Stet NewsFor you today, the County Commission’s most unpopular budget idea; another West Palm Beach high-rise could be on the fast track; an eleventh hour Project Tango court filing fizzles out; more affordable housing and this time with a community center named for a civil rights icon; and a club devoted to life on the water turns 60.
🏷️ Putting a price on public beaches
Palm Beach County commissioners want to charge for parking at 12 public beaches to help balance the county’s $2.2 billion spending plan.
It’s not precedent-setting, they say, as many cities already charge for beach parking. But it is angering residents who could always find a free day at the beach as a bright spot in a world where everything seems to have a cost.
Why it matters: Commissioners are working on next year’s budget with the November referendum to reduce property tax payments hanging over their deliberations. After making cuts to the Parks and Recreation Department budget, Director Jennifer Cirillo suggested parking fees to avoid more cuts.
The bottom line: The fees are projected to raise $10 million. Commissioners lowered that amount to $7 million by suggesting discounts for county residents.
What they’re saying: County Commissioner Maria Marino, who represents north county, which is home to seven of the beaches, supported the idea, saying that tourists and snowbirds would be hit hardest. “Too many nonresidents are parking at our beaches and that makes it difficult for our residents to park at our beaches. It needs to be put in place for the protection of our residents,” Marino said.
Zoom out: The proposal, first floated at a June 9 budget workshop, is drawing venom on social media sites. A change.org petition argues beaches should be open to all, regardless of ability to pay. “Enforcing a $4 per hour parking fee threatens to transform our public parks into privilege-based spaces rather than places open to everyone,” petition originator Georgina Castro wrote.
Here are the beaches where parking fees would be added:
- Coral Cove Park (north) in Tequesta
- DuBois, Carlin, Ocean Cay and Jupiter Beach parks in Jupiter
- Juno Beach and Loggerhead parks in Juno Beach
- Ocean Reef and Phil Foster parks in Riviera Beach
- Ocean Inlet Park in Boynton Beach
- Ocean Ridge Hammock Park in Ocean Ridge
- Gulfstream Park in Gulf Stream
Read more about the proposal to charge for parking at county beaches at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
🏎️ Luxury car dealer zooms in
There’s a new site eyeing high-rise development in West Palm Beach.
The luxury auto dealerships owned by Myers Auto Group are asking the city to include their property at Okeechobee Boulevard and South Dixie Highway in the Downtown Master Plan, which could make it eligible for 25-story development.
In fact, the most recent rendition of the master plan, presented last week, incorporates the site into the master plan boundaries. But Myers is still pursuing a separate approval track.
Why it matters: The proposal had the backing of city planners in advance of Wednesday’s Downtown Action Committee meeting but the city pulled the request, along with review of the newly written Downtown Master Plan, after Mayor Keith James called a pause to downtown planning to work more closely with residents.
- The master plan, which calls for 25-story buildings along Flagler Drive, hasn’t been updated since 2007. The blueprint for development downtown has been undergoing review for more than a year.
What they’re saying: The move would be in keeping with the city’s vision for Okeechobee Boulevard, Myers’ application by attorney Harvey Oyer said. “The property’s current use as an auto sales and repair facility represents a classic opportunity for infill redevelopment, transforming underutilized industrial space into high-value, DMP (Downtown Master Plan)-compliant uses like office towers, residential units or mixed-use retail.”
Zoom in: The property would be eligible for up to 483,351 square feet for residential development with ground-floor retail. Because of traffic concerns, office development would be smaller.
With traffic already snarled, nearby resident Fatima Sanandaji, who co-founded Save West Palm Beach, said the proposal worried her.
- “I find it frightening, frankly,” Sanandaji told Stet News. “That area cannot handle another office tower or another massive tower for residents. Traffic will become insane.”
Of note: The property owner, Stephen Myers, tried a similar move in 2016, saying the dealerships would move west to the Land Rover dealership at 7550 Okeechobee Blvd., The Palm Beach Post reported.
What’s next: The proposal is on hold until the city resubmits the Downtown Master Plan.
See the auto dealer’s proposal here.
See the proposed master plan here.
Read more about the proposal and more photos of luxury cars at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🚧 Court won’t block Project Tango showdown
Days before the Project Tango hyperscale AI data center goes before county commissioners for a showdown vote, a competing landowner has asked a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge to halt the hearing.
