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Royal Palm Beach planning commission approves Lakeside Landing changes after tree losses; 65 replacements required
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Commission approved DR Horton’s Lakeside Landing site-plan modification including a 30-inch retaining wall, removal of 29 specimen pine trees that died during construction and planting of 65 replacement trees, with conditions on sign removal and long-term maintenance.
The Village of Royal Palm Beach Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve Application No. 25-126 SPM/AAR on March 24, 2026, allowing a 30-inch landscape block retaining wall, the removal of 29 specimen pine trees that died during construction, and installation of 65 replacement trees at the Lakeside Landing development northwest of Okeechobee Boulevard and Royal Palm Beach Boulevard.
Staff presented the request and read two site-specific conditions, including a requirement that the existing Waterway Plaza shopping-center monument sign on Track C‑2 be removed within 30 days of Village Council approval and that the Lakeside Landing Property Owners Association preserve and maintain replacement trees in healthy condition and replace them if they die. Joe Suh, planning staff, recommended approval as submitted.
Doug Murray of WGI, speaking for the applicant DR Horton and Lakeside Three LLC, described the changes as responses to conditions found during construction: "Unfortunately, 29 of them did not make it," Murray said of the specimen pines, and added that the project proposes 65 replacement trees as required by code to mitigate the loss. Murray also explained a proposed 30-inch retaining wall around portions of the lake to reduce steep rear-yard slopes and provide a safety fence, noting the change was intended to make rear yards more level and safer for future residents.
Additional technical changes approved include minor modifications to pavement connections and driveway spacing (the south connection was slightly realigned to match adjacent access) and a 6-inch increase in landscape width in one area to meet Palm Beach County Water Utilities' separation requirement. Murray said the overall project footprint remains largely unchanged and confirmed the development is already under construction and about half built.
Staff noted the property previously received approvals for a 100-unit multifamily development and that the current application responds to field conditions discovered during buildout. The commission approved the application by unanimous vote.
What happens next: the application and associated Resolution 25-135 will be submitted to the Village Council as part of the approval process; the record requires the monument sign be removed within 30 days of Village Council approval and replacement trees to be maintained by the property owners' association.
Provenance: This article is based on staff and applicant presentations and the commission vote recorded in the transcript between SEG 347 (application introduction) and SEG 666 (end of item).
