battle is going to take place. That is the City Council,” he said.<br /> Downtown Boca Raton has experienced a surge of development recently, causing angst for many residents who decry what they see as the changing character of their city and the erosion of the city’s signature Addison Mizner architectural style.<br /> But while they blasted projects such as the mixed-use Mark at CityScape, at the southeast corner of Federal Highway and Palmetto Park Road, their most vehement opposition was aimed at Mizner 200.<br /> Elad stunned downtown residents in September 2014 when it unveiled plans for 500 luxury condos designed by “starchitect” Daniel Libeskind. The proposed project’s four towers rose as high as 30 stories, well exceeding downtown height limits.<br /> When that concept drew no support, Elad ditched Libeskind and hired GarciaStromberg. The West Palm Beach firm has since revised the project four times, with the last two iterations right in line with what the city allows. <br /> The project would replace Mizner on the Green’s 246 rental units on nearly 9 acres along Southeast Mizner Boulevard. The design changes cut square footage by 10 percent, decreased the average unit size, increased setbacks and added more green space. <br /> At nine stories, Mizner 200 meets the building height limit for that part of downtown. Two levels of parking will be underground and on the ground floor. Building materials will include smooth and textured stucco, stone accents, wood-look trellis and slate tile roof. <br /> The project is set back from the road to accommodate a promenade with covered walkways, trellised sitting zones, pocket parks and shade and palm trees.<br /> To overcome objections that the project is too massive, the architect divided Mizner 200 into three sections that allow views eastward to a golf course and the ocean. The central section will sit 170 feet back from Mizner Boulevard.<br /> Even so, objectors say Mizner 200, at more than 800 feet long, is still far too large. <br /> Many of its sharpest critics live in the Townsend Place condominium immediately to the south of the proposed project. They complain that Mizner 200 will sit so close to their condo’s north building that owners will lose eastward views and sunlight, reducing their property values.<br /> They have been joined by Investments Limited, a prominent city developer planning a makeover of its Royal Palm Place shopping and dining destination on the west side of Mizner Boulevard. Royal Palm Place also would lose views and its residential component would compete with Mizner 200.<br /> Opponents, wearing red-and-white “No Mizner 200” badges, jammed the CAB meeting.</p>
<p>“Townsend Place is against this project … as it is now constituted,” said Craig Sherman, the condo’s president. “It is too close to Townsend Place. Something with less buildings and less mass might serve the purpose …”</p>
<p> Joel Cohen, another Townsend Place resident, described Mizner 200 as a “large monstrosity.”</p>
<p> Robert Eisen, a land-use consultant with Investments Limited, said while the architect has made design improvements, the project is too big and violates the city’s urban design policy.</p>
<p> “This one large building is contrary to the image and brand that has been developed in the downtown,” he said. “This building is just plainly too big …”</p>
<p> The city’s urban design consultants, though, concluded that the project passed muster, as did the city’s planning staff.</p>
<p> Calvin, Giordano & Associates concluded in January that Mizner 200 complied with city ordinance 4035 across the board. But after the city hired a new consultant, The Mellgren Planning Group, city officials asked that it, too, review the project.</p>
<p> After initially determining that changes were needed, TMPG met with GarciaStromberg president Peter Stromberg, who outlined design revisions that already had been made. He also presented three-dimensional renderings and a digital model of the project that convinced TMPG the project complied with the ordinance.</p>
<p> “The detail readily apparent in the graphically rich renderings demonstrated a careful attention to design quality and an understanding of the level of craft Addison Mizner incorporated into his works,” the consultant wrote in a memorandum to the city.</p>
<p> Two CAB members wanted to withhold approval so the architect could revise Mizner 200 once again. But the majority voted in favor after the developer agreed to two changes — eliminating trellises on the north and south ends and putting shade trees along the street rather than palm trees. The architect warned, however, that the location of utility lines may not allow the location of shade trees and palms to be switched.</p>
<p> Fewer project opponents attended the Planning and Zoning Board meeting on May 18, and seven residents stepped forward to support it.</p>
<p> “Mizner 200 is a great improvement to what is there today …” said one resident. “I think this is a beautiful project.”</p>
<p> The board asked few questions before voting its approval, with the condition that the developer add an element such as planters near the curb to help protect pedestrians on the promenade from fast moving cars.</p>
<p> Mizner 200 is the last major project in the downtown awaiting a final decision by the CRA. Investments Limited has not yet submitted plans to the city for Royal Palm Place.</p>
<p> Two approved projects — luxury condo Tower 155 and the Mandarin Oriental hotel and Residences at Mandarin Oriental — have yet to be completed.</p>
<p> Very little land is available for more big projects, but the downtown will continue to evolve as landowners decide to redevelop what already exists.</p></div>Boca Raton: Planners OK hospital garage despite neighbors’ objectionshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-planners-ok-hospital-garage-despite-neighbors-objectio2017-05-03T18:10:11.000Z2017-05-03T18:10:11.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> Malka Cabral begged Boca Raton’s Planning and Zoning Board to reject plans to construct a 50-foot-high parking garage at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. <br /> The proposed garage would overlook her home 100 feet from her property line. Lights and noise from the towering structure would keep her young son up at night and ruin area property values, she said.<br /> “There are other options to … grow this hospital that don’t have to impact our neighborhoods,” said Cabral, who lives in the 700 block of Northwest Seventh Drive just south of the hospital.<br /> But despite concerns from about a dozen residents, Planning and Zoning Board members voted 3-2 at their April 20 meeting to move the project forward. The hospital is at 800 Meadows Road, across from the Tunison Palms neighborhood.<br /> The board specifically voted to recommend the hospital be allowed to build the structure closer to the nearby single-family homes than code allowed, reducing the required setback to the Tunison Palms neighborhood from 250 to 100 feet. The City Council must still review the matter.<br /> Homeowner Andrew McLaughlin said the parking garage would be a huge eyesore and said it would destroy property values.<br /> “We have a great neighborhood,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve got to look at alternatives, keep the dialogue open and see what we can come up with.”<br /> McLaughlin, who lives on the same block as Cabral, said the parking garage would produce screeching tires and noise all night long.<br /> Homeowner Christel Callahan worried about the pollution in addition to the sound, light, safety and security issues involved.<br /> “We can make it greener, but those fumes from the parking garage will come down on us,” Callahan said. “Pollution is a real problem. What about us?”<br /> Residents from the Spanish Oaks Condominium Association presented a petition containing 150 signatures.<br /> Bonnie Miskel, an attorney for the hospital, said city code allows the hospital to build a 150-foot-tall office building or hospital tower in the same place, but the hospital knew the impact would be much worse. It proposed the shorter parking structure instead.<br /> She said the hospital cannot accommodate parking needs during the season and needs the relief of the new garage.<br /> “We have a limited footprint to work with and we are doing the best we can to mitigate the impact,” Miskel said. She said the existing 250-foot setback and the reduced 100-foot setback are more generous than any other commercial/residential pairing in the city.<br /> “The rest of us have to live with 50 [feet],” Miskel said.<br /> Board member Janice Rustin said she understood residents’ concerns but had to balance the potential harm with the hospital’s needs.<br /> Board member Kerry Koen said the hospital needed more parking and had no other options.<br /> “There is only so much land,” Koen said. “They really have tried to buy everything they can over the years. I am going to support it not because I am in love with it, but it’s the only practical answer in context with the fact the hospital stands ready to work with the community as best they can.”</p></div>Briny Breezes: Town delays decision on magistrate after residents’ outcryhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/briny-breezes-town-delays-decision-on-magistrate-after-residents-2017-05-03T16:44:03.000Z2017-05-03T16:44:03.