Council approves restrictive covenant for Oculina development, including $4.935 million housing contribution and minority-employment requirements

The Riviera Beach City Council on May 7 approved Resolution 17-25, finalizing a restrictive-covenant agreement between the city and Silver Beach Road Properties LLC for the Oculina mixed-use development on Broadway. The agreement implements requirements tied to the city's Minority Employment and Affordable Housing Opportunity Plan (MHOP) and the site plan approval condition.

Under the agreement the developer will pay $4,935,000 into the city’s housing trust fund as the affordable-housing contribution under MHOP’s option to pay a fee in lieu of constructing units on-site. The developer elected fee-in-lieu for affordable housing (option 3 in the code) and elected option 1 for minority employment — a requirement to employ a minimum of 20% of the project’s full‑time and part‑time general labor force from minority groups.

The resolution spells out affirmative-marketing and first-source hiring commitments that give first opportunity to Riviera Beach residents from the named priority groups (Black/African descent and Hispanic/Latin descent), followed by residents of Palm Beach County. The agreement requires contractors at every tier to sign letters of assent to be bound by the plan and requires reporting to the city; staff and counsel advised the council that the code’s reporting cycle (section 26-9 sub d) requires 90-day reporting, and staff agreed to provide regular reports to the city.

To secure compliance the developer will post a performance surety; staff noted a $10,000,000 performance bond will be required and the contract includes monetary penalties for shortfalls — $75,000 for every percentage point below the 20% hiring goal. Staff and the developer also confirmed the city may withhold subsequent permits or pursue other remedies if compliance reporting is not provided or requirements are not met. The fee payment schedule in the agreement calls for an initial payment at permitting and the balance at certificate of occupancy unless the developer seeks to amend the agreement and instead construct affordable units on-site; such an amendment would require council approval.

Forest Development representatives and legal counsel presented first-source procedures, apprenticeship links and tracking mechanisms. Developers said they will work with local partners (the city’s reentry program, library, career pathways) and will actively market job opportunities (including job fairs and targeted media), provide letters of assent for subcontractors, and track hires by ZIP code and race to ensure priority access for Riviera Beach residents. The council approved the resolution by unanimous vote after public comment that included both support and concerns about the location and distribution of affordable housing.