Planning board recommends Tequesta Country Club site‑plan changes, including new member cafe and relocated maintenance facilities

The Village of Tequesta planning board voted to forward a recommendation to the Village Council to approve SPM07‑25, a site‑plan modification that would replace the halfway‑house cafe, relocate maintenance facilities off Country Club Drive and add four regulation pickleball courts.

The project team said the new cafe will be a one‑story, roughly 1,800‑square‑foot building with screened outdoor seating and no automobile access; “this is not accessible by car,” the applicant noted. Staff described the maintenance relocation as a primary benefit: two metal maintenance buildings (one described as about 9,000 sq ft and an adjacent ~800‑sq‑ft covered parking area), cart storage, chemical and fuel storage, and material bins would be consolidated and screened with landscaping and green paint to blend with the course.

Why it matters: staff told the board the phase‑one approvals create the regulatory framework needed to proceed toward a later clubhouse phase. Meg Waga of Community Development emphasized that the site plan is consistent with the village’s design goals, that roughly 81% of proposed landscaping is Florida‑native, and that the applicant must meet stormwater, traffic‑management and construction‑staging requirements before permits are issued.

Board members asked about code compliance and neighbor impacts. Teresa asked whether the metal maintenance buildings meet hurricane wind‑load standards and whether fire access met requirements; staff said wind‑load compliance is a condition for approval and noted a 20‑foot stabilized fire access path is required to be within 50 feet of the nearest entry. Board member Marie asked for confirmation that chain‑link fences would be screened, for details about parking and lighting that are highly visible from homes, and about noise‑mitigation measures for the relocated pickleball courts; staff said they will work with the pickleball user group on any minor material or noise‑mitigation adjustments and will add required details to the record prior to council review.

The board opened and closed public comment with no speakers, then moved to recommend approval. A motion to forward SPM07‑25 to the Village Council with the staff‑recommended conditions was made and seconded; the board voted to pass the motion. Staff will present the site plans and the special‑exception review to the Village Council at the next available council hearing.

What’s next: the staff report lists pre‑permit conditions (civil plans showing existing and proposed impervious areas, drainage calculations demonstrating compliance with village stormwater requirements, a maintenance‑of‑traffic plan and a construction staging plan). The Village Council will conduct the special‑exception review when the applicant’s site plans are formally submitted for council consideration.