The Palm Beach County Zoning Commission recommended approval of a large‑scale rezoning to a Mixed‑Use Planned Development (MUPD) and a class A conditional use for Westgate Village, a phased redevelopment of roughly 42 acres of the former Palm Beach Kennel Club property.

Applicant representatives said the project will retain the kennel club operation while redeveloping a 16.5‑acre parcel for a residential first phase and later redevelopment on remaining acreage. The first phase described to the commission would include 405 multifamily units on the 16.5‑acre portion allocated for housing, with the developer requesting allocation of 325 units from the CRA density bonus pool. The applicant said 20 percent of the proposed units would be set aside as workforce housing split across lower income categories to meet the county’s bonus‑density requirements.

Project design and variances: the applicant requested two type‑2 variances related to plaza depth and build‑to‑line setbacks along Congress Avenue to create a deep central plaza and align building frontages for aesthetic and functional purposes; one variance would increase the plaza depth and build‑to line for Building 2 to approximately 103 feet (where the code typically allows a 25‑foot plaza), and the other request would set Buildings 1 and 3 at about a 36‑foot build‑to line. Urban Design Studio’s Joni Brinkman and staff described specific, site‑driven circumstances—skewed property geometry, required utility easements, and existing county utilities—that, they said, justified the requested relief and would allow a better public realm and cohesive frontage along Congress Avenue. Zoning staff recommended approval of those variance requests.

CRA and community support: Westgate CRA leadership told the commission the project is consistent with the CRA’s redevelopment plan. “We are in support of this project,” Westgate CRA executive director Elize Michel told the commission; Denise Pinnell, the CRA’s planning director, said the CRA strongly supported phasing and the allocation of bonus density and emphasized the project’s potential to catalyze further redevelopment in Westgate.

Commission action and next steps: the commission adopted the staff‑recommended resolution approving the rezoning and class A conditional use and approved the requested variances. Staff said certain technical conditions remained under coordination and would be resolved before Board of County Commissioners review. The project will go to the Board for final action on the rezoning and conditional use; later phases and any changes to the kennel club parcel were described by the applicant as subject to future development‑order amendments.

Why it matters: the proposal remakes a large, long‑underused parcel in Westgate into a mixed‑use district with substantial housing, workforce set‑asides and a public plaza; staff and the CRA characterized it as a major catalyst for the CRA district’s economic and redevelopment goals.

What to watch: staff and applicant said technical civil and utility conditions remained to be finalized; the commission asked the applicant and staff to resolve outstanding engineering language (including a condition added in an add/delete) before the Board hearing.