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960721285,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960721285,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960721285?profile=original" /></a><em>More than 60 Briny Breezes residents, including speaker Joe Coyner, showed up at the April 27</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>council meeting to complain about a proposed ordinance that would create</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>a magistrate position to resolve building code disputes.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /> <br /> Just about every municipality in Florida uses a magistrate to settle disputes over code violations between homeowners and local government.<br /> Briny Breezes doesn’t, and that’s not likely to change without a fight.<br /> In a scene reminiscent of a decade ago when Brinyites considered selling their land to developers, an overflow crowd packed Town Hall to protest a change residents believe could mean selling out their idiosyncratic culture.<br /> Apparently it all started in Joe Coyner’s bathroom. A 30-year Briny resident who serves on several of its corporate committees, Coyner wanted a new shower and hired someone to install it. No one obtained a permit from the town.<br /> A building inspector saw parts of the old shower outside Coyner’s mobile home and cited him for a violation. The town charged him $171 for the missing permit and another fee to expedite the paperwork. Coyner says he talked to legal and building experts outside the town who say no permit was needed, so he says no inspection of the work is needed.<br /> Coyner and Briny officials have been locked in a standoff for months now over the permit charges and inspection. Besides Coyner, two other cases, involving work by an unlicensed contractor, are similarly stalled because of disputes over code violations.<br /> In March, the Town Council by consensus asked its attorney, John Skrandel, to draft a proposed ordinance for discussion at the April 27 meeting. The ordinance would allow the town to hire a magistrate to resolve its code disputes. A magistrate is an authorized official, usually a lawyer, who acts as a judge to rule on cases and impose fines.<br /> Word of the magistrate idea touched off a firestorm. Dozens of Brinyites signed a petition opposing the move, and the fire marshal’s limit of 70 filled Town Hall for the meeting.<br /> “I am totally opposed to setting up this magistrate form of government,” Coyner said. “We have very competent people here. … We can solve our own problems.”<br /> “You’re destroying the fabric of Briny,” said Joe Masterson, whom the town accuses of working as an unlicensed electrical contractor in the park.<br /> “This is creating an adversarial relationship,” Tom Byrne told the council. “I don’t like what I’m seeing.”<br /> Several residents complained the town shouldn’t bring in “outsiders” to solve problems that should be handled internally — Brinyite to Brinyite.<br /> “This is an overreaching action. This is something that’s not needed,” said former Mayor Roger Bennett, who argued cases of noncompliance are too rare to warrant the new law and new expense.<br /> Council President Sue Thaler and Deputy Town Clerk Jackie Ermola agreed that stalemates are infrequent, saying about 99 percent of the code disputes settle quickly and amicably.<br /> “But for the 1 percent that don’t, then what?” Thaler asked. She said the council has no authority to deal with homeowners who ignore violations and fines.<br /> “What do we do with people who won’t obey the law?” Alderman Bobby Jurovaty asked. He said he was concerned about uncorrected, serious violations that would pose safety threats even to neighbors — electrical fires, for example.<br /> After more 2 1/2 hours of often heated debate, the council voted to table the proposal until October, when Briny’s snowbirds return and the park is full of opinions. Aldermen Jim McCormick, Christina Adams and Chick Behringer voted for the postponement; Thaler and Jurovaty opposed it, arguing the town shouldn’t allow the problem to fester for six more months.<br /> At 4 p.m. Oct. 12, the council plans to hold a joint workshop with the Planning and Zoning Board to discuss the magistrate idea. The public is invited.</p></div>Boca Raton: Board OKs 6-story condo proposed for A1A at Palmetto Park Roadhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-board-oks-6-story-condo-proposed-for-a1a-at-palmetto-p2017-03-29T17:52:46.000Z2017-03-29T17:52:46.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960719286,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960719286,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960719286?profile=original" /></a><em>Condo balconies are cantilevered.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Rendering by GS4 Studios</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Sallie James<br /><br /></strong> A proposed six-story, 70-unit condo complex slated for the southwest corner of South Ocean Boulevard and East Palmetto Park Road got a thumbs up from Boca Raton’s Planning and Zoning Board last month. <br /> Next, the Ocean Palm project will head to the City Council for review.<br /> Planning and Zoning Board members also unanimously voted to recommend amending the future land-use map and change zoning in the area to make way for the nearly 300,000-square-foot project, which will rise to 65 feet. They reviewed the project for consistency with the city’s comprehensive plan, compatibility with surrounding development and availability of public services. <br /> Traffic studies indicated the project would produce fewer trips per day than if the land were developed to its maximum allowed density.<br /> If approved, the project would add an estimated $127 million in taxable value to the city, up from the property’s current taxable value of $12 million, said attorney Bonnie Miskel, who represents the developer.<br /> The 3.52-acre property is across the street from an entrance to South Beach Park. It’s bordered on the north by East Palmetto Park Road, on the east by South Ocean Boulevard, as State Road A1A is called there, on the south by Palm Avenue and on the west by Southeast Wave Crest Way. <br /> If the City Council approves the contemporary-style condo, it would be flanked by 8-foot-wide sidewalks and include an underground parking garage with 150 spaces. A public linear park would also be constructed near the project, Miskel said.<br /> The property for the project consists of three parcels: one vacant, one with an unoccupied office building and parking garage and one with a 20-unit condo. The condo building and office building and garage would be torn down to make way for Ocean Palm, Miskel said.<br /> Jan Grenell, who lives in the 100 block of North Ocean Boulevard, warned that the area is already congested without adding more residences.<br /> “We have an issue with traffic right there,” Grenell said. “I have seen almost more tragic accidents in the past couple months than I have ever witnessed in my life. You have cars that are almost taking out those bikers. It is ridiculous. It needs to be addressed before you do anything else there.”<br /> Cynthia Wohl, who lives in the 200 block of Wave Crest Way, wondered if flooding would get worse with more development. “The flooding in the area is horrible,” she said. She worried more water would get pushed down her street, along with more traffic.</p></div>Boca Raton: Push for Midtown project stalls, but outreach to public goes onhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-push-for-midtown-project-stalls-but-outreach-to-public2017-03-01T16:02:06.000Z2017-03-01T16:02:06.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /><br /> Crocker Partners was hoping for quick action in December when the developer asked a city board to approve ordinances that would set the stage for 2,500 rental units and a Tri-Rail station at Midtown just east of the Town Center at Boca Raton.<br />But its ambitions for a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development have since slowed.<br /> Crocker was to present the Planning & Zoning Board with more information on Jan. 19 but asked for a delay until Feb. 9, after neighboring homeowner associations voiced objections. The developer made no presentation at that meeting, and the board canceled its Feb. 23 meeting.<br /> As of the end of February, the city and developer could not say when Crocker would appear again before the board, and two public hearings have not been rescheduled. City Council approval also is needed.<br /> Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco and Michael Marshall, a shareholder with the GrayRobinson law firm who represents Crocker, said the city decides when matters are placed on meeting agendas.<br /> City spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said the city is awaiting additional information from Crocker.<br /> Politics undoubtedly plays a role. Voters will decide who will fill the mayor’s and two City Council seats in the March 14 election, and development is a big issue in the campaigns. BocaWatch, a citizens group that opposes what it perceives as city overdevelopment and endorses candidates, has voiced objections to such a large number of rentals.