Stet NewsHello, Stetters. Let’s get it! For you today, Palm Beach Gardens shifts its county fee dispute to developers, more towers over Broadway, the search for a county attorney and U.S. 1 as art.
🎉 It’s only four days until this year’s NAMIWalks Palm Beach County. We hope you’ll walk with our Stet News team or come out Saturday and visit our table. Details here.
⚖️ Growth fight turns to the developers
The long-running dispute between Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County for control of developer fees took another twist last month when the city unleashed letters to developers demanding they pay fees for projects already completed.
The city said it took the action under a 2022 court order.
The county said the city ignored the order for so long, the city should be found in contempt.
Why it matters: It’s a fight over who controls money paid by developers to prepare for growth. Since 1980, the county has collected “impact fees” from developers to help pay for the impact of their project but it can only be spent on regional roads. Over the past decade, the Legislature has allowed cities to create their own fees, called “mobility fees,” that can be used not only to build roads but to build alternatives to roads, such as bike lanes and sidewalks.
- Palm Beach Gardens stopped collecting the county impact fee in 2020. A 2022 court order said the city had to start collecting it again. But the city waited for clarification from the court that took two years and now says it has no way to collect the fee, short of writing to developers and asking them to pay.
- Most developers have completed their projects. Some no longer own the property. The leverage to require payment before the project can begin is gone.
Zoom out: Appealing directly to developers blew up on the county in 2021. County commissioners stopped that approach, leading to the county’s decision to sue the city.
Over the five years since the city stopped collecting the fee, development has been booming in Palm Beach Gardens. In recent court filings, the county said it is owed $6.7 million.
What they’re saying: “I feel confident in our position that they owe us the fees,” County Administrator Joe Abruzzo told Stet News.
Counterpoint: “The unpaid road impact fees do not constitute a debt owed by the city, as they remain the developer’s responsibility,” City Attorney Max Lohman said in a Sept. 12 email to the county.
Read more about the dispute and how a new state law changes the landscape for how cities and counties pay for growth at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
⬆️ More big buildings on Broadway
The Waterway, a $305 million waterfront residential development in Riviera Beach, is one of the largest projects proposed in the city.
Why it matters: It would mean even more construction on the long-ignored Broadway corridor in Riviera Beach, which is booming with developers moving forward on 399 luxury condo units in twin high-rises on the city’s northern border and 1,100 units in four buildings on the city’s southern border.
Catch up quick: Developers of The Waterwayenvision three apartment towers on 4.5 acres at 3200 Broadway and 3140 Lakeshore Drive.
- The eastern waterfront tower would be 25 stories.
- Two towers to the west would be 20 stories.
- The total project calls for 785 apartments and almost all of them would be rented at market rates.
What happened: Developer KMG Holdings of Palm Springs requested the project be pulled from last week’s Planning and Zoning Board agenda after city staff recommended the board deny land-use and site-plan approvals.
KMG’s Kirill and Mikhail Vesselov own two addiction treatment centers in Palm Beach County and others nationwide. The parent company, Haven Health Management, is headquartered in Palm Springs.
Among the planning staff’s objections as outlined in their report:
- A rental project does not move the city closer to its goal of increasing homeownership opportunities.
- After several rounds of submissions, the applicant has not demonstrated that the city has the capacity to provide water service to the project.
- The mass and scale of the buildings are not compatible with the area.
The city planning staff recommended that the project be redesigned to reduce the height of a seven-story podium between the two west towers to provide additional open space.
The other side: KMG’s representative to the city, William “Billy” Cunningham III of The Starboard Group in Delray Beach, did not return a call from Stet.
Zoom out: The project was proposed in 2020 as a single waterfront tower on 1.5 acres bought for $4.5 million in 2018. KMG paid $2.5 million in 2020 for an additional 3 acres on Broadway, according to property records.
Of note: KMG is proposing to exceed the height limit of 20 stories on the eastern tower by designating 30 units in the westernmost tower for affordable housing.
What’s next: The Planning and Zoning Board must weigh in on The Waterway before it can advance to the City Council.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
💼 Three of four finalists not named Denise
It’s been 30 years since someone not named Denise ran the County Attorney’s Office.
- Before Denise Coffman served five years, Denise Nieman held the job for 25 years. Extra points if you can name her predecessor (answer below).
One of the four finalists to replace Coffman is named Denise.
Why it matters: K. Denise Haire, a former West Palm Beach assistant city attorney in private practice, is up against the county attorney’s two chief assistants, David Ottey and Michael W. Jones, and the mayor of Wellington, Michael Napoleone, for the county’s second-most powerful post.
Catch up quick: Commissioners plan to make a selection today.
Zoom in: Napoleone, who has been mayor of the village since last year and has served on the council since 2016, offered something the others could not provide. As former clerk of court and state lawmaker Joe Abruzzo did to land the county administrator post, Napoleone pointed to his experience as an elected official.
