Council upholds staff denial of boat-lift permit for Island Towers after year-long dispute

The Lantana Town Council on May 11 upheld staff's denial of a permit request for a stationary boat lift at Island Towers (311 East Ocean Avenue), rejecting an administrative review filed by unit owner Jesse Wilson. The motion to deny the review carried unanimously, 5-0.

At the quasi-judicial hearing, Wilson and several Island Towers owners described damage to boats and argued that the town had shifted the legal rationale for denying permits over the past year. Applicant Jesse Wilson said the permit delays had caused real losses, including repair bills and time in storage: "I believe his damages totaled roughly $1,000 for repair," Wilson said while showing photos and video of boats banging against the dock. He also told the council he had executed a power of attorney to let fellow owner Kathy Rotondo act as his agent but that the town attorney had refused to allow her to speak as his agent.

Town staff and the town attorney explained the denial as a matter of the property's zoning and nonconforming-structure rules. Town Attorney Max Lohman told the council that the property is zoned C-1 commercial and that the existing building and dock are "legally existing nonconforming" structures under the town code, which limits enlargements or modifications: "When this property got rezoned commercial, it rendered that building, the swimming pool, the dock, everything, a nonconforming structure," Lohman said. He added that the relevant nonconforming section of the code prohibits expansions that would increase nonconformity.

Owners and tenants asked the council to consider waiving rezoning fees or pursuing a staff-initiated rezoning to resolve the issue. Development Services Director Nicole Dritz said staff would work with the town attorney on possible remedies after the hearing but emphasized the narrow legal question before the council: whether the administrative denial was correct under the code. Dritz told the council that converting the existing building to a mixed-use zoning or creating a tailored planned development might offer pathways forward, but any solution would require ordinance changes and community benefits where waivers are needed.

Council members expressed sympathy for the property owners but said their hands were constrained by the code and the limited scope of the administrative review. After deliberation Council Member Mason moved to deny the administrative review; the motion was seconded and passed 5-0. Council directed staff and the town attorney to return with options for resolving the underlying zoning and permitting issues.

The council's action upheld the original staff determination; any further relief for Island Towers will require separate legislative or administrative steps by the town.