<br /> Crocker, meanwhile, is reaching out to nearby residents to win their support and get their input. About 300 people attended a recent meeting the developer held at the Crocker Center. <br /> “There will be a lot of outreach,” Marshall said. “Our client is trying to come up with a development program that will fall under the zoning the city is processing. That is what we are reaching out to the neighbors for.”<br /> Crocker has not put forward a development plan. Rather, it is seeking city approval of ordinances that would allow a transit-oriented development and residential units in an area where they are not now allowed. If that happens, Crocker could move ahead with a plan.<br /> One reason Crocker wanted to move quickly was that Tri-Rail had set a March 17 deadline to commit to additional funding for the proposed new commuter rail station that is critical to the developer’s vision of Midtown. <br /> But with zoning changes sought by Crocker not yet approved, the developer may miss that deadline to show it can achieve a transit-oriented development.<br /> “We haven’t heard anything final from Tri-Rail,” Marshall said on Feb. 22. “Hopefully, there is going to be an opportunity to secure funding. Right now, it is a hope.”</p></div>Delray Beach: Proposed tree ordinance puts incentive into maintaining canopyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-proposed-tree-ordinance-puts-incentive-into-maintain2017-01-04T17:31:35.000Z2017-01-04T17:31:35.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960695879,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960695879,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960695879?profile=original" /></a><em>Mature canopy trees, like these live oaks at the Delray Beach Historical Society complex,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>are being targeted for preservation with the legacy tree program.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Rich Pollack<br /><br /></strong> They are trees that catch your eye. <br /> They are towering oaks, royal poincianas or banyans with large canopies that have provided shade and aesthetic beauty for decades. <br /> Yet as South Florida continues to grow and become more urbanized, these “legacy” or “specimen” trees that have been standing for decades are more likely to be in the path of development.<br /> Now Delray Beach is taking steps to help ensure those trees, as well as smaller ones in good condition, are preserved whenever possible.<br /> A draft of a proposed tougher tree ordinance, with more teeth and significantly heftier fees than the current ordinance for destruction of trees, was recently presented to the city’s Planning and Zoning board for review. If approved by the board it could be winding its way to the City Commission within a few months. <br /> “Our goal is to keep as much tree canopy around as possible,” says Bill Wilsher, the city’s senior landscape planner. “We want to preserve what we have and enhance it.” <br /> In addition to providing improved aesthetics throughout the city, Wilsher said the larger trees and their canopy provide much needed shade and can enhance the city’s sustainability by cooling the air, filtering pollutants, reducing storm water runoff and cutting back carbon emissions. <br /> “We’re trying to create an improved environment, and certainly trees play a factor in keeping down the heat,” he said, adding that trees can have a positive impact on property values.<br /> Wilsher said the new ordinance is designed to encourage developers and owners of multiuse or commercial property to keep the trees they have, move viable trees to other locations within the same property, or move those trees off-site to a location agreed upon by the city. <br /> City planners are hoping to encourage developers and property owners to work around existing viable trees when designing new projects.<br /> “To the fullest extent possible, trees are to be preserved on-site and be protected from damage during the construction process,” according to the proposed ordinance. <br /> If the trees cannot be moved, property owners will be charged an “in lieu of” fee — based on the size of the tree — which is placed in the city’s tree trust fund and used for the purchase and planting of trees elsewhere in the city.<br /> Under the proposed ordinance, which is a comprehensive revamping of the existing one, the in-lieu fee for removing a tree — other than a palm tree — that is between 4 and 8 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) would increase from $350 per diameter inch to $450 per inch. <br /> While the current ordinance calls for an in-lieu fee of $450 per inch for any tree over 8 inches in diameter, the proposed ordinance has a graduated scale based on tree size, with higher fees for larger trees. Under the proposal, the in-lieu fee for trees 8 to 12 inches in diameter would be $650 per inch, $850 per inch for trees between 12 and 18 inches in diameter and $1,000 per inch for trees 18 inches in diameter or larger. <br /> Because the fees are calculated on an escalating scale, the in-lieu fee for a tree with a 21-inch diameter, for example, could reach close to $13,000. That’s because, according to the proposed ordinance, there would be a charge of $450 an inch for the 5 inches of diameter above the first 3 inches, plus $650 an inch for the next 4 inches, plus $850 an inch for the next 6 inches, plus $1,000 an inch for the last 3 inches. <br /> “One of our goals is to keep bigger trees,” Wilsher said. <br /> The in-lieu fee for a palm tree is $500. All trees that are considered to be in poor condition are exempt from the fee but must be replaced on a tree-for-tree basis. <br /> The proposed ordinance is expected to be back before the Planning and Zoning board next month, with the city staff returning with further explanation and justification for the increased fees.</p></div>Delray Beach: iPic passes site review board, moves on to Planning and Zoninghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-ipic-passes-site-review-board-moves-on-to-planning-a2016-02-04T16:25:26.000Z2016-02-04T16:25:26.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> The iPic movie theater moved closer to becoming a reality after a Delray Beach review board approved site plans in mid-January. Next stop for the mixed-use project will be the Feb. 22 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Board.<br /> In contrast with the luxury theater’s December appearance before the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board, where the project was tabled for various issues, the January meeting went smoothly. Only two residents spoke against the project’s impact on traffic in the downtown; at the December meeting eight residents pointed out traffic problems. <br /> The project sits on 1.6 acres, just south of Atlantic Avenue and between Southeast Fourth and Fifth avenues. The land is owned by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.<br /> During that four-week break, the iPic owners turned the nearby Martini property into a loading zone for deliveries and a staging area for emergency vehicles. At the request of the city’s Fire Department, iPic will restrict parking there to emergency vehicles. Four public spaces will be eliminated.<br /> The owners also addressed objections to the limited turning room in the garage by revising the layout to show enough maneuvering room for a vehicle that is 11.3 feet long. Board member Jim Knight pointed out that a Volkswagen Beetle is 13 feet long and an SUV averages about 16 feet. Even so, he ultimately voted for the project’s site plans because two board members who are architects said the revised garage was adequate. <br /> Architect Roger Cope said, “I’m not going to pick apart their garage, I think they’ve done the best possible job.” He called the design “iconic.” <br /> Board member Andrew Youngross voted against approvals for the site plans, saying, “The size of the project just doesn’t fit here and it’s not harmonious with the neighborhood.”<br /> Jose Aguilar, the board chairman and an architect, agreed: “I personally feel it’s too large.” He voted against the site plan for iPic but for the site plan for the Martini property.<br /> Nearby resident Sandy Zeller, who is the president of the Marina Historic District Homeowners Association, said iPic’s November traffic analysis showed 15 percent of its 1,770 new trips would come from the ocean side of Delray Beach. When traffic backs up along Atlantic Avenue, he said, many would cut through the Marina District. Because it’s a historic district with few sidewalks, curbs or street lights, he wanted the developer to pay to install street lights. <br /> “We can’t control how people get to our project,” said Bonnie Miskel, an attorney for iPic.<br /> But Cope sided with Zeller and proposed a solution that would require the developer to monitor the traffic in the Marina Historic District 12 months after receiving 90 percent of its permits. <br /> But that wasn’t concrete enough for Zeller. He wanted the developer to install the lighting as soon as iPic opens, not wait until a traffic study is completed and decisions made on what traffic threshold would trigger action and who would pay for it.</p>
