DCA CRITICAL OF SLUGGETT, LION COUNTRY SEE STORY, PAGE 4
ALA TO REVIEW ITS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN SEE STORY, PAGE 18
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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INSIDE
Volume 31, Number 30 July 23 - July 29, 2010
RED CROSS LIFEGUARD COMPETITION
Wellington Marketplace Launches New Series Of Monthly Themed Events
A talent show was held Saturday, July 17 in the parking lot of the Wellington Marketplace. In addition to performers, local car aficionados were on hand to show off their classic cars, local businesses offered freebies and raffles, and there was a DJ and a bounce house for the kids. Page 2
RPB Council OKs Multi-Family Plan Despite Concerns
The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved the first reading of an ordinance last week to increase the allowed density on a 30-acre tract of land fronting State Road 7. Page 3
New Haitian Pastor Brings Unique View To P.W. Alliance Church
Since coming to Palms West Alliance Church in Loxahatchee Groves three months ago to serve as the assistant pastor, Carl Joseph and his family have become a part of the Palms West Alliance Church family. Page 7
Spanish Exchange Students Meet With Veterans In Lox Groves
Exchange students from Spain were guests of Vietnam veterans and the crew of Project 425 on Monday, July 19 in Loxahatchee Groves. Page 9
Opinion Perception, Not Oil, Florida’s Big Problem
Although occasional tar balls have been found along local beaches, none have been linked to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. However, perception is reality, and the reality right now is that Florida is suffering from a lack of tourism dollars because of misconceptions about the oil spill’s effect on our state. Page 4
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Wellington’s lifeguards took second place in the fifth annual American Red Cross lifeguard competition held Sunday, July 18 at the newly renovated Wellington Aquatic Complex. Five teams from South Florida demonstrated their physical skills, knowledge and quick thinking in a series of competitions to showcase their abilities as professional lifeguards. Shown above are lifeguards from the Wellington team with their trophies. STORY & MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 35 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Groves Council Postpones Decision On Land-Use Changes By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council postponed consideration Tuesday of three requests for land-use changes. Applicants were given two weeks to bring their projects in line with what council members and residents want. The three applicants are the Simon property with about 97 acres on the northwest corner of B Road and Southern Blvd.; the Equestrian Partners/Solar Sportsystems property with about 90 acres on the northeast corner of B Road and Southern Blvd.; and the Day property on 9 acres at the southwest corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and Folsom Road. The council, sitting as the landuse planning agency, approved the Southern Blvd. projects 3-1 with Mayor Dave Browning absent. The Okeechobee project received a 4-0 vote not to transmit. Transmittal approval in Loxahatchee Groves requires a 4-1 supermajority. When the council reconvened Tuesday in its regular session to
vote on transmittal approval, attorney Marty Perry, representing all three applicants, requested postponement, which the council granted in three 4-0 decisions. The Simon property applicants were asking for an amendment from low-density residential uses to low-intensity commercial, institutional and public facilities for a total of up to about 256,000 square feet, including a 232-space recreational vehicle park. Jim Fleischman, the town’s planning consultant, said the town staff recommended approval with conditions, including that a multiple land-use category be created in the town’s comprehensive plan to cover the different uses. Vice Mayor Dennis Lipp, who voted against all the requests, pointed out that it would take positive votes of all four council members that night to send the amendments to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for approval. “When you look at planning, it’s not like it’s going to be built tomorrow,” Lipp said. “This is 20year-out stuff. We want to give
them a clear vision of where we want to go.” Pat Johnson was one of several residents who spoke against transmittal, saying she did not feel the applicant was promoting uses that serve the community. “I don’t think 250,000 square feet is neighborhood serving,” Johnson said. “I don’t see saving minutes to go to the store as an advantage for the property owners. I don’t understand how the market would support this. We have offices vacant within five miles.” She also felt that an RV park would not be serving the community. “Recreational use including private operations seems counterproductive,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to be a quiet place with 232 units. It’s really not for us. We’re not going to be the ones there.” Joe Lelonek of Land Design South, agent for the Simon property, said the land-use process is long-range and conceptual. “The RV park is proposed to be more upscale,” he said. “With the See GROVES, page 18
36-Foot Beam From New York Will Anchor ‘Patriot Memorial’ By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report A large steel beam, warped in the wreckage of 9/11, will adorn the Village of Wellington’s planned “Patriot Memorial” and serve as a reminder for years to come. “This piece from the World Trade Center will enable residents to see the magnitude of the destruction that day,” Vice Mayor Matt Willhite said. “It will help our community in the future to remember that day and provide connectivity to the event.” In January, the Wellington Village Council approved the memorial, which will sit at the entrance to the new Town Center, between Scott’s Place playground and the
new Wellington municipal complex. It will feature an eternal flame, a flagpole, benches and a fountain, in addition to the beam. Although the memorial was slated to cost between $70,000 and $80,000, Willhite said that the project is currently anticipated to cost $125,000, of which $100,000 has already been raised through private funding. Construction is expected to begin in January, with the project to be revealed to the community on the 10-year anniversary of the 2001 attacks. Willhite and members of Wellington staff traveled to New York City this month to select a piece of the wreckage to bring home. The village was authorized by
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to receive the 36foot-by-8-foot steel beam. Palm Beach Gardens is the only other community in the area that has received approval for an artifact, Willhite said. “It was an honor for us to be able to go there and select our own piece,” Project Manager Nicole Evangelista said. “It’s not something that they let everyone do. We were granted special permission.” Although Willhite said that he would be honored to have any piece of the World Trade Center, he said he chose the beam for its look, which showcases the disaster. “I wanted the piece to tell the See BEAM, page 18
