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Tie vote on proposed
golf redevelopment means anxiety for Century Villagers
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH —
Palm Beach County
commissioners were evenly split Thursday on a controversial plan to build on a
closed golf course next to the Century
Village retirement community in suburban West Palm Beach, forcing the board to
delay its decision until next month when all of its members are
present.
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After five hours of debate,
commissioners voted 3-3 on a motion to deny the project
outright.
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Commissioners Paulette
Burdick, Hal Valeche and Jess Santamaria voted to deny the development, which
would which transform the overgrown golf
course near Haverhill Road and Okeechobee Boulevard into an Abacoa-style,
mixed-use community.
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Commissioners
Priscilla Taylor and Mary Lou Berger, and County Mayor Steven Abrams voted
against rejecting it outright. Commissioner
Shelley Vana was not present
for the vote.
Development proposals that result in a tie vote are automatically placed on
the commission’s next zoning agenda to be considered by the full board. The
commission is slated to discuss the item again on Feb. 28.
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Vana had jury duty Thursday
morning and missed the first two hours of the meeting. She returned to the dais
after the commission’s lunch break but an attorney representing Century Village
residents opposed to the project objected to her voting because she had not been
present to hear the morning’s testimony.
Commissioners are required to base zoning decisions on information
presented during a hearing.
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Upon the objection, Vana left.
“We have to follow procedure,” she said on her way out. She would not say how
she planned to vote.
Developer Andrew Waldman, who owns the
golf course property, and Century Village residents who spent hours
waiting for the chance to comment said they were frustrated by the tie. The
commission has twice postponed a decision on the project, which calls for 689
homes, town-homes apartments, 84,500 square feet of shops and offices, a civic
center and a 100-bed, assisted-living facility.
“It is disappointing again,” Waldman said after Thursday’s meeting.
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Century Village resident Honey Sager, who helped lead opposition to the
project, also expressed disappointment. “It is extremely difficult for residents
to come here,” Sager said.
Three busloads of residents flooded the governmental center to watch
the meeting. By 8:30 a.m., the auditorium reached its capacity of 125 people. An
overflow crowd sat in a viewing area just outside the meeting room. Another 25
watched from a viewing area on another
floor.
More than 70 people went before the commission to comment. Just over half
spoke against the development plan.
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Many in the crowd wore green T-shirts with the logo of Century
Village’s Proactive Residents Projects Committee, a non-profit group formed last
year to fight the development. Opponents pointed to a plat restriction placed on
the property in 1974 that they said required the land to stay a golf course forever.
“I cannot understand why they do not agree to uphold the deed restriction,”
Sager said after the meeting.
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The county attorney’s office has said that the commission can lift the zoning
restriction. County planners have recommended approval of the development.
Supporters, including many Century Village residents, contend the project it
would bring economic development and raise property values. The 77 acres are
just outside an area the county has targeted for redevelopment.
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“It is time to put this project on ‘go’ and address some of the concerns of
the rest of us,” Century Village resident Jean Dowling told the commission.
Commissioners first considered
the development in January 2012. But after five hours of debate, that vote was
tied. Santamaria, Burdick and former Commissioner
Karen Marcus voted to reject the project. Commission Priscilla Taylor did
not attend the January 2012 meeting and
commissioners agreed to delay their decision for nine months.
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In October the commission again delayed a decision, to give the landowner
time to meet with Century Village residents and revise the plan. But an
agreement was not reached.
This week, supporters of the project criticized Santamaria, after
learning the commissioner allowed the
opponents’ nonprofit group to hold a fundraiser at his mall in Wellington. The
nonprofit has opened a legal fund and plans to sue the county if the development
is approved and critics argued it was inappropriate for Santamaria to help their
cause.
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Santamaria has said that he has donated the use of his mall to nonprofits for
years and has made no secret of the fact he opposes the project.
After learning about the fundraiser, County Mayor Steven Abrams asked
county attorneys Wednesday whether a commissioner
could be forced to recuse himself
from a hearing if they have taken a public position on a project. The
answer: As long as a commissioner doesn't stand to gain personally, he or she can vote.
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Abrams did not specifically address Santamaria in his request. He said he
sought the opinion of the county attorney’s office in case someone raised the
question during the public hearing.
But throughout Thursday’s hearing, Santamaria stressed that his decision was
based on testimony presented at the hearing.
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Like opponents, he pointed to the plat restriction. Santamaria said he feared
a decision to lift the requirement would set a precedent to lift similar
restrictions on environmentally sensitive land throughout the county. “This
issue goes way beyond Century Village,” he said.
But Abrams argued the land would likely never return to a golf course.
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“The end result will not be that you will get the beautiful golf course that existed,” Abrams said. “Here
you have a responsible project. This project is a traditional neighborhood
development. It has a mixture of uses. It is
appropriate.”
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Dave Israel
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