Homelessness wasn’t on the agenda for Tuesday’s Delray Beach City Commission meeting. Very quickly, though, it became part of the agenda.
During public comment, several speakers complained about the increasing number of homeless people on the beach—specifically the pavilion. Three employees of Caffé Luna Rosa, just across A1A, cited public urination and tents being pitched. Some homeless had been “exposing themselves” and taking plates off tables of people dining outdoors.
A beach resident and income property owner said the problem is “out of control.” Guests at the Opal Grand Resort and other hotels in the area, he said, didn’t want to bring their children to the beach. He called the pavilion “a homeless shelter” and warned that the “Village by the Sea” was in danger of becoming “The Village of Skid Row.”
As is customary, no commissioners asked follow-up questions. When the meeting ended roughly four hours later, however, City Manager Terrence Moore asked Police Chief Russ Mager—who regularly attends meetings—to respond.
“We are addressing” the issue, Mager said. He had met with the owner of Caffé Luna Rosa and acknowledged the concerns of the employees who, “rightfully so,” had addressed the commission.
Mager said the city’s count had identified 104 homeless—sometimes called unhoused—people. Of those, he said, 16 are “chronic offenders.” They are on the beach because the department has “displaced” them from areas farther west.
In 2021, Delray Beach approved an ordinance against “aggressive panhandling.” Mager noted—as critics of the law did—that “it’s not a crime to be homeless.” Arrests, though, can follow offenses such as trespassing and vandalism. Commissioner Adam Frankel said one person defecated in public and placed his feces on a mailbox in Pineapple Grove.
Mager and commissioners asked that residents call the department, not City Hall, for a quicker response. Some speakers said they had done so. As commissioners worried about the problem worsening during high season, Mager said, “There will be an increased police presence” on the beach. He added, “I’m a man of my word.”
Boca struggles to adapt to Live Local Act
Boca Raton is having a difficult time dealing with the state’s new affordable housing law.
City council members have tried three times to pass ordinances under which the city would implement the law, known as Live Local. It removes local elected officials from the approval process for certain projects that contain what the state defines as affordable housing. One ordinance would apply to mixed-use projects of which 65 percent is housing, 40 percent of that being affordable. The other would apply to residential projects in which 10 percent of the units are affordable.
In their proposals, city planners have tried to retain as much control as possible. Land-use lawyers have responded that the proposals contradict the intent of the law by placing too many restrictions on developers.
Councilman Marc Wigder blames the delay on the difficulty of fitting one statewide law to the differences between areas of Boca Raton.
In the older east side, Wigder said, neighborhoods abut commercial areas. There are few buffers. Council members rejected a Chick-fil-A on North Federal Highway because of its proximity to neighbors. Putting a 100-foot project in such a neighborhood, Wigder said, would be “impossible” and “a mess.” Under the law, though, it could happen.
The newer west side, Wigder said, is more spread out. Multi-family projects are more common. Places like Midtown, just east of Town Center Mall, have “vast swaths” of room. The city has received an application for a 300-unit residential project at Midtown’s Boca Center.
Wigder noted that Live Local is scheduled to last only for 10 years. After that, the Legislature would have to extend it, presumably with a decade of evidence as to whether the law did create more affordable housing. Wigder wants Boca Raton’s ordinances to end when the law sunsets.
The council will try again Monday to agree on the ordinances. To allow for what surely will be another long debate, the workshop meeting has been moved up to 1:30—ahead of the community redevelopment agency meeting. The council has a mandatory budget hearing at 6 p.m.
More on Delray’s audit
I reported in March on the ambush of Delray Beach by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee in Tallahassee. Based on the city’s telling, that audit looks like a fishing expedition.
State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who serves on the committee, asked for the audit. Her district includes Boca Raton and Highland Beach, which is in a long-running dispute with Delray Beach over the cost of fire-rescue services. Highland Beach withdrew from the contract and will start its own department next year.
Delray Beach learned of the 10 a.m. Monday hearing late the previous Friday. With no city officials present, Gossett-Seidman, Rep. Mike Caruso and Highland Beach’s town manager accused Delray Beach of failing to provide documents and generally stonewalling. Committee members approved the audit supposedly to help resolve the dispute.
In his commission newsletter last week, however, Moore said the scope of the audit apparently has gone well beyond the fire-rescue contract. He cited an email from Chief Financial Officer Hugh Dunkley.
According to Dunkley, “The Auditor General’s staff has reviewed our processes regarding accounts payable; purchasing card transactions; Information Technology disaster recovery procedures; [and] review of our compliance with the Department of Health’s Consent Order pertaining to our water treatment plant.” Dunkley said the state also has asked about the proposal to develop part of the golf course. After receiving bids, the commission rejected the idea, based on resident opposition.
A Florida Senate spokeswoman said the audit “fieldwork is substantially complete, and a review is underway.” There is no date for the “preliminary and tentative” findings. That draft will go to the city, which must respond within 30 days. Then the Auditor General’s staff “may do some additional work and make revisions” to the final report.
Caruso’s involvement in March seemed odd, since he no longer represents Delray Beach or Highland Beach. I’ve heard private comments that Caruso wanted revenge after his wife, Tracey Caruso, lost her race for Delray Beach mayor in 2021.
On Tuesday, Gossett-Seidman said of Dunkley’s email, “It does seem unusual. Maybe [the auditors] have more information.” Of Delray Beach, she said, “We’re neighbors. I just want to finally resolve who owes what, if anything.”
Boca Regional proposes change in site plan for outpatient facility
Boca Raton Regional Hospital wants to change the site plan for its outpatient facility on Northwest 13th Street to offer more advanced proton therapy to cancer patients.
According to documents filed with the city, Boca Raton Regional would accommodate the 8,600-square foot addition by reducing the number of parking spaces at the facility and increasing the amount of off-site parking. The proposal goes to the planning and zoning board at tonight’s meeting.
Boca Historical Society lease extension goes before P&Z Board
Also on the board’s agenda is a 30-year extension of the Boca Raton Historical Society’s lease of the historic town hall.
The society moved into the building—which dates to 1927—in 1982 and pays $1 per year in rent. When this renewal expired, the city and the society could extend it for another 20 years. Development Services Director Brandon Schaad recommends approval.
Old School Square workshop meeting
A three-way workshop meeting about Delray Beach’s Old School Square takes place today at 6 p.m. in Arts Warehouse. It includes the city commission, the Downtown Development Authority and Old School Square Center for the Arts.
The DDA is operating Old School Square. Old School Square Center for the Arts, the founding organization, ran the complex until a previous commission ended its lease in August 2021. The commission wants to see cooperation between the DDA and Old School Square Center for the Arts.
