Serving Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton
September 2014
Volume 7 Issue 9
Boca Raton
New president brings spirit of urgency to FAU
By Thom Smith John Kelly could have worked in a cotton mill or driven a tractor under the hot — much hotter than Boca Raton — South Carolina sun. Folks in Easley, originally a town of cotton mills in the foothills between Greenville and Clemson, are anchored in the soil. They tend to stay put. Kelly, too, has spent most of his 59 years in an area smaller than southern Palm Beach County, but
the new president at Florida Atlantic University, is anything but typical. “Luckily I had a dad who had gotten an education — GI Bill — and no way would he let me go to work in the mill,” Kelly said. “I could do anything else, but I could not go to work in the mill. “At least half of the guys I went to school with dropped out. The mill strategy was designed to See FAU on page 13
FAU President John Kelly (left) speaks with Dennis Gallon and Bill Berger during a recent event. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Stretching from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic, Ocean Strand is the last undeveloped real estate of its kind left in Boca Raton. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
OCEAN STRAND: By Cheryl Blackerby The Ocean Strand, a spectacular swath of green real estate stretching from the ocean to the Intracoastal, is public land. But for 20 years, it has not been used by the public. Only sanderlings play in the foam of waves lapping a wide white-sand beach,
where five sea turtle nests are roped off with protective orange tape. On a gentle ridge above the sand, wood steps — apparently built in the hopes that someday people would walk on them — lead into the dense shade of tall sea grapes and buttonwoods, their twisting trunks gnarled and thick with age. The traffic noise on A1A fades
After 20 years, the wild green wedge of Boca Raton public land awaits use beyond the urgent squawk of a blue heron, the hissing scream of a barn owl and the hum of cicadas. The 15 acres of Ocean Strand is an incongruous sweep of wild green land wedged between the high-rise Boca Towers condos to the south and more condos to the north. The last undeveloped real estate of
its kind in Boca Raton has sat eerily undisturbed for two decades. Bought for $11.9 million in 1994 by the city of Boca Raton, Ocean Strand is now owned by the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, which reimbursed the city. See STRAND on page 12
Highland Beach
16-story condo plan draws opposition from residents
By Rich Pollack
A developer’s request for permission to build a 209-foot-tall, 16-story luxury condominium with 45 units on one of Highland Beach’s last vacant parcels — despite a 35foot height limit — is drawing
concerns from residents who fear it will disrupt the tranquility of the small town. In a request to the town’s board of adjustment and appeals, representatives of Golden City Highland Beach, LLC, are asking for a variance from the town’s maximum
Inside Health & Harmony
Surviving a kitten’s first year. Page H1 Plus: What to do if you see an injured marine mammal. Page H12
building height restriction of 35 feet, claiming special circumstance exist with the 7.35-acre parcel they own at 3614 S. Ocean Blvd. In a letter to the town, attorney Nathan Nason said the property is primarily wetlands and that only about 10 percent
of the parcel is usable for development of a building. “With the current buildable area, only eight units would be permitted,” the attorney wrote. “Eight units on a 7.35acre parcel is approximately one unit per acre. That is an unreasonable restriction on the
Around town
Meet the young inventors who hope their device can take a bite out of shark injuries. Page AT1
development of the property.” Nason said that the property is surrounded by condominiums that are taller than the current height limit. “Directly to the north, the Toscana condominium See CONDO on page 14
Summer Arts Tierney Sutton gets Blue with songs by Joni Mitchell at Jazziz. Page AT6
Plus: Evelyn & Arthur marks 30 years. Page 21