Jupiter Island board approves Malone family's plan to replace oceanfront house at 433 South Beach Road

The Town of Jupiter Island Development Review Board approved the Malone family's application to demolish and replace a seaward, nonconforming house at 433 South Beach Road, with conditions intended to limit neighborhood impacts.

Catherine Harding, the town's building director, told the board the property (2.66730 acres) is seaward of the oceanfront setback and the coastal construction control line, so a Florida DEP CCCL permit will be required before a building permit can be issued. Harding read staff recommendations to require a gatekeeper on site, a permitted staging plan completed before issuing a building permit, and that all construction vehicles be parked behind the construction fence.

Jared Gaylord, representing the Malone family, said the existing house (described in the record as an older oceanfront structure) would be replaced by a much smaller residence moved roughly 21 feet 7 inches landward and reduced in floor area. “We're going from 4,192 square feet to 1,956.5 square feet,” Gaylord said, noting the change would reduce the property's existing nonconformity. He also said the team plans to preserve the existing tennis court and pool and to phase landscape work so perimeter buffering is installed before demolition.

Landscape architect Richard Rutledge told the board the project will remove invasive species such as Brazilian pepper and replant native, salt-tolerant buffers around the lot to screen views from the road and adjacent properties. Rutledge said the applicants would open a temporary second construction entrance for demolition and vegetation removal but would install seasonal, temporary plantings to screen that opening until it is needed next summer.

Board members moved three separate motions — on replacement of the nonconforming building, demolition standards and impact review — and approved each with conditions that track the building department recommendations: require a gatekeeper during construction, maintain on-site vehicle parking behind fencing, preserve the pool and tennis court (not demolished), install temporary landscaping at the second construction entrance, and secure any DEP approvals before permit issuance. The motions passed by voice vote.

The board's approvals are subject to the conditions discussed at the hearing; the DEP CCCL permit and final staging plan must be presented to staff prior to issuance of a building permit. The board said it expects the landscaping and staging conditions to limit construction visibility and public impacts while the site is vacant or under demolition.