Royal Palm Beach council approves taller silos and site changes for asphalt plant

Royal Palm Beach — The Village Council on May 15 unanimously approved a set of land‑use actions that will allow an existing asphalt production facility at 60690 Fifth Avenue North to keep and add tall silos and to formalize the site's existing storage piles.

The approvals included: (1) a variance from the village code's 32‑foot maximum height to allow three roughly 75‑ to 78‑foot silos and to recognize existing asphalt pile heights, (2) a special‑exception use to expand the asphalt/concrete plant, and (3) a site‑plan modification and architectural approval for the silo construction, parking and other as‑built updates. Council members voted in favor after hearing presentations from planning staff and the applicant and after the Planning & Zoning Commission actions.

The plant is operated on a long‑standing industrial parcel that was annexed into the village in 1989. Urban Design Studio presented the applications on behalf of WPB Ops Land LLC and said the taller silos are needed to increase on‑site storage capacity and operational efficiency and that the piles and silos have existed for decades. Planning staff, represented by planning manager O'Brien, said staff did not support the variance because it found no special circumstances unique to the property that would justify exceeding the code height limits. The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4–1 to deny the variance and recommended denial to council; the commission recommended approval of the special exception contingent on the council granting the variance.

Applicant representative Lindsay Jean Louis said the property's history matters: county approvals in the 1980s and a 1990 development agreement subsequently vested the site for asphalt production and recognized earlier silo heights. Louis told the council the proposals “are solely for storage of asphalt” and that the application does not add storage capacity beyond what has historically existed; the requested variance for asphalt pile height is intended to create a zoning mechanism to regulate a maximum height for material that has been present on site since at least 1999.

The applicant also requested changes to two staff conditions. One change asked that the condition requiring “dust dampening equipment” be replaced with a requirement that the facility maintain compliance with village code Section 26‑101; the applicant stated the stored material is recycled asphalt that is “a nondusting material” and argued the code‑compliance standard better fits the vested use. A second change sought to modify language requiring piles to be “sufficiently shielded and covered on all sides,” with the applicant proposing operational measures during high‑wind events instead.

Council discussion referenced the site's 1990 development agreement and later amendments (1994) that the applicant said acknowledged existing silos and certain pre‑existing conditions. Photographs submitted with the application showed the silos and piles have been visible from adjacent roadways and that substantial separation exists between the plant and neighboring uses, including a Mazda Toyota dealership and Coral Sky Plaza.

After public comment (no members of the public spoke) the council approved the variance, then the special exception and finally the site plan modification. Motions to approve were made and seconded; the council recorded unanimous approval for each action. The council incorporated the applicant's requested modifications to the draft conditions as part of the approvals; the record notes that the council intended the revised conditions to replace, not to add to, the staff's prior conditions so only the revised set would be enforceable.

Staff will memorialize the approvals in adopted resolutions for the variance, special exception and site‑plan modification. The approvals do not remove other regulatory requirements; the council and applicant noted that compliance with village code and any other applicable permits (county or state) remains mandatory.

The Planning & Zoning Commission review dates and the council resolutions are part of the administrative record for the site; council members asked staff to ensure that final conditions are clear about dust mitigation, operational thresholds during high winds, and how maximum pile heights will be measured and enforced.