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Residents urge council to keep —Harmony— standards, warn of overdevelopment
Summary
During public comment dozens of residents told the council that removing Harmony appearance review would let new development erode neighborhood character; speakers urged keeping appearance review, retaining a 75/25 commercial/residential balance and seeking a second legal opinion on state preemption questions.
Several Juno Beach residents used the Sept. 16 public-comment period to press the council to keep Harmony-style appearance review and to resist changes they said would encourage denser, larger development.
Kathy Peterson (speaker 10) told the council she had attended numerous master-plan meetings and said she had not heard a single resident support a plan that would make the town "bigger, bulkier, and more dense." Peterson urged keeping harmony guidelines for residential areas and suggested that commercial rules remain at a 75/25 split rather than a proposed loosening to 90/10.
Nancy Grabowski (speaker 2) read an emailed statement asking council to rescind a Sept. 8 action that removed Harmony appearance review for single-family homes; she said the vote surprised residents and conflicted with earlier council votes to keep those provisions. Multiple speakers asked the council to obtain a second legal opinion and said staff would lose tools to address bulk, mass and scale if Harmony review were removed.
Other commenters framed the issue as a property-rights concern: one resident argued the changes amounted to a regulatory taking and warned that lawsuits would raise costs for all residents. Aldo Rivera (speaker 12) and others urged council to strengthen the town's position by documenting decisions and seeking independent counsel if needed.
What happens next: Council later voted to rehear the Harmony action and asked staff to include the July 21 memo and previous red/green options as backup so residents have a clearer chance to comment.
