March 2017
Boca Raton By Sallie James
The COASTAL STAR
News 25
City limits new buildings’ height in business zone
The hot-button issue of building height and how it affects residents who live on the barrier island near East Palmetto Park Road is cooling off. City Council members at their meeting Feb. 28 approved an amendment that establishes a 30-foot height limit on future construction in the area’s business district east of the Intracoastal Waterway and adjacent to East Palmetto Park Road. The amendment was crafted to quell residents’ fears
that towering new buildings would mar the area’s unique ambiance. Specifically, the 30-foot height limit would apply to all structures east of the Intracoastal Waterway. Buildings west of the Intracoastal could rise to a maximum height of 50 feet if city officials determine the additional height is “not injurious” to surrounding property. The amendment was approved about three months after plans for the Chabad of East Boca to build a sprawling
orthodox synagogue and museum in the area were halted in the wake of a series of court rulings. Height was a hotly contested aspect of the proposed worship center and museum. The synagogue/museum project came to a grinding halt after the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach declined to hear an appeal to allow the proposed 18,000-square-foot project, at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road. Chabad of East Boca had filed the appeal after a lower court in June ruled the city erred in
allowing the project because zoning in the area did not permit a museum. Residents on the barrier island protested the synagogue and museum because of the project’s size, parking concerns, and proposed height, nearly 41 feet. The newly approved height limits along East Palmetto Park Road were established to eliminate similar conflicts in the future. “This is sort of a very resident-friendly amendment to the ordinance,” said Glenn Gromann, a member of the
city’s Planning and Zoning Board, which also reviewed and recommended the height amendment. Resident Kevin Meaney was thrilled with the city’s action. “I live on the barrier island and my main concern is the barrier island and the homes adjacent to the B-1 [zoning]. I would like to support this being passed to protect those residents on either side of the road,” Meaney said. “We’ve come a long way,” he said at the Feb. 28 meeting. Ú
PARK
Continued from page 1 The entire facility now meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. “All areas are going to be accessible by wheelchairs — I think that’s the major difference,” District Chairman Robert Rollins said. “That’s what makes the playground extra special.” Koski said, “It’s the finest thing the district has done.” The old version’s wooden decks were supported by telephone-type poles. They’ve been replaced with composite material. “But not circular like a pole — it’s square,” Koski said. The different shape meant finding a different way to attach the floors to the posts and extra scrutiny of the finished work. “We’ve got workers crawling all over it,” making sure, for instance, that the heads of bolts are recessed enough that a child’s fingers won’t snag,” he said. “We want to make sure that every single element is safe. Every one of the patrons deserves that.” Gone is the mulch that covered the ground around the structure, replaced by a rubberized mat more suited to wheelchairs and baby strollers. “We modified all the designs to accommodate children with any sort of disability so that the entire facility is accessible to everyone,” Koski said. And not just children. If old age or infirmities someday put Koski in a wheelchair, “I’ll be able to take my grandson up to the fourth floor,” he said. The entire project, which includes new playground equipment and improved access for buses and pedestrians, cost $2.4 million. Like the original playground, the refurbished version offers hands-on experiences that demonstrate scientific principles such as a space station, a giant head and DNA-coded walkways. “Everybody that came to the playground before was impressed by the structure. It was a community effort,” Rollins said. But the layout was modified to improve lines of sight for watchful parents. “Once your children [went] into the playground, the old one, you could lose track of them,” Rollins said. In late February, beach and park officials were still planning events to celebrate the playground’s opening. They hoped to have a homecoming of sorts for the volunteers who built the original structure. Gottfried attended a district meeting in November to urge commissioners to educate the public on what to expect at Sugar Sand and to set up “play at the park dates” to encourage parents to bring children with disabilities. “As I have told you before, we will be transforming a whole generation through play,” Gottfried said. “When these kids reach adulthood, they will be better people because of their experiences in the playground.” Ú
Beachgoers walk by dredging equipment on South Beach Park. The beach renourishment project between the Boca Raton Inlet and Red Reef Park has resumed after a nine-month hiatus. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Hillsboro Beach protests Boca Raton beach renourishment plan
By Steve Plunkett City officials hope to move sand that has shoaled in the Boca Raton Inlet back north to the partially renourished beach it came from, but Hillsboro Beach officials claim the state mistakenly issued a permit for the work. The town, just south of Deerfield Beach in Broward County, says Boca Raton’s plan will disrupt the natural flow of sand south and wants the Department of Environmental Protection to revoke its approval. Boca Raton City Council members at their Feb. 14 meeting approved spending $2.4 million to move 80,000 cubic yards of sand north to the renourishment area between the inlet and Red Reef Park, and 100,000 cubic yards south between the inlet and the Broward County line. City Manager Leif Ahnell asked council members to waive normal purchasing procedures so he could hire Weeks Marine Inc. to do the inlet dredging without going out to bid. Weeks returned in February to finish the central beach renourishment project it started in March 2016 but stopped
in late April. The city’s permit does not allow dredging between May 1 and Nov. 30 to protect nesting sea turtles. “This is not original work intended for the contractor,” Ahnell said. “Sand has flowed down from the central beach project to the inlet and this is to remove a large portion of that.” Hurricane Matthew contributed to the erosion, he said. Council Member Scott Singer elaborated. “So, it’s right to say that we had sand fill up in the inlet faster than expected, we’re taking steps to remediate that quicker than expected, we have to spend more money and that was all because of weather events and the waves and tides pushing sand where we didn’t expect it,” Singer said. The central beach renourishment will cost about $11.3 million. The state and county will pay about $4 million. The city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District agreed to split the remainder, about $3.7 million each. The project will make about 1.45 miles of beach between Red Reef Park and the inlet 170 feet wider.
Jennifer Bistyga, the city’s coastal program manager, said Weeks would finish the 2015 renourishment project first, then work on the inlet shoaling provided the DEP permit stands. All work must end April 30. Boaters have been complaining since last summer about the Boca Inlet being dangerously shallow. “The use of the ebb shoal for beach renourishment aids the boaters in addition to renourishing the beaches,” Bistyga said. Ken Oertel, a Tallahassee-based attorney for Hillsboro Beach, told that town’s commissioners their protest would stop Boca Raton from moving the sand dredged from the inlet north. “It’s pretty well-known that Hillsboro Beach doesn’t believe Boca Raton is passing enough sand,” Oertel said. The Department of Environmental Protection dismissed Hillsboro Beach’s petition on Feb. 23 but gave the town 15 days to refile its challenge. The petition did not explain how Boca Raton’s proposed dredging would affect the town’s environmental interests, the DEP said. Ú