By Mary Thurwachter
Several Hypoluxo Island residents appeared at the July 24 Lantana Town Council meeting to protest a neighbor’s requests for a variance to add a third boat lift to his dock. The applicant did not attend, but sent his lawyer to argue his case. The request was denied.
The protesting residents and the council weren’t alone in contending the boat lift variance shouldn’t be approved. Town staff came to the same conclusion, as had the planning commission at an earlier meeting.
The dock is located at the home of Christopher Durnan at 1177 Lands End Road on the west side of the island. Durnan was out of town the day of the meeting, according to his attorney, Dylan Brandenburg.
Brandenburg said he didn’t feel a variance was needed, but since it was, he thought it should be granted because a permit — now expired — had previously been given two years ago when the applicant wanted to add three boat lifts to the dock, but ended up adding only two.
But it wasn’t about the number of lifts in question, said Nicole Dritz, the town’s development services director. Rather, the problem is the dock itself, which is nonconforming due to its length of 122 feet. The town’s code restricts the length of docks to 100 feet. Dritz said adding the lift would change the structure and the law says “it cannot be enlarged or altered in any way.”
The previous permit to allow for the addition of lifts was done in error, she said, adding that at the time it doesn’t appear it was caught by zoning.
Brandenburg thought otherwise.
“I don’t agree that this is an enlargement of the nonconforming use,” he said. “We’re not modifying this nonconforming dock in any way. We’re simply adding a lift.”
In order to get a variance, an applicant is required to show a hardship.
“The hardship is the dock, which was previously approved and built, and when it was built it was approved by the town of Lantana,” Brandenburg said.
“I don’t see that as a hardship,” said council member Kem Mason. Other members agreed before denying the request. Islanders who spoke against granting the variance included Dan Hiatt, a neighbor; Media Beverly, who also lives nearby; and Michelle Donahue, president of the Hypoluxo Island Property Owners Association and a member of the planning commission.
Hiatt, who studied surveys of the property, said the variance application “had numerous errors of omission” and that the dock that was built is still 130 feet from the original property line, but a sea wall had been added, shortening the length to 122 feet.
“The bottom line is the permits for the other two lifts should have never been granted in the first place if you look at the old surveys,” he said.
Donahue, concerned about the increase of boat lifts on the west side of the island, said: “We don’t want to see this neighborhood become Hypoluxo Island marina.”
And Beverly said “to suggest that the addition of a third boat lift, which supports a 70,000-pound yacht, will not infringe upon the waterfront rights of the applicant’s neighbors, is simply wrong.”
Master plan highlights
After a year of research, the town formally approved a master plan produced by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.
Some highlights include:
• Adding more housing to Water Tower Commons, where developers have struggled to attract retail tenants.
• Adding a wedding pavilion or a building with a combination of ground floor sundries and upstairs meeting space for expanded dining at the beach. Adding a cabana area, spaces for kayak and paddleboard rentals, and a perhaps a pier.
• Keeping one or two historical buildings on Ocean Avenue and redeveloping the other parcels with three-story buildings and significant parking in the rear.
• Redoing on-street parking with shade trees and less asphalt on and around Ocean Avenue — and better managing available parking to avoid need for a garage.
• Reconfiguring the municipal campus on Greynolds Circle with plans for a new Town Hall and more green space.
• Addressing the redevelopment of the Kmart shopping area in phases and lining the streets with buildings that eventually could be mixed-use.
Dana Little, urban design director for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, said by adopting a plan the town would “send a message to the development community, the investors that you don’t even know about, and your residents as well, that we have a game plan and we’re going to start moving forward with this and we’re going to start chipping away piece by piece.”
Residents have shown much enthusiasm for the plan.
“I am really impressed,” Beverly said. “I really believe they listened to all the residents and all those meetings we had. I think they came up with fabulous ideas.”
The plan cost the town $169,800.
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