Palm Beach is awaiting an appellate court ruling on its motion to dismiss part of a February petition by six residents who argue the Town Council’s approval of Palm Beach Synagogue’s expansion plans violate the town’s comprehensive plan.
During a litigation update presented to council members June 10, Town Attorney Joanne O’Connor said a decision could come “within a month or two.”
The town and the synagogue’s legal counsel have asked the court to dismiss a portion of a petition filed Feb. 24 by Ari Benacerraf, Magarita Benacerraf, Elaine Bedell Hirsch, Richard Hirsch, Anthony Stepanski and Cynthia Cirlin, who live in the Sun & Surf condominium complex, asking a judge to issue a writ of certiorari to reverse the council’s approval of development orders related to Palm Beach Synagogue’s planned expansion.
At their Jan. 15 development review meeting, council members voted 3-2 to grant nine variance requests sought by the synagogue for the project, which would expand and renovate the partially landmarked site at 120 N. County Road. Council Members Julie Araskog and Bobbie Lindsay voted in opposition.
In a separate vote, the council approved three special exception requests related to building height, worship space and permitted uses. That vote was 4-1, with Araskog opposing.
Palm Beach Synagogue, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, wants to expand its more than 19,000-square-foot space with 158 synagogue seats to a 230-seat synagogue in a 32,000-square-foot, two-story building.
The synagogue currently occupies a 12,000-square-foot, partially landmarked structure at 120 N. County Road and an 8,500-square-foot space at the old Bistro Chez Jean-Pierre location at 132 N. County Road. The congregation paid $7.15 million to purchase the L-shaped, two-story Chez Jean-Pierre building and its rear parking lot in May 2021, and it is currently being used for offices and mock classrooms.
Architectural plans include construction of a two-story structure and renovations to the Bistro Chez Jean-Pierre building to accommodate a new two-story synagogue with religious and educational offerings, and landscape and hardscape modifications.
The new space is intended to house the synagogue’s existing uses, which include a social hall, kitchen, library, conference room, youth center, accessory offices, flex spaces, quiet room and storage spaces, synagogue officials said.
Critics of the synagogue’s plans argued they conflict with existing zoning laws, a point also raised in the petition filed by the Sun & Surf residents.
In their petition, the residents said the council’s approval of the project’s development orders was “unlawful,” as the synagogue did not provide “competent substantial evidence” to support the required hardship for the variances it sought, as required by town code.
They further alleged that council members ignored several elements of the town’s comprehensive plan when approving all three special exception requests, yielding to political pressure in the process.
In a response filed April 24, O’Connor and the synagogue’s legal counsel asked the court to dismiss the portion of the petition challenging the three special exceptions, arguing that certiorari review does not grant jurisdiction to assess alleged conflicts with the town’s comprehensive plan.
They also argued that the petitioners neglected to file a de novo challenge within the 30-day limit to contest the council’s approval of the special exceptions as inconsistent with the town’s comprehensive plan. A de novo challenge refers to a type of legal review in which a court re-examines an issue from the beginning.
O’Connor and the synagogue’s legal counsel jointly urged the court to dismiss the portion of the petition challenging the special exceptions with prejudice, while allowing the petitioners to amend their filing with respect to two of the nine variance approvals.
The variances at issue include one reducing the required number of on-site parking spaces, and another allowing a building that exceeds the maximum square footage permitted in the town’s C-TS (town-serving commercial) zoning district.
“We have jointly, with the synagogue, moved to dismiss the portion of the appeal that relates to challenges to the special exceptions pursuant to state law that we argue required them to file a de novo, or independent action, if they wanted to challenge the special exceptions,” O’Connor told council members.
“They’re challenging them as inconsistent with our comp plan, and so we’ve relied on state law that we believe supports the fact that they should have filed an independent action. That motion to dismiss is pending.”
Even if the town’s motion to dismiss is granted, it won’t resolve the entire appeal, O’Connor said. “Regardless of how the appellate division rules, we’ll still need to respond to the challenges made to the variances,” she said.
The town is preparing that response, O’Connor said.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach awaits appellate court decision on synagogue expansion protest
Reporting by Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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