RPB INKS NEW ELECTION AGREEMENT SEE STORY, PAGE 3
W4CY DISCUSSES HEALTHCARE REFORM SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE Wismick St. Jean Eyes Open Seat On Wellington Council
Volume 31, Number 2 January 8 - January 14, 2010
WELLINGTON POLO SEASON OPENS
Realtor Wismick St. Jean has announced that he will run for Wellington Village Council Seat 2, now held by term-limited Lizbeth Benacquisto. Page 3
Northlake Corridor Meeting At Seminole Ridge on Jan. 12
An informational meeting to discuss the Western Northlake Corridor Land Use Study is planned for Tuesday, Jan.12 at 6 p.m. at Seminole Ridge High School. Page 4
Check Out Polo, Equestrian Events On Station WHDTV
Palm Beach County residents who are unable to make it to Wellington for the 2010 winter equestrian season will be able to enjoy all of the action from the comfort of their own homes as polo, dressage and show jumping are being broadcast on independent television station WHDTV. Page 7
Live Arts Florida Presents Donna The Buffalo In Concert
Live Arts Florida’s Western Communities Concert Series returned to the Wellington High School performing arts theater on Saturday, Jan. 2 to present a live concert by renowned roots music band Donna the Buffalo. Page 9
Opinion It’s Not Just For Equestrians: Plan Your Visit To Polo Or WEF
There was a beacon of hope in a sea of the economic unrest of 2009 — Wellington’s equestrian season. So as the current season gets underway at the FTI 2010 Winter Equestrian Festival and the International Polo Club Palm Beach, it’s up to the continued support of the local community to ensure another successful year. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 13 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 SCHOOLS ............................. 14 PEOPLE ........................ 16 - 17 COLUMNS .................... 25 - 26 DINING ......................... 28 - 33 BUSINESS ................... 34 - 37 SPORTS ....................... 39 - 42 CALENDAR ................... 44 - 46 CLASSIFIEDS ............... 47 - 53 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Polo fans braved the cold to be on hand as the 2010 polo season kicked off at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington Sunday, Jan. 3 with the opening round of the 20goal Iglehart Cup. Sunday polo matches run through April. Shown above, Jess Cummings, Kelsea Forzani and Isabelle bundle up and watch the game. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
Developers Can Begin Process, But Town Extends Moratorium By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Facing delays in creating its comprehensive plan and land development code, the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council agreed Tuesday, Jan. 5 to extend its building moratorium a fourth time with the understanding that developers anxious to start projects could begin the process as long as they end up in compliance with the town’s final documents. In November 2007, the council imposed a one-year development moratorium to allow time to finish its comprehensive plan and land development code. In November 2008, it extended the moratorium until May 2009, and then again last May to Feb. 28, 2010. Town Attorney Mike Cirullo said the land development code is moving forward, and he is making progress in resolving a chal-
lenge to the plan from neighboring Callery-Judge Grove, but it would probably not be resolved by the end of February. Callery-Judge Grove objected because the firm believes Loxahatchee Groves’ plan would hinder the orange groves’ ability to develop by limiting traffic on Okeechobee Blvd. through the town. Cirullo said he received a letter this week from Loxahatchee Equestrian Partners, saying they were concerned about continuing the moratorium because they want to get their application processed. The firm plans to build an assisted living facility on a 20-acre site along Southern Blvd. between B and C roads. “The town seems to be far enough along in the process with its land development code as well as the comprehensive plan,” Cir-
ullo said. “One possibility would be to extend it with the exception that we could accept applications and begin the process as much as possible, with the understanding that the applicant will comply with the land development code as well as the comp plan when they are finished, and they should be by the time the moratorium extension is finished. That may alleviate some concerns if they can get their process in and get it reviewed.” Cirullo suggested a 60- to 90day extension to the building moratorium with the provision that a developer can be granted an exception to start the application process as long as the project complies with the finalized town documents. “If they are willing to submit plans that will be consistent with what the end products are, they See GROVES, page 20
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Wellington Board Gives Flex Zoning To Commerce Park By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board voted unanimously Wednesday, Jan. 6 to recommend the rezoning of 122 acres of industrial space along Pierson Road from Light Industrial to the newly created Flexible Use Zoning Employment Center (FZEC). The rezoning is a component of the village’s Economic Development Initiative, planner Bill Nemser said, adding that the designation aims to create higher-wage employment in Wellington, with a focus on bringing more jobs to the industrial area, commonly known as Commerce Park. If the Wellington Village Council approves the change, new businesses that are compatible with those in the Commerce Park area would be subject only to staff’s approval before they could move in. The council approved the new zoning classification in June to encourage new businesses to locate in Wellington and existing businesses to expand in the community. A component of the new ordinance was that the village would rezone the existing industrial parks. PZA Board Alternate Alan Johnson said he was concerned to see that permitted uses under the designation included general retail and limited dining. “When I see general retail and limited dining uses, I wonder where a big-box retailer or a CVS
would fit in,” he said, adding that he wondered what staff had envisioned for the industrial parks. “Is the use limited to a job center that produces something? Or are we going to allow retail when we already have so many problems with retail right now?” Nemser said that retail would be considered a support service, and that all the businesses in the park are limited to 1,500 square feet of retail, which means that a big-box retailer wouldn’t have enough room. “This is not in any way an attempt to bring in additional retail or big-box stores to the area,” he said, adding that the services are simply there to support other businesses. The new classification is meant to bring employment that pays above minimum wage, Nemser said. “These industrial parks suffer from a high vacancy rate,” he said. “I went through them, and it was amazing to see how high the vacancy rates really were.” Nemser added that the industrial park and its businesses would benefit from the different types of business that Wellington could attract, and it would also help them to stay competitive by allowing many different uses inside the park. “The big difference with the flexible zoning is that staff and the planning manager have the final say as to whether the specific use is compatible and therefore permitted within the industrial park,” See FLEX, page 4