<p> He said he talked with Miskel after the meeting and pointed out two streets that would be the travel path to iPic. He didn’t get a firm commitment but said she promised to look into it.</p></div>Delray Beach: Smaller scale sought in new building guidelineshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-smaller-scale-sought-in-new-building-guidelines2015-11-04T18:57:44.000Z2015-11-04T18:57:44.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p> The Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board on Oct. 19 passed the final portion of the design guidelines for the city’s eastern half. Next they will be reviewed by the City Commission.<br /> The guidelines cover architectural styles to “ensure harmony in proportion, scale and materials” for what is appropriate in Delray Beach, said consultant Anthea Gianniotes. The city already limited new buildings to four stories in its downtown.<br /> She wants architects to design for the Florida climate and not to mix styles. For projects more than 100,000 square feet, she suggested a model submitted along with the site plan.<br /> Board members asked for screening of mechanical equipment on roofs and specifying the thickness of asphalt shingles.<br /> Along the retail streets of Atlantic Avenue, Pineapple Grove Way and Ocean Boulevard, new buildings should be only 75 feet wide. <br /> But Gianniotes did not suggest a length limit for buildings on other streets, such as Federal Highway. <br /> Mayor Cary Glickstein had wanted something offered to break up what he called massive structures that are nearly two football fields long, such as the Aloft hotel and condominium project that was reviewed in early October. <br /> “There are no easy answers,” Gianniotes said. <br /><em>— Jane Smith</em><br /><br /></p></div>Boca Raton: Zoning board: Extend moratorium on marijuana facilitieshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-zoning-board-extend-moratorium-on-marijuana-facilities2015-09-30T16:38:38.000Z2015-09-30T16:38:38.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> When it comes to marijuana or anything related to its use, the city’s Planning and Zoning Board wants Boca Raton to just say no.<br /> For another year at least.<br /> At a Sept. 15 meeting, Planning and Zoning Board members voted to recommend the city extend a temporary moratorium on the operation of medical marijuana treatment centers and dispensing or cultivation facilities. The existing moratorium in Boca expires Oct. 28.<br /> The ordinance aims to give the city extra time to address possible land development regulations should Florida voters approve the use of medical marijuana sometime in the future. Because of the city’s historical prohibition of marijuana use and cultivation, no existing land development regulations address its permitted use.<br /> “This moratorium will allow staff to research, analyze and study the potential impacts of medical marijuana dispensaries on things such as adjacent uses, surrounding areas, the demand for city services and other aspects,” Boca Raton senior planner Tamashbeen Rahman told the board.<br /> The issue of legalizing the use of medical marijuana in Florida was rejected in November by Florida voters, but is expected to surface again. <br /> The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014 — which became effective Jan. 1 — authorizes specific physicians to prescribe low-THC cannabis known as “Charlotte’s Web” to certain patients and authorizes a limited number of dispensing organizations to cultivate, process and dispense low-THC marijuana for such use. The 2014 act remains in effect.<br /> Amendment 2 — which did not pass last year — would have allowed marijuana to be legally given to anyone with a doctor’s referral who has cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or “other conditions for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for the patient.”<br /> Board member Kerry Koen wondered if any property owners in Boca had filed applications with the state Department of Health to become a designated dispensary site.<br /> Rahman said the state has received five applicants to date, all from Miami-Dade County. No one from Boca Raton has applied, she said.<br /> Board member Arnold Seville wondered what Boca had done in the past year to research the effects such a dispensary might have on surrounding areas and was upset to learn nothing had been done.<br /> “We put this moratorium in place a year ago for the purpose of studying what impact this would have on the city of Boca Raton. What studies have been done?” he asked. “I don’t understand why nothing was done.”<br /> Rahman said the city was waiting to see which nurseries would be chosen by the state.<br /> “That is when we can see the impact the municipalities are facing,” Rahman said. “At that point we can adopt regulations that would make sense.”</p></div>Revised iPic plan gets yes vote from Delray commissionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/business-spotlight-revised-ipic-plan-gets-yes-vote-from-delray-co2015-09-02T15:30:00.000Z2015-09-02T15:30:00.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960589872,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960589872,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="538" alt="7960589872?profile=original" /></a><em>The east view of the proposed iPic theater complex. The area at lower left is where a ‘living wall’</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>has been proposed to soften the street level view of the building.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Jane Smith<br /> <br /></strong> City commissioners smoothed the way for the iPic luxury movie theater to open in downtown Delray Beach when a majority voted for it in August.<br /> The proposed iPic project had changed somewhat since July when the city’s seven-man Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously against the increased height and 5-2 against a movie theater at that location, between Southeast Fourth and Fifth avenues along Atlantic Avenue, and against an alley abandonment included in the plans. <br /> The changes:<br /> • Moved the valet circulation to within the project, instead of onto the side streets that connect with Atlantic Avenue;<br /> • Offered to create a living wall, measuring 30 feet high by 70 feet wide, to soften the street level view of the theater building on Southeast Fifth Avenue, known as southbound Federal Highway;<br /> • Increased the open space to 3,550 feet.<br /> About 12:30 a.m. in the wee hours of Aug. 19, the commission voted 3-2 to reverse the P&Z board’s recommendation. The chamber still held half of its audience, even though the commission had to vote at 11 p.m. and then again at midnight to extend the meeting. <br /> iPic chief Hamid Hashemi attended the meeting where his company used a mobile screen to show a movie clip and renderings of the proposed project.<br /> The $53 million project combines eight movie auditoriums with 529 seats on the ground floor, 42,900 square feet of office space in two levels, 7,500 square feet of retail along Southeast Fourth Avenue and a three-level parking garage. <br /> Mayor Cary Glickstein voted for the conditional uses — allowing a theater in the downtown and increasing its height to nearly 60 feet — and for abandoning the north-south alley that was part of the original requests sought by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency. <br /> “If not iPic then what? Under both our old and new land development regulations the property could be developed to a size and intensity larger than what iPic proposed,” he explained a few days after the meeting. “Most citizens wanted exactly what was being proposed — a downtown movie theater and office space for jobs.” <br /> He also liked that the movie theater would give residents something to do that didn’t involve a restaurant, boutique or bar. He said changing the land price now — or other changes to the CRA’s request that some consider flawed — would present “significant reputational risk to a city, or any organization, for changing the rules or moving the goalposts.” <br /> After midnight, when trying to explain his vote, he said, “I wish my dad was still around. He was such a great resource on what has happened in other places.” Successful cities adapt and capitalize on the opportunities presented, he said.<br /> The project’s land use attorney, Bonnie Miskel, gave commissioners a 10-page memorandum of law just before they began their discussion. <br /> A few days after the vote Glickstein said that “Ms. Miskel’s memorandum was relevant, but was largely codified in the staff analysis that supported the application based on an accurate application of our imperfect rules.”<br /> He also wanted to see the project’s size decreased. He asked the iPic developer “to let some air out of the tires for us,” but he did not give specifics. <br /> In addition, he made a requirement that the design can’t be changed once the project goes out for bid; he wants to see the building keep its stainless steel skin that was proposed. <br /> For public parking spaces, the mayor wants to see a net-net so that the project would offer the same number of public spaces that will be lost. He directed the city’s planning director to determine that count before the project has its site plan review. <br /> Commissioner Mitch Katz, who voted to allow a movie theater downtown but against the height increase and alley abandonment, asked whether residents could have access to the roof space so that they could go up there and have a picnic to watch the sunset. The iPic team readily agreed.<br /> Katz asked whether the city can secure the majority of the property taxes generated by the finished project, instead of having the bulk of it go to the CRA. <br /> The mayor said, “I’ve asked the city attorney to look into lowering the portion across the CRA district that goes to the CRA. … Yes, I fully support that.”<br /> Vice Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who cast three votes against the project, filed a complaint on Aug. 21 with the county Inspector General about the alley abandonment vote. <br /> “I wanted to follow the city ordinances, but we did not do that,” she said a week after the vote. “I expect that if it comes back that we need to get an outside legal opinion and can be done in time, the commission will take a vote on that.”<br /> The iPic project has to go through four more reviews before it can break ground.</p></div>Boca Raton: Chabad approved despite appealshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-chabad-approved-despite-appeals2015-07-29T17:05:14.000Z2015-07-29T17:05:14.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong></p>
