Residents oppose Minor Road extension as county outlines traffic, budget and timeline

City Commissioner Amy Kelly (District 4) convened a community meeting Monday with Palm Beach County public‑works staff to discuss a proposed Minor Road extension and collect local feedback.

County engineer David Riggs and traffic operations manager Fadi Nasar described the project as a missing segment in the roadway network that would be built to carry up to 15,000 vehicle trips and — the county estimates — could shorten some trips by about two miles. “This is a segment that was missing from the roadway network,” Nasar said, and the extension “will carry traffic, but this is traffic being mostly distributed.” Riggs said the project is in the county’s five‑year program and currently at about “65%” design; he said the county plans another community meeting once the 65% drawings are finalized.

Residents at the meeting disputed the county’s traffic modeling and raised concerns about safety, drainage, property takings and noise. Tom Ramicchio, president of the Knollwood homeowners association, said the extension would turn neighborhood streets into cut‑through routes and harm property values and quality of life. “This is our neighborhood, and this essentially would be driving cut‑through traffic through our neighborhood,” Ramicchio said.

Longtime property owner Annette Navett told the county she would not sell and argued the county had failed to notify property owners earlier in the planning process. Navett said the proposed alignment would take about one‑third of her 4.97‑acre parcel and intrude on a garage and septic system. “It’s a hard no for me,” Navett said. She added that she has received written offers of $3 million and higher and that any eminent‑domain proceeding would require the county to pay not less than market offers she has on record.

Other residents raised safety concerns for children at nearby Franklin Academy, and several described day‑to‑day traffic, flooding and enforcement problems in the unincorporated pockets east of Lawrence Road. Mark Bouchard of Whitefeather said the neighborhood already experiences drainage problems, stray vehicles and increasing traffic. “We pay our taxes religiously, and we pay a hell of a lot in taxes. And it’s not fair,” Bouchard said.

County staff answered technical and schedule questions. Nasar said the design could be two or three lanes and that the extension would also include a bike lane east of Lawrence Road. Riggs outlined recent contractor problems on unrelated nearby signal and roadway projects and said the county took over stalled works from a bankrupt contractor; he also said a separate Minor Road/Congress Avenue intersection upgrade carries an estimated $2.3 million budget and is expected to go to bid this fall.

No formal action, vote or funding decision was taken at the meeting. Riggs said county staff will return to the community after they complete the 65% design and that discussions about right‑of‑way acquisition, possible road transfer to the city, or other mitigation would follow. Commissioner Kelly said she would continue to advocate for residents and that city staff and Palm Beach TPA representatives would remain available for follow‑up.

The meeting exposed a sharp divide: county engineers stressing modeled regional traffic benefits and residents describing site‑level impacts the county has not yet resolved. County staff documented the project as part of its five‑year capital program (in the program since 02/2019) and confirmed right‑of‑way needs remain under design review; residents said the county’s outreach and mitigation planning arrived too late for many homeowners.

City and county staff remained after the meeting for one‑on‑one questions and said they would schedule follow‑up community outreach tied to the 65% design milestone.