Serving Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton
February 2020
Volume 13 Issue 2
Along the Coast
Fewer residents carrying flood insurance even as threats grow
Waves from boats’ wakes wash over a sea wall and stir up the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach. The city said it would ask the state to consider rising sea levels in setting lower speeds. Some residents have built higher walls but are still concerned about potential property damage and want a no-wake zone. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
A wake-up call
Intracoastal residents want Delray to defy state to lower boat speeds By Jane Smith Palm Trail residents are asking Delray Beach city commissioners to take action against rising tides and seas and reduce boat speeds on the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway that runs beside their street. In the stretch between the bridges at George Bush Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, slightly less than a mile, residents see weekend boaters zipping by. The speed boats kick up wakes, which crash into and over sea walls and
By Charles Elmore For all the headlines about rising seas, king tides and other climate threats, homeowners in most cities and towns across southeastern Palm Beach County stand less prepared than they were eight years earlier when it comes to flood coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program, records from the program show. Fewer folks have NFIP policies in nine municipalities in the region, compared to three cities with more. In Delray Beach, residents shed about 10% of NFIP policies between 2012 and 2019. Boynton Beach residents with policies dropped almost 30%. Policy counts fell more than 40% in Briny Breezes. After years of NFIP rate increases and added surcharges, some homeowners chose not to renew policies if, say, they were not required to carry flood coverage by a mortgage lender. Briny Breezes resident Linc Musto said he dropped flood insurance for about four years, but resumed coverage after Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas in 2019, narrowly veering from Florida. “Seeing the widespread devastation in the Bahamas made me realize what we would have faced had its path brought it over to Briny,” said Musto, 85, who worked in the insurance business for more than 50 See FLOOD on page 14
See WAKE on page 13
Highland Beach
Condo leaders push to trim parking as a way to compromise on Milani Park By Rich Pollack For more than 30 years, Highland Beach and residents of the Boca Highland Beach Club and Marina have fought county plans to develop a beachside park in the south end of town. At the same time, Palm Beach County leaders have dug their heels in the sand, saying there will be a Cam D. Milani Park in Highland Beach.
Now a compromise may be in the early stages, with Boca Highland leaders saying they’re open to having a park on the 5.6-acre parcel that straddles State Road A1A as long as there are significantly fewer than the 120 parking spaces that are in the county plans. In response, Palm Beach County’s head of Parks and Recreation says the county might be See MILANI on page 12
Inside StorySlam
The Moth’s popular competition coming to Boca Raton. Page AT11
Soul soothing
Experiencing the calm of Morikami’s Zen garden. Page H1
Parking for the county’s proposed Milani Park would be in the grassy area west of A1A (upper left). Photo provided
Delray tradition
Nina Raynor continues to sell classic couture in a new setting. Page AT1
Regulation of plastics deepens fight for home rule. Page 23
‘Kidnapped’ baby Jesus returned to St. Lucy. Page 15