<p> They say three times is a charm. But in the case of Chabad of East Boca Raton, it was actually more.<br /> After four hours of lengthy discussion, City Council members late July 28 voted 5-0 in favor of the ambitious beachside orthodox synagogue. The project was up for reconsideration because two appeals challenging the Planning and Zoning Board’s site plan approval had been filed by unhappy neighborhood groups.<br /> “We are very appreciative and very elated that the Council affirmed its previous approval. We look forward to moving forward from here,” said a smiling Rabbi Ruvi New, as he clasped hands with joyous congregants.<br /> Council members voted to affirm the previously approved site plan with a modification to ensure the project has adequate handicap parking. The synagogue is planned for 770 E. Palmetto Park Road.<br /> “In Jewish law, when something occurs three times it sets a precedent,” New said. “We were confident that the precedent would stand.”</p>
<p> Both appeals claimed the Planning and Zoning Board’s approval of the synagogue’s site plan had been done without careful consideration of all the facts.<br /> New concedes the fierce opposition to the project has been much more than he ever expected.<br /> “Obviously it’s a more scenic route than we anticipated,” New said. “The point is, we are on a route and we do have a destination and we are going to get there, God willing.”<br /> Residents who live in the neighborhoods on the barrier island near the proposed synagogue say it is too ambitious, will draw too much traffic and create parking issues on the 0.84-acre piece of property.<br /> “This is absolutely tearing my neighborhood apart,” said resident Linda Sheridan, who lives nearby at 710 Marble Way, and supports the project. “I am just very saddened by this. I keep hearing the term injurious. Prolonging this is actually injurious.” <br />Proponents have claimed the property is perfect for the proposed 18,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art synagogue and world-class, interactive Israel museum and believe the project will increase nearby property values.<br /> However, an attorney speaking on behalf of one of the groups of homeowners opposed to the synagogue said too many questions had been raised about the project’s compliance with city code to move forward. He urged Council members to send the project back to the Planning and Zoning Board for clarification.<br /> “We are not going to solve it by people getting up and saying, ‘I am in favor,’ or ‘I object.’ The question is what is right,” said Attorney Arthur C. Koski. “I urge you to just step back, look at things with a clear eye and ask yourself is this project in its current form appropriately sited at this location.”<br /> He warned, “Act prudently. It is of no harm to send this back to the Planning and Zoning board. This is irreversible.”<br />The project last came before the city on May 27 when Council members voted 4-1 to allow the synagogue’s height to exceed by 20 inches a maximum allowed height of 30 feet.<br /> Opponents insist that such a facility is too intense of a use for the site and will drive extra traffic into an already congested area that is also critically affected by the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Road drawbridge. The height of 40 feet, 8 inches will be intrusive, they claim.<br /> One appeal claimed the city rendered its decision based on “improper and erroneous interpretations” of the city code that were made “arbitrarily and without reasonable analysis” of requests by residents who live near the project. <br /> Many homeowners worry that the city’s approval of the project’s increased height will set a precedent for future even taller developments, which could ruin the ambiance of the area.<br /> A second appeal, filed by Royal Palm Real Estate Holdings LLC, Royal Palm Properties LLC and David W. Roberts, claimed similar issues.<br /> The proposed synagogue is slated to have a 156-seat sanctuary, a basement parking area with 56 spaces and a 25-space ground-level lot. In addition, the project would have a social hall and a high-tech Israel museum.<br /> The path to approval has been a contentious back-and-forth that has gone on for months.<br /> A site plan for the project was first recommended for approval by the city’s Planning and Zoning Board on March 19. <br />But after City Council members reviewed the plans on April 14, they sent the project back to the Planning and Zoning Board with questions about how the square footage was calculated.<br /> The Planning and Zoning Board reconsidered the project on May 7 after receiving clarifications to the technical questions, and again recommended approval, sending it back to the City Council a second time. Council members approved the higher-than-normal height on May 27, and were then faced with the two appeals.</p></div>Boca Raton: City delays Chabad project site plan decisionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-delays-chabad-project-site-plan-decision2015-04-29T18:14:36.000Z2015-04-29T18:14:36.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960579690,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960579690,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="315" alt="7960579690?profile=original" /></a><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> A standing-room-only crowd of nearly 300 staunch supporters and fierce opponents of a controversial beachside synagogue packed Boca Raton City Hall last month for a showdown about the project’s site plan.<br /> But they left without resolution after City Council members stunned some and delighted others by deferring action on Chabad of East Boca’s proposal, citing questions about the project’s calculated footage.<br /> “Obviously it’s very disappointing,” said Rabbi Ruvi New, as he exited the council chambers, flanked by a crush of congregants. “It’s not what we expected at all since we had unanimous approval by the Planning and Zoning Board. I don’t think anyone expected this. We were completely blind-sided.”<br /> A sprawling, two-story, 18,000-square-foot synagogue with an interactive Israel museum is proposed for 770 E. Palmetto Park Road where La Vieille Maison restaurant once stood.<br /> Questions also swirled about a parking garage clearance issue, and a turning radius for buses.<br /> New said questions about the proposed synagogue’s ratio of square building footage to square property footage cropped up that afternoon, but he thought they had all been answered.<br /> “There are factors that staff has not yet had an opportunity to fully absorb and make a recommendation to the council,” City Attorney Dana Grub Frieser explained during the meeting.<br /> The Planning and Zoning Board will re-examine the project’s site plan on May 7, and City Council will reconsider the issue on May 27.<br /> Questions about traffic patterns and the proposed structure’s height — which is more than 10 feet over the normally allowed 30-foot height restriction — also remain contentious.<br /> Proponents claim the .84-acre site on East Palmetto Park Road is the perfect spot for Chabad of East Boca’s proposed state-of-the-art synagogue and world-class, interactive Israel museum.<br /> Opponents insist that such a facility will drive extra traffic into an already congested area that is also critically affected by the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Road drawbridge.<br /> “I’m happy about the continuance because it allows everyone to have further discussion,” said 20-year resident Julie Holzworth, who lives on Northeast Spanish Trail in the Riviera neighborhood nearby. “My biggest concern is traffic. It’s hard to get in and out of my little neighborhood and I’m concerned about the amount of traffic this project will generate because it will be a cultural center.”<br /> New has said the Chabad’s membership is composed of only about 75 families, of which 30 to 50 percent walk to worship services. But residents in the area fear the worship center and museum will create gridlock in an area already plagued by congestion.