Staff outlines downtown master plan update, public visioning and expected timeline

Summary

Development Services Director Anna Maria Aponte said the city’s downtown master plan update is underway with consultant-led visioning meetings, recent presentations Dec. 9, drafting of regulations in progress and an anticipated approval process beginning in March with potential final action by June.

Anna Maria Aponte, the City of West Palm Beach Development Services Director, updated the Planning Board on the downtown master plan process on Dec. 16. She said consultants and city staff held multiple visioning meetings throughout the year, including a Dec. 9 presentation that summarized main recommendations. The consultant team includes market‑analysis and landscape, mobility, and traffic specialists; the city expects to begin the formal approval process in March and aims for potential final action by June, depending on the schedule.

Aponte said the focus is not on attracting development but on managing growth: identifying places to allow additional height or to remove incentives, protecting public spaces and advancing downtown quality of life over the next 25 years. She encouraged board members and the public to view recorded consultant presentations on the city website.

The update was informational; no action was taken at the meeting.