City Commission Meeting 2/2:
Not much here, aside from a presentation on funding the replacement of assorted sewer lift stations.
Downtown Action Committee meeting 2/11:
The Downtown Action Committee (DAC) is an 8-member panel of architects, urban planners, realtors, etc., appointed by the mayor, whose purpose is to advise the mayor and commissioners on all sorts of development proposals. This meeting opened with a presentation by City Urban Designer Claudia Ibaven giving a summary of the proposed revisions to the Downtown Master Plan (DMP). A YouTube video of this meeting and Ibaven's presentation is readily available at the city's website under "DAC Meeting 2/11/26". See especially minutes 5:40-8:30 where Ibaven displays 3 slides: "2007 Proposed Incentive Heights," "Existing Incentive Heights," and "Potential Incentive Heights." This last slide refers to the heights that the revised DMP would like to see enforced. Of particular interest are the changes in the 400 block between Lakeview north to Clematis, going from 15 stories in 2007 to 25 stories a few years later back to 15 stories once the revised DMP is approved---among many other changes. I mention this because of resident concern about an attempt by developers to hurry and get condos 20+ stories high approved at 400 Hibiscus St. and 400 Fern Street before the new DMP reimposes a 15-story limit. Downtowners who have concerns should express them to Christy Fox, our commissioner, at [email protected] or (561)822-1390.
Bernard Ziscovich (DMP designer) will give a more detailed presentation at the next DAC meeting in March, with the goal of the DAC voting on the DMP revisions at their April meeting.
City Commission meeting 2/17:
The city commission approved the submission of a grant application to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation for $6.25m to be used to spruce up the historic Tri-Rail station downtown. Let's hope the DOT approves the grant, because everyone knows that station needs a Michael-Jackson-level facelift---especially given the likelihood of a major condo development in the works immediately to the west designed to attract Tri-Rail commuters.
But most hair-raising was an update by Westlake, FL Mayor John Paul O'Connor on Florida House Bill HJR 203 which received a "first reading" on 2/19 in Tallahassee. The objective of this state legislation is to entirely phase out property taxes on all homesteaded properties in the state by 2037. However, the school-tax portion of the property tax will remain intact. The proposed plan is to give every homesteaded home-owner a $100k property tax exemption every year until 2037---and any remaining value residue will be "wiped clean" by the state. Mayor O'Connor is also on the board of the Palm Beach County League of Cities, which lobbies Tallahassee on behalf of cities and towns, and he verbally wrung his hands over how that lost municipal revenue will be made up. He cited an increase in local sales taxes or franchise fees as the only possibilities.
By the way: the Calvin Harris / Kygo / Sofi Tukker E.D.M. (electronic dance music) concert on Valentine's Day was a thumping success, drawing 12k fans to the downtown waterfront. Related / Ross chipped in a goodly sum to make it happen, and they report that part of the show's purpose was a test to see if downtown WPB is ready for a new indoor concert venue. Live Nation (owner of Ticketmaster and many concert venues nationwide, including the iHeart Amphitheater near the fairgrounds) has been sniffing around for about 5 years looking for a downtown location to build a 2,000-3,000 seat indoor venue on par with the Hard Rock Theater in Sunrise, FL. The success of that concert shows how much people miss Sunfest and want to bring top-shelf acts to WPB.
----Schmidt