<br /> Deputy City Manager George Brown said a continuance was necessary so city staff could clarify some ambiguities about the site plan regarding the square footage of the proposed building as it relates to the square footage of the property.<br /> The square footage of a building cannot exceed 50 percent of the total land area eligible for development, Brown explained. The Chabad calculations appeared to include a small, residentially zoned parcel along with the main parcel, which is zoned for business, putting the total percentage over 50 percent, he said.<br /> “The developer has explained that the actual building area is less than is shown in the tabular data but staff has not had time to verify what they were saying,” Brown said after the meeting.<br /> Mayor Susan Haynie said she is concerned the project design does not allow an adequate turning radius for buses. “Can a bus actually make a turn there?” Haynie wondered after the meeting.<br /> The proposed synagogue is slated to have a 156-seat sanctuary, a basement parking area with 56 spaces and a 25-space ground-level lot. In addition, the project would have a social hall and a high-tech Israel museum.</p></div>Boca Raton: Residents protest potential traffic from proposed restauranthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-residents-protest-potential-traffic-from-proposed-rest2015-04-29T17:49:51.000Z2015-04-29T17:49:51.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> A plan to build a Houston’s restaurant on the old Wildflower property near the Intracoastal Waterway continues to draw ire.<br /> At a Planning and Zoning meeting last month to change the density and zoning of the northern part of the property, many residents voiced protests, citing gridlock in an already congested area. But after much discussion, the board voted to recommend the City Council approve the changes anyway.<br /> “What about quality of life for people who live here?” asked resident Lee Williams, of the 600 block of Northwest 12th Avenue. “We do not want our city destroyed. There is no going back once you have a higher density use. We have enough restaurants. I implore you to consider an alternative use.”<br /> The Hillstone Restaurant Group Inc. has asked to build a Houston’s restaurant on the old Wildflower property on the intersection’s northeast corner at 551 E. Palmetto Park Road and lease the land from the city.<br /> How the nearby and very congested intersection of Palmetto Park Road and Northeast Fifth Avenue could handle hundreds of additional daily trips is something residents in the area have been asking city officials since the project was proposed.<br /> A traffic study of the intersection is slated for this summer.<br /> Last month, frustrated homeowners lashed out during an April 9 Planning and Zoning meeting, peppering the board with questions about traffic studies, land use, zoning and density. <br /> The board considered two issues: <br /> • Amending the future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for a 1.1337-acre parcel on the north end of the former Wildflower property, changing the use from residential low to commercial.<br /> • Rezoning that parcel from single family residential (R-1-B) to local business (B-1) district.<br /> The former Wildflower property is composed of two parcels. The southern portion of the property is already zoned B-1 business district. Board members who favored the changes said the two parcels’ land use and zoning should be consistent and compatible for future land usage.<br /> The board recommended approval on both measures with 4-3 votes, with board members Kerry Koen, Janice Rustin and Arnold Sevelle voting against both measures. Many residents left the meeting clearly frustrated.<br /> A traffic engineer who presented favorable trip figures to the board conceded that the traffic study he conducted did not take into consideration the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Bridge, or the effect of rail operations. The study, he said, was based on what is required by Boca Raton city codes and Palm Beach County codes.<br /> His conclusion was incomprehensible to resident Heidi Klier, of the 200 block of West Palmetto Park Road. She said she routinely gets stuck in horrific gridlock caused by westbound motorists on Palmetto Park Road trying to valet park at a restaurant on the northwest corner of Palmetto Park Road and Northeast Fifth Avenue adjacent to the former Wildflower property.<br /> “It seems kind of ridiculous that a traffic engineer says nothing is wrong when clearly there is,” Klier said. “This is not going to get any better, and this is not our imagination.”<br /> Koen, who voted against the proposed changes, said he couldn’t make an intelligent decision on the matter without the results of the traffic study of the Palmetto Park Road and Northeast Fifth Avenue intersection.<br /> P&Z board member Glen Gromann said that traffic study had nothing to do with the rezoning matter but was instead related to improvements for that intersection.<br /> Residents disagreed that the two were not related, insisting the two were linked because of the overall gridlock in the area.<br /> Rustin, who voted against the zoning change, said the city could develop that land into something “interesting and uniquely Boca” instead of changing the zoning and density to allow another restaurant.<br /> As a condition of approval, board members said the intersection traffic study should take into consideration the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Road Bridge.<br /> Hillstone is asking to build a $5 million, 7,000-square-foot restaurant on the former Wildflower property, with 3,500 square feet earmarked for indoor customer service and 800 square feet of outdoor seating. The eatery would have 128 parking spaces.<br /> Under the proposal, Hillstone would lease the property from the city for $500,000 a year for 20 years with five, five-year optional extensions. The restaurant would be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.</p></div>Boca Raton: Synagogue/museum plans gain P&Z board’s blessinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-synagogue-museum-plans-gain-p-z-board-s-blessing2015-04-01T16:33:14.000Z2015-04-01T16:33:14.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960570861,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="550" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960570861,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960570861?profile=original" /></a><em>During a March 29 celebration held on the proposed site of the Harry and Celia Litwak Chabad Center,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Rabbi Ruvi New recognizes Irving Litwak (right) who donated $2.7 million for the property in his parents’ honor.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>The sign in the background anticipates the new Chabad sharing the same street number, 770,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>as the Eastern Parkway world headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch in Brooklyn.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960570899,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="550" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960570899,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960570899?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>The north side of the Chabad complex faces Palmetto Park Road.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><br /> Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960571474,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960571474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960571474?profile=original" /></a><em>Rabbi New dances in celebration with Chaim Shacham, Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>on the proposed Palmetto Park Road site.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Sallie James<br /></strong> <br /> A sprawling, two-story, state-of-the-art synagogue with an interactive Israel museum will become the first beachside house of worship in Boca Raton if City Council members approve the plans in mid-April.<br /> The proposal by the orthodox Chabad of East Boca to build an 18,000-square-foot facility at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road is not without controversy: Residents who live near the .84-acre site have voiced concern over parking, traffic patterns and the structure’s height, which is more than 10 feet over the normally allowed 30-foot height restriction.<br /> The city’s Planning and Zoning Board recommended the project for approval after a testy, four-hour March 19 meeting. During the public hearing, numerous residents blasted the city for considering a project that could dump extra traffic into an already congested area that is also affected by the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Road drawbridge.<br /> On March 29, Boca residents were invited by Chabad to preview plans for the project at the site where it is proposed to be built.<br /> “This is the right fit,” said Rabbi Ruvi New, during the March 19 meeting. “We have put tremendous thought into creating something that is suitable for both residential and commercial residents of the community. I really believe once this is all said and done we will be good neighbors.”<br /> New said the Chabad’s membership is composed of about 75 families, of which 30 to 50 percent walk to worship services.