Amy Triggs was disappointed last year when West Palm Beach city commissioners gave permission for an 18-story condominium tower to be built near her house over the protests of her and several neighbors.
But in defeat she saw an opportunity.
As commissioners gave unanimous approval in May to the luxury Flagler House tower, Triggs asked for new rules that would put stricter height limits on the stretch of South Flagler Drive north of Southern Boulevard.
Peering down at her from the dais, some commissioners seemed supportive.
Commissioner Cathleen Ward, who helped lead the push for similar limits along North Flagler Drive in the city’s north end, echoed Triggs’ call. She said developers were going to push for taller and taller buildings if the city didn’t impose a firm cap.
“I’m very worried about what the next person requests if we don’t get a hold of this because that’s exactly what’s happening on North Flagler Drive,” Ward said at the time.
Ten months later, the frenzy to build along South Flagler has only increased. Developers are battling to buy up enough condos to take control of aging residential towers where shiny new towers could be built.
Now Triggs is pushing again.
She spoke out at a commission meeting in February, asking what the city would do to regulate development near her historic Southland Park neighborhood moving forward.
“Frankly, I’m terrified about what’s to come in my backyard,” she told them. “So I’m urging you all to please consider a plan. I think us voters, taxpayers, and residents in this neighborhood deserve that.”
Commissioner: New rules ‘should be a priority’
She got no answers that day. But city leaders now say they are hoping to draft an extra set of proposed rules — known as an “overlay district” — that would impose more stringent height and density limits along that part of the waterfront.
“We anticipate working through details of a potential overlay in mid-2026,” Assistant City Administrator Armando Fana told The Palm Beach Post via email.
City Commissioner Christina Lambert, who represents the stretch of South Flagler in question, said city staff members are focused now on creating a new master plan for the city’s downtown. But she said she is urging them to make progress on a plan for South Flagler as well.
“I made it clear that planning on South Flagler is extremely important and should also be a priority,” she said.
Lambert, whose final term in office ends next month, said she planned to continue pressing for new height rules after she leaves office and moves ahead with her campaign for mayor.
She said she supports strict height limits there, but said it would take careful analysis and community feedback to determine what those limits should be.
In August, commissioners imposed stricter limits and caps on how much space a building can occupy along the city’s northern waterfront.
Under the rules, towers on properties smaller than 2.5 acres now cannot exceed 240 feet, while towers on larger properties are limited to 300 feet.
The stretch of South Flagler near Southern now is seeing a burst in interest similar to what North Flagler has experienced for years.
Last month came news that Related Ross was moving to acquire a majority of the units in the Southbridge condo building at the corner of South Flagler and Southern Boulevard, directly across the bridge from Mar-a-Lago.
In January came word that a developer offered $202 million to buy out the nearby Portofino South Condominium.
Neighbor says stricter height limits provide clarity
Triggs said rigid height and density limits could calm some of the pressure that developers put on city leaders to allow taller buildings by making clear what is permitted and what isn’t.
“The developers feel like they’re going to have to build higher and bigger and more units to make their money back,” she said.
Existing city zoning rules do establish some height and density limits. But they are easily waived by commissioners, and developers regularly persuade them to do so in exchange for neighborhood benefits or certain design features.
The rules in an overlay district are more rigid.
Triggs said pushing for change has been complicated. She’s a Realtor but not an expert either on the city’s complex zoning rules or its process for approving new construction.
She and other concerned neighbors have been able to meet with some commissioners. But she said some city officials are slow to respond to questions, or don’t respond at all.
Triggs said her concerns are simple: “I don’t want to see skyscrapers in my backyard.”
When she bought her home on Monroe Drive in the 1990s, she said she never imagined high-rises springing up along the water a few blocks from her historic neighborhood.
Several tall condo buildings have long stood along the stretch of South Flagler north of Southern, but none rose taller than 135 feet.
The newly approved Flagler House will stand 190 feet. Triggs worries how tall the next project will be.
“I never in a million years would have thought that area would have become a bunch of skyscrapers,” 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: As developers slobber over WPB waterfront, a neighbor calls for limits
Reporting by Andrew Marra, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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