Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ag Reserve Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission deadlocks on Park West Commerce North; motion to approve fails
Summary
The commission considered a proposal to add a new 'commerce' future land use designation on nearly 50 acres in the Ag Reserve north of Atlantic Avenue; staff recommended approval but the motion failed on a divided roll call after wide public comment from farmers and residents.
The Palm Beach County Planning Commission considered a privately filed request Thursday to change the future land use for a 49.7-acre parcel west of the Florida Turnpike along Atlantic Avenue from agricultural (AGR) to a newly created Commerce designation intended for light industrial and low-trip employment uses.
Park West Commerce North would reclassify a large nursery site and allow roughly 775,000 square feet of primarily light-industrial and employment-support uses, including self-storage, fitness, processing/assembly, and warehouse/office uses in a planned development. The application includes an on-site preserve of about 13.76 acres; the applicant said the proposal meets the Ag Reserve policy standards for the Commerce category adopted previously by the Board of County Commissioners.
Staff recommended approval with conditions limiting the square-footage and requiring that the future land use amendment and a concurrent zoning application be heard at the same adoption hearing. Staff said the proposal met the Commerce criteria because it fronts Atlantic Avenue and was consistent with the Ag Reserve master plan recommendations for two employment centers near Turnpike interchanges.
Public comment at the hearing was lengthy and strongly mixed. Supporters included the applicant and the Delray-area residential alliance, which cited reductions in trip generation compared with prior mixed-use plans for the site and pledged continued engagement. Opponents included adjacent farmers and equestrian facilities who said intensive light-industrial uses would undermine the agricultural reserve’s intent, harm operations that rely on quiet rural roads and access, and create unacceptable traffic and compatibility impacts. The nearby Irish Acres equestrian facility and 1,000 Friends of Florida urged denial.
Commissioners discussed the policy history of the Ag Reserve, compatibility with nearby farms and equestrian operations, and traffic and drainage impacts. In the roll call vote the motion to approve with staff conditions did not garner a majority and the item failed at this hearing. Staff advised the item could be revised and resubmitted; in the meantime the property remains AGR.