“I would bring to the role a steady legal hand, a collaborative temperament, and a proven record of leadership rooted in public service,” he wrote on his application. “Perhaps most importantly, I would bring a much-needed fresh perspective to the County Attorney’s Office.”
Memory check: The last county attorney not named Denise was Joe Mount, who left in 1996.
Read more about the commissioners’ concerns over the quick search for a new county attorney at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
🍊 The Juice
South Florida charities mobilize as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica. (WLRN)
West Palm Beach city commissioners agreed Oct. 14 to buy back the leases on three city-owned, downtown waterfront properties, including Elisabetta’s Ristorante. They’ll borrow $40 million to pay landlord Navarro Lowrey $25.5 million. City staff expect profits over 23 years will cover the city’s costs. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
A massive data center that could consume as much electricity as 1 million residents and would cost $13.5 billion failed to get the backing of the St. Lucie County Planning and Zoning Commission Oct. 16. The 15 million-square-foot Sentinel Grove Technology Park would be built on 1,218 acres at Orange Avenue and Minute Maid Road in rural St. Lucie County. (Treasure Coast Newspapers $$$)
Two Palm Beach County child rape suspects could be the first in the country since the 1970s to be punished by the death penalty in a case that doesn’t involve a homicide. Prosecutors are using a 2023 Florida law that allows the penalty for adults who commit sexual battery on a child under 12. The case involves a 6-year-old girl who said her father and his roommate raped her every day. (Sun Sentinel, $$$)
The Lake Worth Beach City Commission censured Commissioner Chris McVoy Oct. 21 after he interrupted a resident during public comment. The dispute with the resident stemmed from earlier comments by “the Guatemalan princess,” a teenager from the Guatemalan Maya Center who spoke of residents “living in fear” because of immigration raids. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
Palm Beach County residents who live in state House District 87 are likely to go without representation during the upcoming legislative session as Gov. Ron DeSantis set the date for a special election to replace Republican Mike Caruso for March 24, which is 11 days after the session ends. Caruso left to become Palm Beach County clerk. A primary would be held Jan. 13. Two Republicans and two Democrats are running. (Florida Politics)
To save money in the face of broad state budget cuts, Tri-Rail plans to end a ride-partner program with Uber, Lyft and others, and consider replacing its complex ticket scheme with flat fares. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
Matt Luciano, who ran for West Palm Beach City Commission against Christina Lambert in March 2024, died Sept. 16 at age 53. (Obituary)
The Grandview Public Market food hall in West Palm Beach, which closed in July, is coming back in January as Caroline Station, with fewer vendors and an emphasis on events. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
Downtown West Palm Beach isn’t the only place Nashville’s Vanderbilt University is planning to expand. (The New York Times gift link)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, welcomes Pap Corps publicist Kay Renz to discuss how artificial intelligence is helping speed mammogram analysis and may soon revolutionize breast cancer screening and diagnosis. (Listen now; watch after 4pm Wednesday)
561NSIDER: 📸 An artistic window into U.S. 1
A highway stands solid next to the ghost of a school building in Jacksonville.
It is just one of a series of arresting images of modern life along U.S. Route 1 from Miami to Maine that makes up the newest photography exhibit at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.
Why it matters: The work of Russian transplant Anastasia Samoylova, “Atlantic Coast” follows the path taken by documentarian photographer Berenice Abbott, who traveled America’s oldest interstate highway, U.S. 1 from Maine to Florida, in 1954.
What they’re saying: “What struck me wasn’t nostalgia or optimism but Abbott’s clarity, her understanding that the new Interstate Highway System would forever alter the social and visual fabric of the United States,” Samoylova told Stet News in written responses to questions. “Her project wasn’t about progress but about consequence.”
Zoom in: Samoylova’s work has been described as storied. In the Norton exhibit, she explores:
- A historical reenactor dedicated to her role preserving history.
- Hand-painted decorations on a small storefront, emblematic of a time long gone.
- Buildings deeply weathered from the elements, once considered modern.
Zoom out: Samoylova’s work is hot. It is on display at museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Perez Art Museum in Miami, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago.
What’s next at the Norton:
- “Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time,” the largest private collection of 17th century Dutch art, open now until March 29.
- Samoylova’s Artist Talk is Nov. 21.
- “Inside Outside,” a collection of surrealist paintings by Shara Hughes, opens Nov. 15.
Where to go:
“Atlantic Coast” is on display Nov. 15-March 1 at the Norton, 1450 S. Dixie Highway. Tickets are $18 but West Palm Beach residents get free admission on Saturdays.
Click here to read more about Samoylova and the vision behind her trip along U.S. Route 1.
— Erik Kvarnberg
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