Board recommends rezoning 1660 S. Congress Ave. from professional office to general commercial, 6‑1

The Delray Beach Planning & Zoning Board on March 17 recommended that the City Commission rezone 1660 South Congress Avenue from Professional Office District (POD) to General Commercial (GC). The recommendation passed 6‑1, with Board member Chris Brown recorded as the lone “no.”

Applicant attorney Neil Schiller, representing the property owner, argued the POD designation no longer suits the site because demand for small professional office space has declined since 2019. Schiller said the comprehensive plan’s land use map designates the property as general commercial and that the requested GC zoning matches the plan. He cited broader market trends—remote work and bank branch closures—and said the existing Wells Fargo branch closure left the site vacant.

Schiller said the site is about 0.77–0.79 acres (70 feet by 200 feet on the northwest corner of Linton Boulevard and Congress Avenue), and that surrounding parcels to the south and east already carry GC zoning; he argued the request is compatible with adjacent uses and the Congress Avenue corridor study’s goals for property improvement and redevelopment.

Planning staff summarized the rezoning analysis: POD is intended for limited small‑scale office uses while GC permits a broader variety of commercial uses; the land use map already supports GC; and the city’s Congress Avenue Strategies plan urges property improvement and redevelopment of underused office parcels. Staff noted GC includes uses that can generate higher traffic than POD—staff’s review compared a drive‑thru bank under POD (about 200 daily trips) to a hypothetical drive‑thru restaurant under GC (more than 600 trips), and estimated a potential net increase of roughly 510 daily trips for the most intense uses. Staff emphasized that any redevelopment requiring site plan review would trigger a traffic study.

Public comment included Christina Morrison, a resident and member of the Congress Avenue Task Force, who supported rezoning for redevelopment and said recent and planned housing nearby will increase demand for commercial services along Congress Avenue. Board discussion covered concerns about traffic and specific permitted uses under GC; members noted the city code contains buffering and site plan standards to mitigate impacts (including a required 6‑foot masonry wall plus hedging where commercial abuts residential). Several board members said the existing site is blighted and that redevelopment would be an improvement.

Board member Allison Thomas moved the recommendation; Mitch Katz seconded. Roll call recorded: Jeffrey Meiselman yes; Chris Brown no; Deidre Strawn yes; Mitch Katz yes; Allison Thomas yes; Judy Malika yes; Barry (Gregory) Snyder yes. The motion passed 6‑1. The item will go to the City Commission for first and second readings, likely in April or May.