On Monday, Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Darren Shull denied an emergency motion filed by WPB Logistics Owner, which owns 60 acres in the 202-acre project area.
Why it matters: WPB Logistics argues that it would be harmed if county commissioners consider the zoning request from rival landowner PBA Holdings. WPB does not consent to the proposal to nearly double the property’s development rights and is concerned commissioners could slap on conditions that would limit WPB’s rights on its 60 acres.
- Both sides are fighting for the lucrative right to build data centers on the industrial land west of The Acreage off of Southern Boulevard. Residents of the neighboring Arden community argue data center operations would harm them and students and teachers at the Saddle View Elementary School in the community’s southwest corner.
Zoom in: The arguments are spelled out in WPB Logistics’ amended complaint, filed Friday, which adds the County Commission as a defendant, and in a motion for an emergency hearing.
- In the new complaint, WPB Logistics charges PBA Holdings with having “secret” meetings and phone conversations with county commissioners to win approval at the expense of WPB.
- WPB objects to a newly proposed county staff condition that no data center be built within 850 feet of the site’s eastern property line, a move designed to create a 1,750-foot buffer between data center buildings and Arden.
- Judge Shull denied both motions without explanation.
Yes, but: The 850-foot setback would preclude WPB Logistics from building a data center on land it is under contract to buy from PBA, the suit says.
What’s next: County commissioners will hear all sides starting at 9:30 am Wednesday in commission chambers in downtown West Palm Beach. Because the room holds only 150 people, county staff is offering full participation via video links for residents who attend at the county’s Vista Center offices, 2300 N. Jog Road.
Read more about the lawsuit to block Project Tango at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🎁 Riviera Beach kicks in $2.8M for affordable apartments
(Rendering: Architects Design Collaborative)
Developers are moving ahead with plans for 175 workforce apartments and a community center after they won a nearly $3 million concession last week from Riviera Beach.
The big picture: The city’s Housing Authority is developing the $75 million Marina Annex Apartments with private partners three blocks west of Riviera Beach’s Marina Village, an area that is attracting massive redevelopment.
The latest: On Wednesday, City Council members acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board agreed to contribute $2.8 million in water, sewer and impact fee payments for the project.
Why it matters: The apartments account for half of about 350 affordable/workforce units planned in the south end of Riviera Beach. They include 63 units at Villa L’Onz under construction just east of the Marina Annex site, and more than 100 units at Residences at Marina Village on Broadway.
By the numbers: Marina Annex has a $53 million loan from the federal government and $15 million in financing from Palm Beach County.
- It will have a new $4 million, three-story community center named for Judge Edward Rodgers.
Rodgers is known as a legendary teacher, civil rights pioneer and civic leader. Among his many achievements, he became Palm Beach County’s first Black prosecutor and judge. After he retired, he served on the Riviera Beach City Council and as the first chair of the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics. He died in 2018.
Catch up quick: The Marina Annex Apartments will rise on land at 251 W. 11th St. once used by the Riviera Beach Maritime Academy. After the school closed, Rodgers and other members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity secured the property from the Palm Beach County School District to open a community center.
- The fraternity will continue to offer services in the 15,000-square-foot center. Plans filed with the city show meeting space, a kitchen, classrooms and office space for local nonprofit organizations.
- The development partners are New York-based O’Connor Capital Partners and Hallandale Beach-based Urban Farmers.
What’s next: Construction could begin by the end of this year on the six-story complex.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
🍊 The Juice
⚽️ Dave Kerner, the former Palm Beach County commissioner, is the lone voice on the Palm Beach State College board of trustees to question the school’s pursuit of a $60 million soccer stadium at its Lake Worth campus. Despite Kerner’s criticism, the college is moving forward with lease negotiations for the 8,000-seat United Soccer League stadium that Palm Beach Sports Management wants to build with private money and open by next July. (Lake Worth Beach Independent $$$)
⚖️ A public-private partnership between Wellington Sports Academy, led by former NFL player Jon Bostic, and the village of Wellington has blown up into a lawsuit over financial payments and the use of village sports fields. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🔎 Ryan Specialty Holdings, an insurance company led by billionaire megadonor Pat Ryan, wrote much of a new state law that could force condo owners across Florida to pay higher prices for property insurance. Though no one from the company publicly testified in favor of the bill, records show that Ryan Specialty’s lobbyists supplied lawmakers with talking points to repeat during committee hearings, answers to anticipated questions from opponents and a list of “buzz words” to emphasize. (Seeking Rents)
🚢 Port of Palm Beach commissioners meet at 3 pm Thursday to select a fifth commissioner. They received 12 applicants in February and, after reopening applications last month, received six more, before backing two finalists each. The finalists are former Commissioner Jean Enright, whose resignation in October created the opening; Taniel Koushakjian, who has served on the port’s audit committee and is running against Deandre Poole for the Group 5 seat; and Brian Lamb, a retired firefighter and union local president running against Blair Ciklin for the Group 4 seat.