<br /> The proposed synagogue is slated to have a 156-seat sanctuary, a basement parking area with 56 spaces and a 25-space ground-level lot. In addition, the proposed facility would also have a social hall and the high-tech Israel museum.<br /> New, who started his congregation in the living room of his own house 15 years ago, said Chabad of East Boca has outgrown its current home at 120 NE First Ave., and desperately needs to move. The path to finding a new home has not been easy.<br /> In 2008, the Chabad’s plans to move into a 23,000-square-foot building near Mizner Park were scuttled after the City Council approved strict new parking requirements that the Chabad was unable to meet.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960571694,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960571694?profile=original" /></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> The new beachside location, on the south side of Palmetto Park Road where the beloved La Vielle Maison restaurant once stood, includes a traffic pattern that deviates from standard city codes because it funnels traffic onto a residential street, and a height that is 10 feet, 8 inches higher than other buildings in the area.<br /> Homeowners who live in the neighborhood near the proposed project complained that the project is too big for the area, worried that it would create more gridlock in an already congested area, and wondered if the proposed parking was adequate for a facility slated to be home to a world-class museum.<br /> “It’s a beautiful building but it’s in the wrong place,” said Boca Raton resident Chris Fluehr, who lives in the Por La Mar neighborhood nearby and believes the facility will create untold congestion. “What I feel they are trying to do is bring a Trojan horse into our neighborhood. They are describing this one way, with a simple little sanctuary with 75 families, but in all their publications it is not only to be attracting people within the state, but nationally to My Israel (the museum).”<br /> Enid Weinberg, who lives on South Ocean Boulevard, already finds it difficult to get to her home on the east side of the bridge. With the added traffic from Chabad, she fears driving will only get worse, she said.<br /> “Now it’s going to be a total nightmare,” she told the Planning and Zoning Board. <br /> A proposed traffic plan for the Chabad would route worshippers onto the residential street of Southeast Olive Way, and only allow a left turn, directing them toward East Palmetto Park Road. Residents who live in the neighborhood directly south of the proposed synagogue predict that worshipers will be frustrated by traffic backups and instead turn right on East Olive Way — ignoring any posted signage barring right turns — and instead drive through their peaceful neighborhood.<br /> Resident Keith Nelson, who lives on Park Drive East, has lived in the surrounding neighborhood for 13 years and said it’s “nearly impossible” to make a left turn from East Olive Drive onto Palmetto Park Road. He takes an alternate route that involves four right turns on back roads to access westbound Palmetto Park Road.<br /> “It’s crazy. There is no way you are going to make that left,” Nelson said.<br /> But business owner Yaacov Heller, a sculptor who owns Gallery 22 International in Royal Palm Place, said he thinks the synagogue/museum project is a “wonderful thing.” He wasn’t concerned about traffic.<br /> “This will be a great opportunity for people to learn about Israel,” Heller said. “I think it is a marvelous idea. It can serve as a model for people all over the country to set something like this up in their synagogue.” <br /> Cheri Rosen, a Realtor who lives on South Ocean Drive, said property values in the area would skyrocket if the orthodox synagogue were built. The reason? Congregants want to live within walking distance of their place of worship.<br /> “The idea is that people need to live within walking distance of the synagogue,” she said. “They will pay anything to do that. Homes near the Boca Raton Synagogue on Montoya Circle have sold for almost double and triple of what similar homes in other areas were selling for,” she said.<br /> “The value of your home and the quality of your life will not in any way be undermined by Chabad,” she said.<br /> Resident Ronald Rubin wondered if something less amenable might be built on the site if the synagogue is not approved. A restaurant on the site would generate even more traffic, Rubin said.<br /> “For me, it won’t interfere with anything I do. I can’t see it interfering with what most people do,” Rubin said.<br /> The Planning and Zoning Board voted 6-0 to recommend the City Council approve the project’s site plan with the following caveats:<br /> • Usage of the sanctuary, social hall and museum cannot be concurrent, and cannot be converted to another use without city approval.<br /> • To discourage right turns from East Olive Way, the turning radius must be increased and appropriate signage must be posted.<br /> • The facility’s dumpster must be covered.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960571291,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960571291,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="244" alt="7960571291?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Rendering provided</strong></p></div>Delray Beach: Opposition lines up against water scooter concessionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-opposition-lines-up-against-water-scooter-concession2014-06-04T17:30:19.000Z2014-06-04T17:30:19.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong><br /><br /> A proposal to allow personal watercraft rentals at the Atlantic Avenue bridge has coastal residents in an uproar. <br /> City commissioners will hear the proposal to rent watercraft such as Jet Skis and Waverunners at the Deck 84 restaurant and bar at their June 17 meeting.<br /> “This would be a magnet for more noise in a residential area — and a volatile mix to have with a bar,” Beach Property Owners vice president Andy Katz told the city Planning and Zoning Board on May 19.<br /> The meeting was packed by opponents who live along the Intracoastal Waterway.<br /> “The noise is from idiots who have to scream when they jump waves,” Beach Drive resident Anita Casey said. “No one in Delray needs those noisy little things. I don’t need more wackos in my backyard.”<br /> The request to amend the city’s land development regulations to allow personal watercraft in the downtown business district comes from Delray residents Clair and Margery Johnson, who have operated a Waverunner concession at the Boynton Harbor Marina for 20 years.<br /> The Johnsons, who want to rent four Waverunners from a floating dock off Deck 84, say Delray hotels requested the concession for their guests. Fueling would be at their Boynton location.<br /> But boaters joined with coastal homeowners to say the Atlantic Avenue business would be both noisy and dangerous where yachts line up to wait for the bridge to open.<br /> “Don’t ruin the charm of downtown Delray Beach,” pleaded Don Dobson, who lives on a sailboat at the nearby city marina.<br /> The Planning and Zoning Board recommended in a 6-1 vote that city commissioners deny the request. “It’s not the right spot for it,” board chairman Craig Spodak said.<br /> “This is not an activity that every city needs to have,” Katz said. “It would detract from the beauty of our downtown.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Council approves 7-Elevenhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-approves-7-eleven2011-11-30T18:14:22.000Z2011-11-30T18:14:22.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960360276,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" width="360" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960360276,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960360276?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>A rendering for the proposed 7-Eleven shows 8-foot-wide <br />sidewalks and enlarged window panels. <br /></span><span><b>Rendering provided by Mummaw & Associates</b></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p><span><b>By Margie Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The highly contested redevelopment of a property at 800-899 E. Palmetto Park Road —including an addition for a 7-Eleven convenience store — will allow area revitalization on the developer’s dime rather than the taxpayers’. So say City Council members who voted in November to allow the project to move forward.</p>
<p>“Our job is based on the law and on what is best for the entire community,” said Mayor Susan Whelchel before the vote that upheld a Planning and Zoning Board approval of the site plan for the property owned by James Batmasian.</p>
<p>The council vote followed the hearing of an appeal of the site plan by some neighbors of the property, who voiced numerous concerns including that a convenience store was incompatible with the neighborhood and would cause a variety of disruptions. </p>
<p>By the time the Nov. 22 meeting was over, two of three named appellants had dropped out (Peter Baronoff and Don Nadick) after conditions were proposed to address their concerns; two council members had recused themselves (Constance Scott and Susan Haynie) for possible conflicts of interest; numerous residents came before council both applauding and opposing the plan; and three members of the Batmasian family defended the proposal. </p>
