The West Palm Beach Historic Preservation Board met Dec. 9 and disposed of routine business before turning to a heavy agenda of design reviews. The board approved three consent items and a series of certificates of appropriateness, denied a proposal at 734 Ardmore Road and continued several complex applications for further design work or additional documentation.

At the top of the meeting, the board approved the consent agenda covering three cases (including 3025 Bison Road and 322 Marlborough Place), and later voted to approve design work at 707 Kanuga Drive and 275 Flamingo Drive with conditions. Board members said staff reports and supplemental materials justified certificates of appropriateness for those projects provided the applicants meet standard conditions on materials, fenestration, and permitting documentation.

The most significant final vote denied application 25‑80 for 734 Ardmore Road. The board cited competing testimony, multiple neighbor objections about scale and privacy, and staff findings that the application did not meet the standards in the historic preservation ordinance (section 94‑49) and the Secretary of the Interior standards, moving to deny the application.

Several large or complicated projects were continued for additional work. Case 25‑61 (229 Plymouth Road) was continued to the Jan. 27 meeting so the applicant could revise rooftop massing and fenestration per staff direction and submit a complete resubmittal by Dec. 23 if returning in January. Case 25‑79 (3180 Washington Road) was continued after staff flagged major compatibility, entry sequencing and finished‑floor elevation issues. A heavily revised 349 Plymouth Road application was also continued so the applicant can show clearer demolition elevations and structural documentation.

The board repeatedly grounded its votes in the Secretary of the Interior standards and city compatibility criteria, asking applicants to keep primary façades legible, differentiate new work from old, and avoid massing that creates a false sense of historic development. Where possible the board urged applicants to push new massing toward the rear and to reduce visible roof or garage massing from the street.

Next procedural steps: multiple continuances were set for the Jan. 27, 2026 Historic Preservation Board meeting (applicants will receive follow‑up emails from staff). The board also noted a January meeting likely to include 11–12 new items plus the six items continued from Dec. 9.