The developer of a controversial proposed adult living facility has dropped its lawsuit against Boca Raton—for now.
After mediation made no progress, Whelchel Partners wants to trade the site for city land.
In an Aug. 31 letter to Mayor Scott Singer and the city council, Jay Whelchel notes the two years and “many hundreds of thousands of dollars expended on my side, as well as expensive outside counsel” the city has hired. He says that “it appears clear to me that no one is ‘winning’ by actively continuing such litigation.”
The city, Whelchel says, “has made its position clear it does not want this community ALF on the property and will take action to prevent it.” The 5.6-acre site is on Northwest 12th Avenue just north of Addison Mizner School. Neighbors in Boca Square spoke against the 128-bed, three-story project at council meetings even though the ALF never had a formal hearing. They argued that the ALF and its traffic would overwhelm the area.
“As a result,” Whelchel says, “I’ve come to the realization that despite my personal goals it is time to start anew by exploring alternative uses for the property and/or even a land swap with the city which will create a win-win resolution.” Withdrawing the lawsuit—with the option to refile it—“will allow for a ‘pause’ in the litigation to allow an opportunity to work with the city council to explore any and all viable options that are favorable to all parties involved.”
Current zoning rules allow several uses on the property. It last was home to a church. An owner also could build single-family homes. The project entered the review process only because Councilwoman Monica Mayotte sponsored a potential amendment that would allow the ALF.
Whelchel’s company paid $4.2 million for the land in April. Whelchel did not return messages for comment, but presumably any land the city might swap would have to be worth at least that much or have high potential for development.
Boca Raton, however, doesn’t own much vacant land of significant size. It does have a roughly 10-acre site next to the Spanish River Library and a parcel on Southwest 18th Street near Interstate 95. But City Manager Leif Ahnell has cautioned the council against selling or leasing city land.
Then there’s the question of what the city might do with Whelchel’s land. Neighbors surely would like the idea of a park—possibly with parking for school pickup and drop off—but would that justify a swap?
Despite suspending his lawsuit, Whelchel still contends that the city wrongly refused to process the ALF application. City officials claim that the project would need a comprehensive plan amendment and four of the five council members to support it. Whelchel contends that the city told him differently and changed only after opposition got so strong. Planners also discovered that allowing the ALF on that site would mean allowing similar facilities in other single-family areas.
Because the lawsuit is suspended, council members can discuss Whelchel’s offer in public and not in executive session with the public excluded. I’ll have more as discussion proceeds.
Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against Long
The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed the second complaint filed against City Commissioner Rob Long by an ally of Mayor Shelly Petrolia.
In April, the ethics commission found no probable cause for the first complaint. It centered on Long’s time as a member of the planning and zoning board.
Chris Davey, who chairs the board, claimed that Long wrongly voted on projects for which Bonnie Miskel was the attorney. Miskel had referred some of her clients to Long’s marketing company.
Long, however, had asked a member of the city’s legal department whether he could vote. The answer was that he could. Long also disclosed his relationship with Miskel during board meetings when she appeared.
That relationship became an issue in last March’s election. Incumbent Juli Casale, whom Long defeated, cited it repeatedly. The South Florida Sun Sentinel ran several editorials critical of Long. The paper endorsed Casale, whom Petrolia supported.
Long filed a defamation lawsuit against Davey, which a judge dismissed. In his deposition, though, Davey acknowledged that he asked former County Commissioner Mary McCarty to call Miskel and say that her business relationship with Long would “come out” and look “very unethical” if she didn’t persuade Long to drop out. Miskel ignored the threat.
Progress made in Live Local implementation
Boca Raton finally has made progress—though not much—on ordinances to implement the new Live Local Act.
Last week, after their fourth discussion on the topic, city council members gave staff some guidance. The law, which the Legislature passed this year to encourage development of affordable housing, cuts out local elected officials from approval of projects that meet the law’s criteria. The council wants to avoid unpleasant surprises if projects anger nearby residents.
The council wants to require that all apartments under Live Local be at least 500 square feet in size. Some proposals had called for units as small as 400 square feet. The council also hopes to add between 2,500 and 3,000 units of affordable housing under the law. And staff will seek advice from outside affordable housing consultants.
Major issues, though, remain unresolved. The council asked the staff to speak with developers about how much height, density and floor-area ratio, or FAR the ordinances might allow. That FAR calculation applies to the mass of a building. Ahnell called those “nuances.”
Live Local applies to mixed-use projects in which 65 percent would be residential and 40 percent of those units would be classified as affordable housing. It also applies to residential projects in which 10 percent of the units would be affordable. The council would like the law to cover projects with 15 percent of affordable units. The city’s legal department will decide if Boca Raton has that flexibility.
As the discussion ended, Singer said, “We took a few baby steps.” City Attorney Diana Frieser said no developer submitting a project seeking approval under Live Local can do so based only on the council’s discussion so far.
Boca rejects billboard proposal
Council members rejected a proposal that would have allowed the owner of Boca Raton’s only billboard to upgrade the structure in return for annual payments to the city.
Mayotte also brought this idea to the city. The billboard is just east of Town Center Mall on Glades Road. Though Boca Raton bans billboards, the city annexed this area from the county two decades ago. Because county rules allowed the billboard, the city could not remove it.
Outfront Media, which owns the billboard, proposed a 15-year deal. Singer pushed back especially hard, dismissing the annual payment as amounting to two ten-thousandths of the city’s budget. He added that the city has ways to remove the billboard sooner than 15 years. Councilwoman Fran Nachlas said, “I don’t see how [the deal] will improve quality of life.”
Only Mayotte voted for it.
Gumbo Limbo observation tower to open in April
Though turtles haven’t returned to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, the new observation tower should open in April.
Construction has begun on the four-story project. It will replace the structure that became unsafe after decades of wear and did not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The city is supervising the project, which is estimated to cost $2.5 million. Of that, roughly $560,000 will come from the family and friends of Jacob Kosowsky. The Boca Raton High School graduate was killed in a car crash five years ago. The Greater Boca Beach and Park District will pay the balance.
