Palm Beach County Commissioner Gregg Weiss, a candidate for West Palm Beach mayor, called for a controversial proposal to move a stretch of Flagler Drive in the city’s downtown to be decided by voters via a referendum.
Weiss said in an April 24 interview that a decision as consequential as moving the city’s most iconic road from the waterfront should not be decided solely by city leaders and developers.
“If you’re looking at removing an important roadway, I’d think you’d want a referendum,” he said. “Something as big as this really should be put in front of the voters.”
Weiss’ remarks came after The Palm Beach Post revealed that Mayor Keith James had been working for months with the city’s largest developer, Related Ross, to pressure the owners of the landmark restaurant E.R. Bradley’s to sell its waterfront land.
The move by James and Related Ross chairman Stephen Ross is part of an effort to move traffic from the waterfront and build a large park where Flagler Drive now sits. Related Ross has been acquiring properties along the waterfront in recent years.
The restaurant’s longtime owners told The Post that James “loosely threatened us” with eminent domain in order to pressure them to sell.
The revelation sparked widespread outrage in the city and prompted James to issue a public statement assuring residents that eminent domain would not be used.
Weiss said the case was the latest example of city leaders having been too secretive in their dealings with developers, contrasting them with county government leaders, who he said operate more transparently.
He said public officials’ conversations with business executives inevitably start behind closed doors, but such an audacious plan “shouldn’t have gotten this far without public input.”
“When these ideas come up, it’s really important we engage the public,” he said. “They definitely have a seat at this table and they need to be a part of the process — and not at the very end.”
“Transparency, that’s how you earn trust with people,” he added. “By being transparent.”
Local architect: ‘What are we smoking?’
Weiss’ main rival in the mayoral race, former City Commissioner Christina Lambert, said she wasn’t sure if a referendum would be feasible for a road decision, but even if it was it “wouldn’t resolve questions about what is right, what residents want in their waterfront.”
“Leadership is about listening and executing the will of the residents,” she said in a prepared statement, “and I am concerned about governing by referendum.”
Weiss, Lambert and political newcomer Aaron Moreno will face off in the mayoral election in March 2027.
The city has used referendums several times over the years to allow voters to decide large-scale issues, including votes on height limits in the city’s downtown.
City rules allow for certain questions to go before voters via referendum if at least 5% of the city’s registered voters sign a petition.
Anger over the situation came out in a packed City Hall meeting room April 23, where city administrators were scheduled to show details of a long-planned overhaul of growth and zoning rules for the downtown area.
The administrators warned attendees they would not discuss the mayor’s collaboration with Related Ross, but a consultant hired by the city to design the downtown’s new master plan said a large waterfront park was part of his proposal for the downtown.
Bernard Zyscovich, an urban master planner, said the plan included a proposal on “how to create a really incredible new Central Park for the city.”
“This area at the waterfront deserves to have a world-class open space,” he said.
The idea of a waterfront park was met mostly with skepticism by attendees, who said moving Flagler to where Narcissus Avenue now sits would create traffic problems and put in jeopardy the viability of Bradley’s and other restaurants near the water.
“Flagler on Narcissus? What are we smoking?” said Rick Gonzalez, an architect and historic-preservation enthusiast with an office downtown.
Downtown resident Lin Arey said Bradley’s is historical and provides needed vitality to the city waterfront. She said it would be a loss to the city to replace it with empty green space.
“Let’s allow us to just keep what we have that’s good,” she said.
Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Should voters decide plan to move Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach?
Reporting by Andrew Marra, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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