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We see no “public benefits” to approval of Minto West. We see a dangerous precedent. . . .Three other projects that will determine whether west-central Palm Beach County becomes urbanized like west-central Broward. GL Homes owns 5,000 nearby acres. Investors own another 2,000 acres. In western Palm Beach Gardens is the proposed Avenir, which the developers just reduced from 7,600 homes to 4,760 homes — still more than 10 times what the rules allow.”
— Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 29, 2014
The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) pushed through three hearings in one long, driven 10-hour day on Wednesday, Oct. 29, and approved all three proposals. The approvals give Minto West developers the green light for a scaled-up mega-development in the heart of the rural communities of The Acreage, Loxahatchee and Loxahatchee Groves.
The approvals went through despite fierce opposition from the vast majority of the residents, local governments that would be impacted by the development, environmental advocates, grassroots organizations, public opinion in the major media, and the county’s own advisory Planning Commission (12 to 1).
The advisory Zoning Commission, which has been pro-development, recommended approval. The county’s Planning Staff, which answers to the county and the County Commissioners, recommended approval of the Minto West proposal. Minto representatives praised the staff for its cooperation and “sophisticated” knowledge.
Legal appeals to the BCC ruling are predicted to follow. John Carter, vice president of Minto Communities, was quoted in The Palm Beach Post as saying the company would move forward “until a judge tells us to stop.’’
Petitions with 5,000 signatures opposing the changes had been submitted to the BCC in the residents’ year-long fight at the various hearings leading up to the Commission’s final hearing on Wednesday.
The vote was 5 to 2: Commissioners Paulette Burdick and Jesse Santamaria voted against the proposals. Commissioners Steve Abrams, Hal Valeche, Shelley Vana, Mary Lou Berger, and Priscilla Taylor sided with the developers.
Packed Hearing – Hours of Objections to BCC, Minto West Claims of Public Benefit
More than 100 persons packed the room for the hearing, with spillover into an adjoining area. Attorney Martin Perry represented the Indian Trail Improvement District (ITID) in objecting to the proposals. Residents, spearheaded by grassroots organization, Alerts of PBC, also came armed with research on many objections, including:
- Degradation of water sources, with toxins and decades-old pesticide and fertilizer affecting water supplies serving other communities and urban areas to the east.
- Traffic overload and future gridlock.
- Taxpayer burdens for picking up the difference between what the developer offers for transportation infrastructure such as road widening and the actual costs of the impact.
- Destruction of community identity and lifestyle.
- The allowance of the development to be similar to the “surrounding area” was a stretch, because Minto West used communities such as Wellington that were within five miles away with which to compare its density.
Land use attorney Ralf Brookes, retained by Alerts of PBC in anticipation of continuing its fight in court, told commissioners there was a reason that The Acreage wasn’t called “The Quarter Acreage.”
Residents staged a protest rally in front of the government center with a horse and wagon before the hearing. The central western communties are best known for their agricultural lands and horse trails. Some residents presented videos of the horse and rural communities they love. One resident gave a live guitar performance and folk song as part of her 2-minutes allowed for speakers at the hearing.
Commissioners who voted for the changes said they agreed with the developers who claimed the “public benefits” – including millions of dollars they are offering to put toward impact and road constructions (but still a fraction of total costs) – outweighed objections. Minto West developers told commissioners in their presentation that they were mitigating planning deficiencies and urban sprawl patterns.
Commissioners’ Precedents Open the Gateway for Other Developers
The commission set precedents with changes to the county’s Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Atlas (FLUA), the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC), and Zoning regulations to accommodate the expansion of Minto West. The new changes allow, with conditions, a total of 4,546 housing units and 2. 1 million sq. ft. of commercial and non-residential uses, including a 150-room hotel and a 3,000 student College and 200,00 sq. ft for civic uses.
Due to a favorable piece of state legislation sought by the former owner who sold the property to Minto West, the developer was already allowed to build 2,996 housing units and 235,000 square feet of commercial space. Without the special legislation, only 400 homes would have been allowed on the 3,800-acre site of former orange groves previously known as Callery Judge Groves Agricultural Enclave.
The changes approved Wednesday radically increase the “intensity and density” of the area. The non-residential development alone represents an increase of 800% over what it was before the hearing. Housing units approved represent a 50% increase.
The changes were characterized as “dangerous precedents” by a Sun-Sentinel editorial, “Wrong Time for New City” published for the day of the hearing:
“We see no “public benefits” to approval of Minto West. We see a dangerous precedent. . . .Three other projects that will determine whether west-central Palm Beach County becomes urbanized like west-central Broward. GL Homes owns 5,000 nearby acres. Investors own another 2,000 acres. In western Palm Beach Gardens is the proposed Avenir, which the developers just reduced from 7,600 homes to 4,760 homes — still more than 10 times what the rules allow. If the County Commission approves Minto West, other developers will ask for more, and the commission will have no reason to deny them.”
Click Here to read the Palm Beach Post report.
[Updated Nov. 5]