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Planning board recommends denial of land-use amendment and rezoning at NE 7th Street and NE 7th Avenue
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Summary
After hours of testimony from neighbors and the applicant, the Delray Beach Planning & Zoning Board voted 5–1 on April 20 to recommend denial of a privately initiated land-use map amendment and rezoning for a 0.61-acre parcel at Northeast 7th Street and Northeast 7th Avenue, citing concerns about height, density and neighborhood transitions.
The Delray Beach Planning & Zoning Board on April 20 recommended denial of a privately initiated land-use map amendment and rezoning for a 0.61-acre parking lot at the northwest corner of Northeast 7th Street and Northeast 7th Avenue.
The application, presented by Jeff Castello of JC Planning Solutions for property owners including the Lorne family, asked to change the parcel’s land-use designation from medium density residential to commercial core and to rezone the site from RM (residential) to CBD (Central Business District). Castello told the board the CBD form-based code provides transition and mitigation tools and that, given site constraints, realistic development intensity would be limited. He said staff’s analysis showed required findings could be met under the CBD regulations.
Members of the adjacent Palm Trail neighborhood urged denial. Jack Indecue, speaking for neighborhood residents, said the request would remove a longstanding residential buffer and "allow a significant increase in development intensity" next to single-family and multifamily blocks, raising concerns about height, massing and traffic. "We respectfully urge you to deny this application," Indecue said. The board also heard from family members who stressed their multigenerational ties to Delray Beach and local residents who supported sensitive, well-planned redevelopment.
Staff and the applicant addressed specific concerns during rebuttal. Castello offered possible mitigations, including lowering a proposed height limit to 48 feet or designating 7th Avenue as a primary street so building fronts face the avenue rather than residential lots. Staff clarified that the parcel as currently zoned would not allow certain uses cited by speakers (staff noted crematoriums are allowed only where the zoning permits) and reiterated that the comprehensive plan anticipates transitions to take place at the rear of properties when possible.
Board members repeatedly returned to the same questions: whether the parcel is appropriately part of a commercial core, whether the increased height and allowable density under CBD would be compatible with the residential neighborhood, and whether any conditions could adequately mitigate traffic and scale impacts. Several members said the parcel’s context — a continuous area of medium-density land use on the land-use map — weighed against a rezoning that would expand commercial depth into residential areas.
Mitch Katz moved to recommend denial of the land-use amendment (Ordinance 27-26) and the associated rezoning (Ordinance 28-26). By roll call, the board recommended denial on both items, 5–1. The recorded vote on both motions: Roger Cope, Mitch Katz, Deidre Strong, Price Patton and Greg Snyder voted to recommend denial; Karen Kieslowski voted against denial; Jim Chart was absent. The board’s recommendation will go to the City Commission for final action.
Next steps: The board’s recommendation is advisory; the City Commission will consider the land-use map amendment and rezoning at a later public hearing. The applicant may revise the application or propose conditions before that hearing.
