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Palm Beach condo association shares comments ahead of zoning code rewrite

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Palm Beach condo association shares comments ahead of zoning code rewrite

As staff and city officials begin reviewing a completed draft of Palm Beach’s revised zoning code, the Palm Beach Citizens Association wants its members’ opinions to be part of the discussion.

The organization conducted a land use and zoning survey over the summer to gather input from members to share with the city as it revises the nearly 200-page document.

Prepared by a team of consultants led by Cincinnati-based ZoneCo, the preliminary draft marks a key moment in the two-year effort to craft a zoning code intended to streamline regulations and increase the island’s ability to protect its small town character.

“This is the culmination of years of work and, most recently, about 300 collective hours on our part, in September alone,” Sean Suder, director and founder of ZoneCo, told the Planning and Zoning Commission of the city during its October 1 meeting. .

The document will be subject to “extensive debate and policy review,” Suder added, and the Citizens Association said it plans to offer plenty of feedback during that process, starting with the results of its land-use survey and zoning

Conducted by email between June and August, the survey asked respondents to state their positions on a variety of issues that could include the new zoning code. These issues include parking, public amenities, building scale and massing, commercial uses, and sea level rise.

The Palm Beach Citizens Association represents the interests of residents living south of Sloan’s Curve.

“We asked residents what they liked and disliked about the provisions of the current zoning code, what they liked and disliked about the current buildings, most of which were built before the current zoning code took effect and so they don’t fit, and what things they would do. would like to be provided for in the new zoning code,” said Richard Kleid, vice president of the association.

The survey showed that respondents agreed by a margin of 94% that “any development or redevelopment project should respect water views from existing buildings”. They also agreed by a 91% margin that the south end is “pedestrian friendly” and by a 77% margin that the existing scale and massing of buildings in the south end is “appropriate”.

They were more divided on whether the South End needed more public services such as parks, trails and outdoor recreation (51% no and 49% yes), and whether the South End could use more food and beverage (57% no, 17 % yes, and 26% have no opinion.)

Other questions included whether there are too many condos in the South End (31% agree); whether new buildings should be allowed to have common areas and rooftop facilities (54% agree, if they are “located away from neighboring buildings and do not cause noise or irritation to neighbors”); and if the South End could use more retail (94% disagree).

Seventy percent of the association’s 43 member buildings responded to the survey.

“Most residents favored the emphasis for water views,” Kleid said. “They also agreed that new buildings should be restricted to five stories and that new buildings should be allowed to have common areas and amenities on the roof as long as they do not cause any problems for their neighbors.”

Also, Kleid noted, residents agreed that public amenities such as parks and outdoor recreation were desirable, but retail or office space was not.

The Citizens Association has distributed the survey results to the city’s zoning consultant, as well as Planning and Zoning Department staff, Mayor Danielle Moore and City Council members. Members of the Civic Association have also received copies of the results.

To view the survey results, visit the Citizens Association website at www.thecitizensassociationofpalmbeach.org/.

Jodie Wagner is a reporter for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida network. She can be reached at [email protected].

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