West Palm Beach planning board backs rezoning for Apogee tower at 4906 North Flagler Drive

The West Palm Beach Planning Board on Jan. 22 recommended approval of rezoning and waivers for the Apogee residential development at 4906 North Flagler Drive (planning board case 1965), voting unanimously to forward the application to the City Commission for final consideration.

Rick Green, Development Services Director for the City of West Palm Beach, told the board that city staff and neighborhood residents had prompted a broader study of the North Flagler corridor and that an overlay district is being drafted to guide future redevelopment. "We are working on a draft code amendment for an overlay district, which you will see," Green said, adding the overlay will be brought back to the planning board and then the city commission for two hearings.

The applicant team, represented by Brian Seymour, attorney with the Gunster law firm, and John Roche, land planner with Gunster, said they revised the proposal after prior feedback. Seymour said the most recent design changes reduced the tower footprint and parking: "Following the direction, what you've seen tonight is a reduction. It is now not 46, but 36 units. It is now a 21 story tower of 235 feet 2 inches, and 99 parking spaces with, only 82 now required." Roche described site adjustments and said the applicant had eliminated the waiver requesting additional density for submerged land and had achieved the 20-foot Residential Planned Development (RPD) south setback the board had requested.

Kevin DeFrank, senior planner with the Development Services Department, presented staff findings and recommended approval with conditions. "Staff finds the request complies with the rezoning standards found in section 94-32(a), the site design standards in section 94-35(c), and the RPD provisions," DeFrank said, and he submitted the staff report and amended motions into the record.

Several neighbors and business owners spoke during public comment. Tatiana Mikolenko, who said she owns an apartment building across the driveway from the project site, asked planners to review emergency access and staging: "One of my biggest concerns is that they're being asked to waive the right ... of having fire and emergency vehicles being able to get onto the property, which directly affects my tenants and me," Mikolenko said. The applicant responded that proposed emergency access arrangements came from the fire department and were intended to meet its requirements: "This was not us saying this is how we're gonna do it. It's ... the fire department ... giving us comments and the fire department saying this is the safest way to manage these things," Seymour said.

Claudia Kirk Bartow, a board member of the Northwood Harbor Neighborhood Association, urged the city to complete a neighborhood master plan to address infrastructure and transition issues before further approvals: "A collective request for a comprehensive master plan remains critical to guide thoughtful community oriented development in our area," she said. Other speakers offered both support and opposition; several business owners and development professionals expressed support for the project, saying Related Group had engaged the community.

On the technical details discussed at the meeting: the motion and staff materials describe the parcel as approximately 1.45 acres; during the presentation the applicant said the lot totals about 1.5 acres with roughly 0.26 acres of submerged land (leaving about 1.19 acres of upland). The board heard that the revised design reduced the previously proposed unit and height counts, eliminated the submerged-land density waiver, and resolved a south setback waiver by meeting the 20-foot RPD perimeter setback. The applicant also said the AM peak hour vehicle trips would be one fewer and the PM peak hour three fewer than in the earlier submission.

After discussion by board members and staff clarifications addressing emergency access, construction management, and seawall concerns raised by neighbors, Commissioner Will Carrente moved the planning board recommendation. The motion, which cites compliance with sections 94-32(a), 94-35(c) and 94-207(c) of the City of West Palm Beach Zoning and Land Development Regulations and incorporates staff conditions, passed unanimously. The board directed that the staff conditions be followed and noted that the matter will proceed to the City Commission.

Next steps: the planning board recommendation will be forwarded to the City Commission, which will hold hearings on the rezoning and related waivers. The city staff, applicant and neighborhood representatives said they expect continued outreach and a construction management plan to address staging, parking, and other construction impacts.

Votes at a glance - Planning Board Case 1965 (rezoning and waivers for Apogee at 4906 North Flagler Drive): Recommendation to the City Commission approved unanimously (6–0).