The commissioners’ selections:
- Blair Ciklin: Enright and Lamb
- Wayne Richards: Koushakjian and Erik Range
- Varisa Dass: Koushakjian and Lamb
- Deandre Poole: Enright and Kelly Fleury
📺 Anticipating large crowds, Palm Beach County staff is offering full participation in Wednesday’s Project Tango zoning hearing, as well as today’s consideration of a private school in Jupiter Farms, via video links to residents willing to watch from the county’s Vista Center hearing room, 2300 N. Jog Road. (Today’s agenda, Wednesday agenda)
🧲 Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, who is driving the Nashville school’s expansion to West Palm Beach, shares his experiences growing up in a divided Berlin and his thoughts on President Donald Trump and the U.S. commitment to scientific research. (Freakonomics Radio: Why Does Vanderbilt Keep Winning, hourlong podcast)
🗳️ Monday is the deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation for the Aug. 18 primary election. Florida is a closed primary state, meaning a voter’s political party affiliation determines which partisan races will appear on their ballot.
🏩 Travel and Leisure readers’ 15 favorite resorts in Florida. (Travel and Leisure)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, focuses on the property tax amendment vote in November. Republican state Rep. Toby Overdorf, whose district includes parts of Martin and St. Lucie counties, defends the proposed amendment, emphasizing the need for tax relief. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm today.)
561NSIDER: ⛵ 60 years and counting for Palm Beach Sailing Club
What began as a group of local sailors seeking camaraderie 60 years ago has grown into the Palm Beach Sailing Club, a not-for-profit private club dedicated to sailing education, competition and fellowship.
Catch up quick: In 1966, the club formed with members gathering monthly at a restaurant or hotel and setting sail once or twice a month. In 1997, members raised enough money to buy the club’s 4-acre headquarters on North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach.
State of play: The property includes a beach and a historic boathouse with storage and a classroom. It is on the Lake Worth Lagoon allowing sailors to guide their boats straight to the waterfront.
Why it matters: “The club is the only place that sailors in Palm Beach County can have access to the water to sail a boat like that,” 34-year member John Hough said.
Friction point: Rising property values, development pressure along North Flagler Drive and changing laws about mooring boats are among the club’s challenges. Club Commodore Aaron Wormus calls them “headwinds” for the 250-member club to navigate.
Prospective member Tammy Glad is attracted by her love of the water and the club’s sense of community. Although new to sailing, she got a hands-on lesson last month. She said she appreciated the opportunity to help rig the sailboat and take a role on the water, which made the experience welcoming and educational.
- “I felt like I was in good hands, and they knew what they were doing,” she said.
Want to learn more? Visit the club’s website at pbsail.org. Representatives from the club will also be at Lagoon Fest on Oct. 31 in downtown West Palm Beach.
Keep reading to learn about the club’s youth program and how to become a member at StetNews.org.
– Sephora Charles
🗞️ Stet News joins statewide collaborative to strengthen election coverage
Stet News is part of a statewide partnership of news organizations and university journalism programs that are working together to increase access to coverage of local elections throughout Florida.
The collaborative, spearheaded by The Florida Trib, kicks off with coverage for the Aug. 18 primary and will make hundreds of free stories available to voters across the state.
Why it matters: This starting point focuses on a serious need in the news landscape: School boards steward billions in public money every year.
Who’s who: Other local operations in the coalition are Stet News partner WLRN public radio, the Sun-Sentinel and Florida Atlantic University.
What’s next: Watch this space for stories from Stet and our partners about the Palm Beach County District 4 and 6 School Board elections.
