Parking agreements, construction permits and council positions are on the agenda for Tuesday’s Palm Beach council meeting.
The council is set to review a pair of declaration-of-use agreements that will allow two redevelopment projects to move forward, along with a proposed ordinance designed to dissuade property owners from changing construction plans after those plans have already been approved by Palm Beach’s design boards.
Reviewing Synagogue and Four Arts agreements
The first declaration-of-use agreement to be reviewed will be for the Palm Beach Synagogue, which in January received approval of a variance to reduce the required number of on-site parking spaces, as part of a larger redevelopment and expansion project.
That approval was conditioned upon synagogue officials returning to the council with an updated declaration-of-use agreement that outlines the organization’s off-site parking arrangements, Town Attorney Joanne O’Connor wrote in an April 1 memo to the council. That off-site parking must meet certain requirements, and the council will review that information Tuesday.
The council then will review the Society of the Four Arts’ declaration-of-use and construction-management agreements, approval of which will allow the organization to move forward with a major redevelopment and expansion project at its Midtown campus.
When the council in February approved a special exception and site plan for the Four Arts’ project, council members also approved a variance that was conditioned upon Four Arts officials returning for approval of the construction-management agreement, along with an updated declaration-of-use agreement that enshrines the steps the organization will take to mitigate any parking issues.
Four Arts officials have said they use the mitigation strategies already. That includes not booking overlapping events, and making sure that large events do not begin or end at the same time as drop-off or pickup at the nearby Palm Beach Public Elementary School.
Considering rules to bar unapproved construction changes
A proposed ordinance to help prevent unapproved changes to construction plans is set to come to the council Tuesday for its first review.
The council in February approved town staff to draft the rules, which are designed to target a growing problem in Palm Beach: Construction projects that are changed by the property owner without approval from the town.
Palm Beach’s Architectural Review and Landmarks Preservation commissions “often spend a great deal of time and effort to approve construction projects, many times with significant neighbor input,” Wayne Bergman, director of Planning, Zoning and Building, wrote in a memo to the council. “Projects are approved and permitted with specific plans. But the owners often deviate from the approved plans and install unapproved and unpermitted features or exceed the scope of the approved work.”
Penalties could include a stop work order, a draft of the proposed ordinance shows.
Choosing council president and president pro-tem
Council members at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting will select the president and president pro tem for the coming year.
Unless a last-minute change is made during the meeting, the shape of the council will remain the same. The current holders of each position, Council President Bobbie Lindsay and President Pro Tem Lew Crampton, are the only names on their respective ballots, according to the agenda documents posted online.
With approving votes from the council, Lindsay and Crampton would enter their second consecutive years as president and president pro tem.
Also on Tuesday, the Town Council will:
The council meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Town Hall for the regular meeting and at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for development review. Participation is in person or via Zoom and comments may be submitted virtually through the the Town Council Meeting Audio page.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach council to review Palm Beach Synagogue, Four Arts agreements at April 8 meeting
Reporting by Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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