By Margie Plunkett
Lantana Town Council gave its final nod to a zoning change for the Cenacle property on the Intracoastal — to commercial from residential —though it won’t become effective until after site plan approval.
The Cenacle sought land-use and zoning changes as part of a proposal to sell the 1400 Dixie Highway retreat, operated by the Catholic Cenacle sisters, to Palm Beach Resort Partners LLC. The buyer wants to develop a $100 million luxury resort and spa.
A residents group appealed the project following council’s initial vote in April that allowed a land-use change to commercial. The developers and opponents have worked out an agreement to let the process continue even as the appeal stands.
Under the agreement, the zoning change approved by council Sept. 28 will only become effective at the end of the process, after the comprehensive plan goes into effect and the challenge is ultimately resolved, the developer’s attorney, Al Malefatto of Greenberg Traurig, told council members at their Sept. 14 meeting. The residents group that challenged the development is very interested in working on the site plan, Malefatto said, adding that his client hoped to have approval of that plan by the first quarter of 2010. The site plan will also be the subject of public hearings.
The developer has promised residents a deed restriction that would limit building on the property to the upscale hotel if the sale closes. In response to repeated concerns, Malefatto said Palm Beach Resort Partners had no intention of flipping the property to another buyer.
Residents have objected to the proposal at public hearings for both the land-use change and the zoning change. They have voiced suspicions that changing land use could pave the way for unwelcome commercial uses on the property as well as concerns about its impact on the environment and the small-town atmosphere of the neighborhood.
Although the site plan hadn’t been submitted yet, the developer’s representatives presented a preview at the April council meetings, describing a 300-room hotel with restaurants, bars, ballroom, sandy beach and a pool on the 10-acre waterfront property.
Malefatto said then that the project could provide an enormous economic boost to Lantana, creating 300 full-time local jobs and $300,000 in annual tax revenue from a property that’s not now taxed.
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