Boca Del Mar – Mizner Trail Timeline

1971
1971 Palm Beach County approved the Boca Del Mar conditional use permit and master plan which included two golf courses.
1973
1973 A plat was recorded with Palm Beach County designating the south course as “Golf Course” with no units.
1980
1980 The Boca Del Mar Improvement Association recorded a Declaration of Restrictions applying to the South course which referred to the 1971 master plan and provided the golf course would be used for no other purpose than a golf course.
Until 1998: The South Course was owned by various operators.
1998
1998: The South Course was purchased not by a golf course operator but by Dutch Bliss, a builder and his partner Gerald Wochna, a lawyer with real estate experience for 8.2 million dollars under the name Mizner Ltd.
1998-2000: Mizner Trail generated a profit and raised its membership fees from $1,800 to $4,000 per year.
2000
2000: Mizner Ltd met with County Planning and Zoning Division to confirm that additional units could be built in Boca del Mar.
2003
2003: Mizner Ltd met with Commissioner McCarty to discuss building on Mizner Trail Golf Course.
2003: Mizner Ltd began negotiations with BDMIA to amend the Declaration of Restrictions.
[Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Gerber dismissed this agreement, writing in 2008: “The fact that BDMIA later created a declaration of restrictions and agreed to lift that restriction, is irrelevant because the County was not a party to either the declaration or the agreement.”]
2004
2004: Compson Development Corporation invested 3 million dollars in Mizner Ltd in exchange for being granted the power to control the ultimate disposition of the property.
2005
2005: Mizner Ltd met with PB Zoning, stating they were interested in building 390 units on the golf course, reduced it to 303 and again to 236 units.
2005: Zoning Staff recommends for denial of the application with “No Conditions of Approval”. An unprecedented action.
2005 October: Five days before the Zoning Commission vote, Mizner Ltd closed golf course laying off an estimated 60 workers.
2005: Zoning Commissioners vote to deny application.
2006
2006: The day before the Board of Commissioners’ hearing Mizner Ltd received a letter of intent from Compson Development Corporation to purchase the golf course from Mizner Ltd for $38.5 million, contingent upon County approval of Mizner Ltd’s development application.
2006 February: Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners  unanimously opposed the application (6-0 Commissioner Aaronson was absent).
2006: Mizner Ltd challenged the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners decision in the 15th Circuit Court Case No. 2006CA004094XXXXAB
2008
2008: Judge Gerber ruled against Mizner Trail Ltd stating in his decision on Page 31: ”the evidence shows, the County, through its staff and commissioners, weighed the advantages and disadvantages, and in the interest of protecting the perceived welfare of the surrounding neighborhoods, denied Mizner’s application to change the use from golf course to residential. Mizner has not proved a taking.”
2010
2010: Siemens Group working with Mizner Ltd files second application to build on the Mizner Trail Golf Course.
2010: Zoning Staff recommends for denial of the application.
2010: Zoning Commissioners vote to deny application.
2010: Board of County Commissioners vote to deny application with prejudice.
2013
2013: Home owners appeal to PB County Commissioners to change the County Zoning regarding the minimum maintenance requirements regarding golf courses closed within residential communities. County agrees to change zoning and require that grass be cut to 7″ not 18″ within 25 feet of an adjacent property owner.
2013: Mizner Ltd files third application in eight years to build on the Mizner Trail Golf Course.
2013: Boca Del Mar Improvement Association votes unanimously to oppose development on the Mizner Trail Golf Course and allocates an initial $25,000.00 for legal fees toward that effort.
June 23, 2013
Oppose Construction on Mizner Trail
Sign petition to oppose construction on Mizner Trail Golf Course.
291 signatures
Tell Officials You Oppose Construction on Mizner Trail
Attn: Wendy Hernandez, PBC Zoning Manager

QUOTE
“We are here due to the poor decisions of the golf course owner and it’s not the responsibility of the County to bail him out.”
— Former Commissioner Mary McCarty 2005