RINGING IN NEW DECADE
ITID Discusses Paving Program By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District held its first workshop Wednesday, Jan. 6 on a project designed to improve the roadway network in The Acreage and eventually provide a coordinated traffic-calming plan. Called the R3 Plan, the objective is to eventually provide paved feeder roads to connect unpaved dead-end neighborhood roads to arterial roads. ITID Engineer Lisa Tropepe explained that the R3 Plan for paving has been discussed for several years and that the plan is required by state statute before
special districts can improve roads. “Today’s workshop focuses on neighborhood network roads,” Tropepe said, explaining that a neighborhood network road is an ITID through road that intersects another ITID through road. There are a total of 36 miles of network roads included in the R3 Plan, and the estimated total cost will be $32.5 million for all the improvements, Tropepe said. “This is a planning document that by law we have to follow,” she said. “It could be over two decades, but we need some understanding.” Tropepe said the plan could take
about a year to finalize, and that the board’s feedback is needed on issues as general as whether the concept of network feeder roads is what the supervisors want. She said the goal of the R2 plan, which is now finished, was to have a paved road within a half-mile of every home. The R3 Plan provides a comprehensive list of improvements for the roadway networks and categorizes the elements of improvements, Tropepe said. They include paving, traffic calming, sidewalks, guardrails and safety enhancements, and trail connectivity. Tropepe said the study does not See PAVING, page 20
The Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) hosted a New Year’s Eve party Dec. 31 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. The theme was “20 Years of CAFCI.” Each table had a card designated for a specific year, noting things that happened with CAFCI that year. Shown above, Garfield Howell and Hayat Mazili say hello to 2010. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 2 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Aaronson: Gambling Key If County Is To Grow Jobs By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Members of the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation and the Palm Beach County Commission set aside a lengthy agenda during a joint meeting Wednesday, Jan. 6 to talk about how to lower the county’s unemployment rate. The answer, Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson said, is more gambling. “This is a very important meeting for the state and the county,” said Aaronson, who co-hosted the meeting with Delegation Chair State Rep. Maria Sachs (D-Delray Beach) at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter. “I think for the legislature and the county commission, the biggest issue throughout the state is jobs. We have a lot of things to talk about, and I don’t think there is anything more important that we as a body could do here today than talk about how we can create jobs and put people
back to work in Palm Beach County.” Although the unemployment rate is over 11.5 percent in Palm Beach County, Aaronson said the rate is actually higher because that doesn’t include people who have stopped looking or settled for parttime work. “I would say our unemployment rate is closer to 13, perhaps 13.5 percent,” Aaronson said. “I think the economists say that as well, and I think the state is suffering as well. I think we should devote a lot of time here today on what we can do as a body to create jobs. The people out there are suffering, and we’re their leaders.” Sachs agreed with Aaronson on the importance of job creation. “I ran some statistics before today’s meeting,” Sachs said. “In 2008, the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, this year, as of today, it is 11.7. Your discussion is very timely. It is something that we as
officers of the state and county need to focus on today. That has got to be the cornerstone of everything else… It all comes back to jobs.” Aaronson said he believes the key to getting jobs in Palm Beach County is getting more gambling. He said jobs would be created if Palm Beach County had the same ability to offer gambling as Broward and Miami-Dade counties. “The Palm Beach Kennel Club is suffering because two other counties have gambling, and the Indian casinos are draining it, and tourism is down in Palm Beach County because we can’t compete with others,” he said. Tourism would also be helped if Palm Beach International Airport had more direct flights, Aaronson added. Aaronson said he felt there is no reason that Palm Beach County should not receive the same rights as Broward and Dade coun-
ties. “Gambling in this state is here,” he said. “You go in to buy a lottery ticket, and you can buy six different lottery tickets. You have bingo with these small parlors opening up. We have to figure out a way, because gambling is a big source of tax revenue that comes in.” Aaronson said gambling would be a stimulant for jobs. “We need to work together to see how we in Palm Beach County can have slot machines,” Aaronson said, explaining that having slot machines at the Palm Beach Kennel Club would probably add hundreds of jobs at that facility, which currently employs 620 people. “I think this is a very serious situation,” Aaronson said. “I know our tourism is down because, number-one, we have a problem with our airport. We don’t have direct flights from many places. People fly into Fort Lauderdale.
They stay in a hotel down in Fort Lauderdale, and what happens is they go to the Indian casinos and dog tracks in Dade and Broward.” State Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff (RFort Lauderdale) said as chair of the finance and tax committee, she has been looking at how to raise revenue without raising taxes. “We’re not going to turn the economy around by November of 2010, and it may not turn around by November of 2012,” she said. “We certainly have to think in terms of what we can start today to kind of create that environment to diversify our economy and get it away from a real estate-driven economy.” Bogdanoff said some states are reducing their corporate tax in order to attract business, and her staff is researching how to eliminate corporate tax altogether. “If we can do it effectively, without destroying the revenue of the state, See JOBS, page 20