Valerie StaggsResidents in a 55-plus neighborhood demand answers after they learn of city plans for a nature park in their backyards.
Homeowners in the luxury Regency at Avenir paid a premium for their new homes on Timber Creek Way. The homes that line the street in the 55-plus community overlook a preserve that residents say builder Toll Brothers assured them would remain undeveloped.
But in May, residents learned that Palm Beach Gardens had a plan to develop the preserve into a park. The plan dated to 2016, long before the first of nearly 4,000 homes, most selling for more than $1 million, rose in the 4,760-acre community west of the Beeline Highway off of Northlake Boulevard.
“We have a lovely view from our backyards,” Regency resident Dr. Howard Goodman, a retired oncologist, told Stet News. “We thought it would stay that way. We didn’t move here to have a big park in our backyard.”
Goodman and other residents on the street say Toll Brothers, the builder of the Regency community, told them the area would not be developed. A request for comment from Toll Brothers went unanswered.
But the 2016 Avenir master plan designates two parcels as city parks. One of those parks is behind Regency, and a portion of it is part of the city’s Nest Par 3 golf course. About 24 acres remain.
In 2023, the city added the park, named Gardens Nature Park and Trail, to its five-year capital improvement plan, budgeting $3 million, with half from a grant.
Goodman bought his home in 2025.
In a timeline on the city’s website, the city lists a January 2024 public meeting regarding grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and a July 2024 survey distributed to community homeowners and property owners associations.
Regency residents said they didn’t know about the public meeting or the survey. Many homeowners along Timber Creek Way did not live in Avenir at the time.
The city’s timeline also references a June 2025 meeting between city Engineering and Planning & Zoning staff and “members of the Regency community.” No date is cited. The residents say they don’t know who met with the city at that meeting.
Stet News submitted a public records request for information on these three timeline events. At publication time, no information had been provided.
In May, the city hosted a series of public workshops in which staff presented the proposed park plan. City officials shared a January 2024 site plan with the residents.
Features of the 24-acre park included hiking trails, a fishing pier, butterfly habitat, open-air pavilion, picnic facilities and restrooms. To reach these structures, a proposed half-milelong trail leads from the parking lot behind the residents’ homes, which all have 4-foot high ornamental fencing. The trail is the only entrance into the park.
The site borders the pristine, 13,000-acre Loxahatchee Slough to the east. The trails in the proposed park will connect with existing trails in Avenir’s conservation area on the north end of the site. About half of the Avenir land, formerly the Vavrus Ranch, has been set aside for conservation.
From bald eagles to disability compliance
Regency resident Suzanne Kline was shocked when she first saw the plan.
“People on this street paid a premium for preserve lots, from $40,000 to over $200,000 for lots by the lake,” Kline said. Homes in the neighborhood sold in the $1 million range.
She bought her home in January 2024. “I was told there were going to be butterfly gardens and simple hiking trails. I guess I should have done my due diligence, but I didn’t know.”
She wasn’t alone. In addition to Goodman, many of Kline’s neighbors on Timber Creek Way said they were told the same thing when they bought their homes.
At the workshops, homeowners on Timber Creek Way voiced their concerns to city staff during the 30 minutes of each meeting allotted for questions. Goodman, who lives at the end of the street and backs up to the far end of the park, asked about the city’s plan for emergencies. With the half-mile trail the only entrance into the park, would emergency vehicles need access via the street and his side yard?
Lisa Heitzman had security concerns.
Cynthia Lynn loves watching bald eagles on the trees at the fringe of the park area and wanted to ensure their nests were protected.
Kline, who is disabled, asked twice about the park’s Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
“I was told: ‘Don’t worry. We are handling it,’” she said.
Residents left with unanswered questions and no clear directive from the city on what would happen next. They followed up with emails and calls to Leisure Services Administrator Charlotte Presensky. In the workshops, they were told to direct questions to Presensky. They said they received no response.
Residents make their frustrations known
At the June 4 City Council meeting, the residents appeared to voice their frustration to council members.
“We are being told that all our concerns and all the issues should work out and everything should be fine,” Goodman told council members. “But if there is a problem, it’s going to be our problem.”
“These are premium properties and we were told nothing could be built on it. We didn’t know anything about this park,” Sherry Fruchterman said. “I have been to every meeting. I have spoken at every meeting. I have written letters. I have gotten nothing back.”
Council members listened. Some took notes.
The topic of the park came up later that night during the final item on the council agenda: the annual evaluation of City Manager Ron Ferris. In their reviews of Ferris, several council members stressed the need for more communication and transparency with the public, citing what they had just heard from Regency residents.
Council Member Rachelle Litt stressed the need for a more proactive approach to resident communications. “I would like to ask for a council presentation next month to address the nature park so we can see where everything stands and what the issues are,” Litt said.
Council Member Marcie Tinsley asked the same question residents were asking.
“What is the process going forward?” Tinsley asked. “I attended one of the public workshops. There were some great questions and staff said they would modify the plan if possible. What is the next step for that? Is it going to come back to council, which is what I would like to see?”
The council meeting adjourned without a response from the city manager or staff.
Waiting for answers
Since the council meeting, residents have received some answers. Tinsley responded to an email Kline sent assuring her that the city was taking her concerns seriously. City Engineer Todd Engle responded to an email from Goodman answering his questions about emergency access, sewer lines, ADA compliance and energy usage.
“Clearly we are going to have something back there,” Goodman said. “Hopefully they are listening to us.”
Lynn’s letter expressing concern for the bald eagles remains unanswered.
In response to a question from Stet News. Benji Studt, outreach supervisor for Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources, searched the area where Lynn reported seeing eagles.
Studt said there was likely a nest in the area, but it was not within 500 feet of the proposed park, so it is unlikely to be an issue.
Will plan be changed?
What comes next is uncertain.
“I want people to know, I’m not averse to the park. I’m for it. I think it’s a wonderful thing,” Kline said. “I just want people to respond to my questions.”
Tinsley doesn’t have an answer to what comes next.
“It is a good project, but the City Council didn’t have any input. I think there is a way to make it more thoughtful,” Tinsley told Stet News. “I think the residents just want to be heard.”
Asked if she knew what the process was for the park plan going forward, she said: “Good question.” She suggested reaching out to Presensky, who did not respond to two emails.
Stet also reached out to Engle to see if the city had modified the park plan.
“We do not have the updates yet,” he responded.
The city’s website anticipates construction starting this month or in July, with completion in fall 2027.