<p>The proposal adds 777 square feet for a possible convenience store at 831 E. Palmetto Park Road to an existing mix of restaurants plus five units that house residents.</p>
<p>The developer is in talks with Southland Corp. about putting in a 7-Eleven, said architect Douglas A. Mummaw, who showed slides of the upscale prototype 7-Eleven store that he likened to a Fresh Market or Starbucks.</p>
<p>Mummaw told the crowd that the buildings in the commercial center were developed in the late 1960s and have been worn by time to the “current blighted condition.” </p>
<p>“They have to be revitalized to survive,” he said.</p>
<p>The proposal is a “significant upgrade to the street frontage,” with enlarged window panels that are “indicative of a modern retail center that will attract national and quality business,” Mummaw said, adding the site has been able to secure Subway as a tenant.</p>
<p>The plan creates a bus transit area and easements that allow for sidewalks to be widened to 8 feet, he said. As an offer of settlement to the neighbors appealing the site plan approval, the developer would complete a 6-foot masonry wall, with flowering trees with canopies that will touch and grow into a “garden towering over the wall,” the architect said. The development would also include security cameras and added lighting aimed away from the neighbors’ homes.</p>
<p>While the site plan asks for more space, it didn’t ask for a convenience store — nor would it have to, Mummaw said. “A convenience store can go anywhere in the zone. It doesn’t require a public hearing.”</p>
<p>The opponents of the redevelopment disputed a parking study that was presented earlier by staff, claiming that proposed parking was not adequate. They said there wasn’t enough of a buffer between residents’ homes and the loading zone. And they claimed inadequate notice was given of the Planning and Zoning meeting where the site plan was first presented.</p>
<p>The appellants pointed out the property was nonconforming, because students and others lived in the residential units rather than the required owner-operators of the businesses in the development. A plastic fence separated the businesses from the neighboring homes instead of a required wall.</p>
<p>“The site plan is ill-conceived, ill-advised, poorly planned and violates current city code,” said Robert Ocksman, the remaining named appellant of the three who initially brought the challenge.</p>
<p>“We, as do all Boca Raton residents, have a right to a quiet and restful night’s sleep,” Ocksman said. Neighbors of the development will be deprived of that by noxious fumes from garbage bins, noise and light shining on their properties, he said.</p>
<p>Neighbors, including Ocksman — some wearing “No 7-11” T-shirts — turned out at an October meeting to protest the possibility of the convenience store. At that meeting, they discussed how the 7-Eleven would cater to people from other areas, and sell alcohol that may be consumed on the beach or where it is not permitted.</p>
<p>“People will come here to our neighborhood to buy beer at 2 a.m. and rolling papers at 4 a.m. at the new 24/7 convenience store,” Ocksman said at the Nov. 22 meeting.</p>
<p>During the public portion of that meeting, Marta Batmasian told the crowd that she has lived two blocks from the site for nearly 30 years and raised her two sons there. </p>
<p>She described her family’s commercial property: “The appearance is horrific; the tenant mix is not the right mix.” She added, “Nobody wants to move in.”</p>
<p>Of the work the city has done on the west side of the bridge, Batmasian said, “You did an unbelievable job,” adding that it’s her property on the east side that embarrasses her. She urged council to allow the project to go forward.</p>
<p>James Batmasian also defended the plan to revitalize his development, as did the Batmasians’ son, Armen. </p>
<p>The latter Batmasian, who said getting a national tenant was critical, noted the developer is renovating the whole street to attract the 7-Eleven, when they could put a Circle K in the same spot if they wanted. <span>Ú</span></p>
<div><span><br /></span></div>
<p> </p></div>Boca Raton: Petitioners fail to sway P&Z Board over changes to buildinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-petitioners-fail-to-sway-p-z-board-over-changes-to-bui2011-08-31T16:30:00.000Z2011-08-31T16:30:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960350691,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960350691,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960350691?profile=original" /></a><em>The proposed expansion of building on East Palmetto Road also calls for a facelift for the building.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>By Mary Thurwachter</b></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A plan to expand and redevelop a building on East Palmetto Park Road narrowly won approval from the Planning and Zoning Board after dozens of merchants and neighbors voiced opposition.</p>
<p>The plan, presented during an Aug. 18 meeting at City Hall, calls for a 777-square-foot addition to the building at 831 E. Palmetto Park Road. </p>
<p>Armen Batmasian of Investments Limited, owner of the property, said the building and the shopping center are outdated, and the company has been struggling to find tenants.</p>
<p>Approval of the plan, the residents said, would bring a 7-Eleven convenience store to the store space, when the shopping area already has two convenience stores and doesn’t want or need a third.</p>
<p>The vote to approve was 4-3, with Grace Johnson, Arnold Sevell and Kenny Koen dissenting.</p>
<p>Board member Steve Utrech said he liked the idea of money being put into redeveloping the area and hated to tell any developer “that we don’t want to move the ball forward.”</p>
<p>But even before the steady stream of residents opposing the site plan could speak, board member Grace Johnson and city planner Daryl Johnson made it clear that the board had no control over the use of the building. </p>
<p>The zoning code determines use, Grace Johnson said. So a 7-Eleven could go in with or without the proposed expansion.</p>
<p>Expansion of the retail area is the first step in a plan to redevelop the entire city block, said Douglas Mummaw, architect for Investments Limited.</p>
<p>“We propose to completely reform this aging asset into something that retail businesses, both local and national businesses, would want to lease and then serve the neighboring community,” Mummaw said. </p>
<p>“The project before you is a very simple request,” Mummaw said. “We’re asking for an increase of less than five and a half percent of the overall density to expand our retail area in this one particular building.” </p>
<p>The plan, which includes a façade remodel, also calls for four handicap-accessible parking spaces where there were none, circulation routes and an articulation of entrance points to Palmetto Park Road, Mummaw said. </p>
<p>It reconfigures the parking lots to provide 74 spaces, where only 67 are required according to shared parking calculations. A new bus stop would also be added.</p>
<p>Five residential units occupy the second floor. A lease has not yet been signed for the first floor of the building, Mummaw said. </p>
<p>But many residents at the meeting weren’t buying that, saying maybe a lease with 7-Eleven hadn’t been signed yet, but surely it would be. </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960351654,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960351654,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960351654?profile=original" /></a><em>Diane Hoffman presented more than 200 signatures to</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>the P&Z board opposing the expansion of the property. <b>Photo by Jerry Lower</b></em></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span><b><br /></b></span></div>
<p> </p>
<p>Diane Hoffman, owner of the Boca Beach House at 887 E. Palmetto Park Road, delivered a petition signed by more than 200 residents opposed to a 7-Eleven moving in to the shopping area. She said she had spoken to Batmasian and he told her about his desire to lease the building to 7-Eleven.</p>
<p>“We don’t want this for several reasons,” Hoffman, whose home is directly behind the building set for expansion, said. </p>
<p>She said she worries about delivery trucks’ light coming into her home at night, property values dropping, not enough parking and vagrants hanging out around the store.</p>
<p>Hoffman’s husband, Howard Hoffman, asked that the vote be postponed until February.</p>
<p>“No one has been notified and I think this has been done strategically when people aren’t here. I’d like a traffic report done when there is traffic,” he said. (A traffic study was done in late April).</p>
<p>City staff said proper notice had been given with signs posted and newspaper notification. But merchants argued that the signs weren’t up long enough and many hadn’t seen them. </p>
<p>Doris Majhess, a local Realtor, said a 7-Eleven with increased parking demands could hurt real estate values in the area.</p>
<p>“People pay big money to live here and they won’t with a 7-Eleven,” Majhess said. <span> </span></p></div>