11/10 city commission meeting:
This meeting mostly concerned commissioners approving design changes to "The Marina", a 19-acre site along the intracoastal between 38th & 44th streets (formerly Rybovich's marina). It had been approved several years ago, but the developers wanted to change some of the site plan (adjusting setbacks, parking needs, etc.). A few interesting statistics were cited during the presentation:
---The population of WPB has increased 12.5% since 2019
---Average assessed values of WPB property have doubled since 2015, increasing 45% since 2021
Also, commissioners approved a step to making way for the future site of Publix downtown, by declaring CRA owned lots at 202, 204, and 206 N. Sapodilla as "surplus," enabling them to be sold to Publix. In order to arrive at a sale price, the city will solicit 2 professional appraisals of the parcels' combined value.
A representative of the Fraternal Order of Police spoke, defending WPB police captains placed on administrative leave while an investigation of financial misconduct proceeds.
"Your Waterfront Your Way" city commission work session 11/17:
The "Your Waterfront, Your Way" initiative by the mayor was discussed, and he distributed copies of an 89-page report to commissioners on his recommendations for design changes to the downtown waterfront. That same report is published online: just google "City of West Palm Beach "Your Waterfront Your Way" report, then click on "final report" near the top. It's full of interesting demographic and foot-traffic data, especially on pages 20-29. In sum, the mayor wants to attract more people from poorer neighborhoods to the waterfront, because people polled in those neighborhoods currently find the waterfront boring. But he doesn't want to turn the waterfront into Coney Island or Myrtle Beach, which is reassuring. As you'll see in the report, the proposed changes are small, not massive. He wants to:
1) convert the 2 northbound lanes of Flagler Drive downtown into lanes reserved for bikes and trolleys. The current 2 southbound lanes will be converted into a single southbound lane and 2 northbound lanes. Reviving the trolleys seems dubious, since they were removed years ago due to an obvious lack of ridership.
2) There was lots of discussion about "branding" the waterfront to appeal to tourists.
3) The mayor wants to appoint a waterfront committee with a "quarterback" to shepherd the project along.
4) Commissioner Lambert wants more shade trees around the great lawn---she complained about insufficient shade during Saturday green markets.
5) Commissioner Fox strongly recommended the reactivation of the jet-ski / small-boat rental on the middle dock. She also prompted Tony Garcia, designer / consultant of the new waterfront, to again promise not to expand any marinas or dockage along the waterfront.
Other Tidbits:
----The West Palm Beach CRA has been allotted $100k to study possible sites for new dog parks / playgrounds on city-owned land downtown. A few potential sites: the 600 block of Evernia and 321 S. Flagler. Chris Roog at the CRA has been in contact with the DNA on this issue. He raised young kids himself while living downtown, and understands residents' desire for landscaped, fenced, tidy areas where dogs and little kids can safely run around.
----Rumor has it that the Arthritis Foundation building at the southwest corner of Dixie & Hibiscus is being eyed by a developer who wants to build a 25-story condo tower there. Bear in mind that the proposed Downtown Master Plan, yet to be approved, is seeking to limit building heights in the 300 & 400 blocks to the current 12-story maximum. So, don't be surprised if you see a rush of proposed building projects that want to submit their applications before DMP height limits are imposed. Also be aware of the approval and public notification process: developers are only required to present their projects to the general public at city commission meetings if they are not seeking variances---which is typical.
----Schmidt