As the winter season gets underway in Palm Beach, the Town Council is focused on balancing long-standing priorities with growing concerns.
That philosophy will shape how it tackles critical issues such as traffic, parking, development, code reform and water quality, longtime council member Lew Crampton said.
“The mantra for us is honor tradition and navigate change,” he told the Daily News. “To me, that is our constant goal. What we’re looking for in town is top-line, town-serving development, beauty, safety, security, a vibrant cultural and dining scene, recreation offerings, and infrastructure. All of that is what we’re trying to get. We have to balance tradition and we have to balance the pressures that we respond to with change, and I think we’re doing a decent job.”
The past eight years have brought significant change to the town, Crampton said, and the council has worked collaboratively with staff and board members during that time to make decisions that have helped improve the quality of life for residents and visitors.
Those decisions — along with new ones expected this season — will affect daily life on the island, from travel and parking to dining, recreation, and community gatherings.
Traffic
Council members will again take up traffic concerns, extending work begun in earlier seasons.
Last December, the council reviewed 28 traffic mitigation measures that were in progress or under consideration, including construction activity regulation, bridge-opening management and right-of-way work restrictions.
Since that meeting, several of those measures have been implemented.
In April, the U.S. Coast Guard officially adopted permanent operating schedules for the three bridges connecting Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. The Flagler Memorial, Royal Park and Southern Boulevard bridges will keep the coordinated schedules that have been in place since the fall to help ease weekday traffic congestion.
Additionally, council members agreed in August to extend waivers that permit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors to work longer hours on the Bonefish Cove mangrove island construction project, minimizing traffic disruptions from bridge openings for barges transporting materials to the site.
The waivers will allow crews to work from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 17, then continue until May 1 with the condition that Army Corps contractors’ barges operate only on holidays and weekends.
Other changes implemented by the town include rescheduling capital improvement projects that could negatively impact traffic, temporarily changing the working hours for landscapers and construction workers, and new software that allows for online applications.
Other traffic mitigation measures under consideration this season will include shuttling construction workers for major projects, as well as transporting store employees, hotel staff, and others.
“The whole transportation issue — there’s no silver bullet,” Crampton said. “It has to be a solid spectrum of measures.”
President Donald Trump’s visits to Mar-a-Lago remain a major traffic factor due to U.S. Secret Service-mandated closures of South Ocean Boulevard, officials say, and motorists should exercise caution when the season begins.
Parking
Under the six-point parking management plan created by Crampton and Council President Bobbie Lindsay, the town will continue implementing policies aimed at addressing parking challenges.
During the summer, the town expanded its paid parking program by eliminating nearly all the free parking spaces in the area stretching from Royal Poinciana Way to Seminole Avenue — save for the 100 block of Sunrise Avenue — and replacing them with metered or residential parking.
The move comes after town officials replaced nearly all free parking south of Seaview Avenue with metered and resident parking spaces last year.
Zoning code
The town’s effort to update its aging zoning code, begun almost three years ago, continues with recent “quick fixes” approved by the council.
At their September meeting, council members approved seven ordinances aimed at resolving several recurring issues previously discussed by the council and other local officials.
Those issues include the placement of mechanical equipment; the development review process for already developed nonconforming lots; appeals to the town’s design review process; the duration of land-use approval; notices for floodplain variances hearings; design guidelines for residential projects in commercial zoning districts; and the town’s rules on how much of a building must be viewable from the street.
The council reviewed a second set of zoning changes last week.
The “quick fixes” will take effect as town staff continues its work on a new zoning code, a process that Crampton said is going to take time.
“We’ve already approved seven or eight major aspects of code reform, and there are another eight or so that we’re pretty close on,” Crampton said. “It’ll probably take the entire year in my estimation to get through everything.”
Construction impacts
Managing construction and related disruptions will be a key focus for the council this season.
In continuing efforts to improve traffic flow, council members will again consider construction management agreements — an issue addressed last season and still under staff consideration.
The proposed agreements, which would require contractors for large or high-value construction projects to transport workers on and off the island, have drawn criticism from builders who say they are being unfairly blamed for the town’s traffic problems.
Town officials, including Crampton, have expressed some support for construction management agreements, noting they could help keep construction vehicles off town roads during peak hours.
“I’m sitting on a regional transportation body, and we’re looking at opportunities for shuttling construction workers for large or high-value projects, and maybe even with the cooperation from the Chamber and others, store workers, hotel workers and others,” he said.
The council did approve a construction-related measure in July, voting unanimously to prohibit construction from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day.
Water contract
The council will continue to consider a choice of providers to supply water to the town once its current agreement with the city of West Palm Beach ends on Oct. 1, 2029.
After reviewing six options provided by environmental consultant Kimley-Horn in 2022, the town narrowed its list to two: continuing the current water-supply contract with the city of West Palm Beach and collaborating on a membrane-technology upgrade at its treatment plant; and contracting with the city of Lake Worth Beach to provide water.
The council is considering both options, but will need further discussion and possibly more time to decide, Crampton said, noting that the town could receive up to two five-year extensions.
“We don’t have any good data on cost plans, and I have a feeling we’re going to have to kick the can down the road,” he said.
Development
The council approved several major redevelopment projects last season, including those proposed by the Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach Synagogue and The Breakers, and a handful of others will be reviewed this season.
A planned redevelopment of the Paramount Theatre is moving forward after the council rejected earlier proposals over concerns about traffic, parking and site density.
At their July meeting, council members expressed support for revised plans that significantly downsize the project’s size and scope.
Theater owner Lester Woerner and his team could present a revised redevelopment proposal later this fall.
Plans to redevelop the Ambassador Hotel and Residences in the town’s South End also are moving forward.
Current plans call for replacing the aging oceanfront complex with two five-story buildings and an adjacent lakeside residential building — known for years as the Edgewater House — with a single five-story building. Each site would feature an underground garage.
During its Aug. 27 meeting, the town’s Architectural Commission said the proposal by Miami-based OKO Group and London-based Cain International showed progress from the prior redesign but still fell short of the design quality associated with Aman Resorts, OKO’s sister company.
Commission members noted the importance of the redevelopment project to the town’s South End, where it has broad support from residents.
“The biggest opportunity the town council has is in the redevelopment of the Ambassador,” council member Bridget Moran said. “It will mold the future of the South End.”
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. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Season preview: Palm Beach faces key issues on traffic, parking, code reform and development
Reporting by Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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