Joel EngelhardtJuno Beach’s “harmony” rule doesn’t stop proposal to combine two oceanfront lots to build one home.
Harmony, it turns out, is in the eye of the beholder.
A proposal to replace two adjacent Juno Beach oceanfront homes with a larger one failed the town’s harmony test on the standards of mass and scale, Juno Beach planners told the Town Council last week.
But the council voted 3-2 to allow homeowners Boris and Natasha Ivanov to move ahead with plans for a 14,738-square-foot home to replace two homes totaling 12,754 square feet.
Why it matters: Residents countywide have watched for years as neighbors have torn down older homes to build homes double their size. In the oceanfront town of Juno Beach, population 3,800, development has been at the center of a divisive debate.
What they’re saying: “The approval of this agenda item really comes down to the subjective interpretation called harmony,” Mayor Peggy Wheeler said. “I am for this project because harmony is subjective.”
Town planners compared the square footage of other homes in the 10-home oceanfront community — between 4,974 square feet and 7,945 square feet — and determined the new home’s size of nearly 15,000 square feet would not be compatible in terms of mass.
- As for scale — the proportions of a building in relation to its surroundings — the home failed particularly because of its width on a double lot, town planners wrote.
Leslie Thomas, representing the Ivanovs, countered that the new home would be far less massive than other homes in town. She showed pictures of homes six times the size of neighboring homes. The Ivanovs’ home would be hidden from public view, she said.
“If you allow the bigger ones like this to be massive and visible and in your face we hope you’ll allow ours that is discreet, private and hidden behind closed doors,” Thomas said.
The Ivanovs have lived in one home since 2010, when they bought it for $4.45 million. They paid $7.1 million for the neighboring home in August 2023.
Yes, but: The town’s harmony rule provides for comparisons only to homes in the same community, not across the street or in another part of town, town planner Stephen Mayer said.
- Owners of six of the eight neighboring homes signed off.
To concerns raised by opponents about threats to sea turtles, Acting Town Manager Frank Davila explained that no construction would take place east of the Coastal Construction Control Line and the house itself would be farther away than 50 feet, as required by town code. The pool would be within the 50-foot setback, he said, as allowed by town code. It must get approval of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Of note: Council Member John Callaghan, just two hours after taking the oath of office to fill the term remaining after the resignation of Jacob Rosengarten, cast the deciding vote. He and Wheeler were joined by Council Member Marianne Hosta. Members DD Halpern and Diana Davis voted against.
Joel is a founder, reporter and editor at Stet News. His award-winning newspaper career spanned more than 40 years, including 28 years at The Palm Beach Post, which he left in 2020. Joel lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens. He volunteers on the board of NAMI Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
