The Palm Beach County Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a type-2 waiver requested for a proposed redevelopment of the Beach Sound condominium on the county’s northern Atlantic coast, sending the application and staff conditions to the Board of County Commissioners.

Josh Long of Coulter, presenting for the applicant team, described the proposal as a privately initiated type-2 waiver intended to allow a modern, resilient replacement for a 1984-built 12-unit multifamily building. The applicant seeks relief to reduce the front setback (from 25 to 20 feet) and to modify the additional setback requirements that apply to structures over 35 feet as updated in the county’s Unified Land Development Code. Long said the rebuilt condominium would internalize parking, raise finished-floor elevations to meet current flood-resilience standards and place mechanical equipment within integrated rooftop architectural elements.

“...we do agree with the zoning department’s analysis of our application, which determine that our application does comply with all of the required standards,” Long said during the hearing.

County staff deputy zoning director Wendy Hernandez told the commission the project site is 1.46 acres in RH/RM zoning abutting the Atlantic Ocean, that the building permit history shows a 1982/1984 structure, and that the application maintains the existing density of 12 units. Hernandez said staff reviewed the waiver standards and recommended approval subject to conditions; she also reported receiving more than 30 written correspondences from the public, mostly in opposition as of the most recent count.

Numerous nearby property owners and representatives spoke in opposition. Seth Bain, representing the Carlisle homeowners association, argued the site is substantially smaller than surrounding properties, that the proposed footprint would be out of scale with prevailing setbacks and that the waiver would create a precedent allowing towers closer to the right-of-way than the neighborhood norm.

"They're not making any effort to provide it," Bain said of the applicant’s setback approach, adding that the proposed exemptions were “a ridiculous reduction” from current code requirements.

Claridge manager John Bauman, residents Ed O’Sullivan and Donald Smith and others cited concerns about shadows on pools, noise from mechanical equipment and exhaust associated with underground parking, the risk of flooding from below-grade parking, privacy and property-value impacts. Several speakers pointed to a milestone inspection report for the existing Beach Sound structure — filed in the record — stating the inspector found no indications of substantial structural conditions requiring a phase 2 inspection.

Applicant and counsel emphasized that the county adopted the type-2 waiver process in 2024 following extensive review, and that the waiver language was crafted with this type of redevelopment in mind. Bill Perry of the Gunster law firm told the commission that the waiver process is now part of the code and that the application meets the newly adopted criteria.

The commission moved to recommend approval of the waiver (item 7a); the transcript shows the motion carried with one commissioner recorded in opposition. Staff will forward the recommendation and conditions to the Board of County Commissioners, which has final authority on any land-use or permit-level changes.

Ending: The recommendation advances to the Board of County Commissioners; opponents said they will continue to press concerns about scale, shading, noise, underground parking and the building’s compatibility with neighboring oceanfront condominiums.