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Despite Concerns, County OKs Traffic Change Sought For Med Arts District By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In what one commissioner described as a “gift” to Wellington, the Palm Beach County Commission on Wednesday approved a traffic request needed by the village to create a medical arts district centered around the Wellington Regional Medical Center campus. The “gift” was a CRALLS (constrained roadway at lower levels of service) designation on State Road 7 that some say would take away traffic development privileges from other would-be developers along the SR 7 corridor. The medical arts district concept calls for almost 1 million square feet more space for medical-related uses than is currently approved, said Wellington Economic Development Director Martin Hodgkins, who made the presentation to the commission. County staff recommended denial of the request based on several issues, including the prediction that two intersections in the area of the medical arts district would fail performance standards as a result of the change. Further, some mitigation measures were not specific, and the additional 1 million square feet is well more than the county’s comprehensive plan allows. The county staff report also found that the development would have a negative impact on other properties. The report concedes that the mixed use/integrated development idea is a good concept, but it is just a concept at this point,
with no master plan or binding agreement in place. However, county officials acknowledged that it is a worthy idea and would like to continue working with Wellington to resolve the issues. Hodgkins agreed that the project is currently conceptual but said transmission approval would help bring together the eight property owners to work for the project. He added that the time frame for the project is about 20 years. The project is part of the Wellington Economic Development Initiative, which also includes a number of goals by the village such as a flex zoning district, enhancement of the equestrian community, redevelopment of older neighborhoods, a municipal “Town Center” currently under construction and Forest Hill Blvd. improvements also underway. “We’re looking to develop an employment center not just for Wellington, but the surrounding communities,” Hodgkins said of the medical arts district. Hodgkins said a long-range planning initiative would not be driven by a formula-based traffic engineering approach, but the concept of creating employment opportunities for 55,000 village residents and about 165,000 more residents in a five-mile radius would capture trips rather than put them on the road. He added that the village hopes the project would help prevent urban sprawl and that the medical arts district concept is consistent See MED ARTS, page 18
Divided RPB Council Drops Crestwood Redevelopment By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In a 3-2 decision, a divided Royal Palm Beach Village Council decided not to approve a landuse amendment Thursday, July 15 that might have led to the redevelopment of the village’s former wastewater treatment plant into an economic development center designed to attract high-paying jobs to the village. The 160-acre site is off Crestwood Blvd. and west of H.L. Johnson Elementary School. Several dozen residents of nearby neighborhoods attended the meeting to protest the change. The land was cleared after Royal Palm Beach sold its utility department to the county several years ago. For the past year, village officials have considered the site as a possible economic development zone. However, residents of nearby Saratoga and Madison Green have argued at several public meetings that they do not want commercial uses considered for the land. Ideally, village officials hoped to see the land used as an industrial research park for the biotech or green industries. The land-use change would have shifted the site from its current public use desig-
nation to mixed-use commercial to have the property ready should the village find an interested developer. The amendment would also have allowed low-density multifamily and single-family residential homes to serve as a transitional buffer between the economic development center and adjoining residential areas, Senior Planner Bradford O’Brien said. Mayor Matty Mattioli noted that the response from residents had been largely unfavorable. Of the more than 50 comment cards submitted that evening, the vast majority opposed the idea, he said. “I attended every planning meeting,” Mattioli said. “As I sit here tonight, I had just one resident say he wanted it. I suggest we do not transmit the amendment and forget this thing once and for all.” While an economic development center may be a good idea, Mattioli said he wants to acknowledge the wishes of residents. He added that there is no great pressure to do anything with the land at this time. “This land is free and clear with no mortgage, no taxes to pay on it,” he said. “We hope Public See CRESTWOOD, page 4
County Expert: Spill’s Effect Here Has Been Exaggerated
(L-R) Wellington Chamber President Bill Tavernise, Past President Mike Nelson, Assistant County Administrator Vince Bonvento, Wellington Mayor Darell Bowen, Vincent Encomio of the Florida Oceanographic Society and Alec Domb at Wednesday’s luncheon. PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report A top Palm Beach County official said at Wednesday’s Wellington Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the county will be well prepared to handle any effects of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill should it reach county shores. Assistant County Administrator Vince Bonvento said a task force consisting of officials from 22 cities and various inlet districts had developed a plan to handle any tar balls that might wash ashore as a result of the gulf spill. However, with news this week that the leak has been brought largely under control, Bonvento was hopeful that South Florida
and Palm Beach County could avoid any significant impact from the spill. “I think the media really hyped up the situation in South Florida about the potential of massive oil spills impacting our coastline like they are impacting the Panhandle and Louisiana,” Bonvento said. “It has never been indicated to us that we would be impacted by that type of oil spill.” Any effects of the spill are likely to be marginal, he stressed. “The loop current could pick up some of the weatherized oil from the oil spill, and it could work its way down to the Keys, and then may get picked up by the Gulf Stream and work its way through
to Palm Beach County,” he said. While some have suggested the county place booms along 50 miles of beaches, Bonvento called that idea impractical for the type of oil that could reach county beaches. If any oil reaches Palm Beach County, it would be so weatherized that the impact would be contained to tar balls or tar mats. “I don’t know how long you folks have lived in Palm Beach County,” Bonvento said, “but I was born and raised here in Palm Beach County. When I was a kid, we would go to the beach, and we would always get tar balls on our feet from some of the ships passSee CHAMBER, page 18