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Plans for two 50-foot-tall buildings on Boca Raton’s beachfront have ignited a debate about the future of one of South Florida’s last undeveloped stretches of oceanfront land. The two buildings — one a duplex and the other a large home — would be built on privately owned land on the east side of State Road A1A, an area now occupied by golden sand dunes and sea grapes. Boca Raton has long prided itself on having a long stretch of undeveloped beach unencumbered by the beachfront high-rises seen across Florida. People come from all over to bike and walk there. Some even park by the road to snap pictures of the ocean. The prospect of changing that in any way has drawn a public outcry. Paid Post Boca Raton Councilwoman Andrea Levine O’Rourke says hardly a day goes by without people urging her to keep the beachfront pristine. “I did run for office for reasons and the biggest one is to protect endangered land,” said O’Rourke, elected to public office last year. Here’s a look at the plans and what’s expected to happen next. Is it unusual to build on the beach in Boca Raton? Yes, the majority of Boca’s beachfront, three of the five miles, is publicly owned. Only a handful of buildings, mostly condos built before state laws made it harder to build on coastal land, dot the land east of State Road A1A and north of Palmetto Park Road. Where would these new buildings be built? One proposal calls for a four-story duplex called the Boca Beach House, at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., about half a mile north of Gumbo Limbo, Boca’s nature center. It would rise 50 feet from beach sands and have more than 14,000 square feet of indoor space, according to city records. A city environmental advisory board was going to review the proposal this month, but that has been postponed until next month at the earliest. A plan for another building, at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd., would rise 50 feet. It would have 7,644 square feet, excluding garage space and 2,250 square feet in balcony space, according to plans on file with the city. Didn’t the city plan to buy up the privately owned parcels of beach to stop these proposals from happening? The city’s administration in 2015 sent a letter to the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, asking the board to investigate how much it would cost to buy up privately owned beach lots. When talks with the property owners fell through, the district’s leadership investigated how much it might cost to get them through eminent domain, a process that allows government to acquire private land for public use. But the results showed it would’ve been too expensive, said Art Koski, executive director of the beach and park district. Together, the appraisals for 2500 and 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. came in at $13.2 million. “We did not have the money in our budget,” Koski said. “On who would pay, the city said it wasn’t going to be them.” What happens next? There were four Boca Raton City Council members who voted “yes” to allow the building to go wider than city rules allow on the 2500 property in December 2015, and three of them have since left office. Mayor Scott Singer is the lone “yes” vote who remains on the council. But, for construction to start, the plan faces more hurdles that must win council approval and Singer says he is concerned about the project’s environmental issues. The lone “nay” vote for the 2500 property rule change, Councilman Jeremy Rodgers, has since been joined by two councilwomen who campaigned against coastal construction. The City Council’s approval for the 2500 development was set to expire in December 2017 if it was not acted on. But an approved extension of the plan through 2019 leaves the door open for it to proceed. The plan for the 2600 property also needs to be approved by the Boca Raton City Council, and its new members are likely to oppose it. That could prove a contest between private property rights and the public interest in protecting sensitive coastal lands. Private property owners have a right to develop the property within existing rules. It’s up in the air how much the city would allow this company that owns the property to adjust the rules to meet its vision of the building. Why has there been such an outcry? Katie Barr, who started the Facebook page, “Boca Beach News,” said the crowd was incredulous at the meetings where the city planning board and the City Council pushed through the lot-width variance requested for 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. She said she doesn’t want to see any big buildings, because of the land’s fragility. Everyone else has developed on the west side of State Road A1A, she said. “That stretch belongs to everyone in Boca Raton — this is our calling card,” she said. “You can drive down that stretch and feel like it’s all worth it.” Joe Panella, who has lived in Boca for 48 years, now working in communications software, said allowing these buildings would be a dramatic reversal of Boca’s effort to keep the beaches building-free. He said he can’t understand why buildings should be allowed where turtles come to nest. “It’s just a bad idea to build on the beach,” he said. Who owns these properties? That’s somewhat of a mystery despite what public records show. The 2500 property is owned by a company called Natural Lands LLC, according to the Palm Beach County property appraiser. Gavriel Naim, one of the owners of the company listed as the landowner, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that his company no longer owns the property and referred questions to a law office in Chicago and another in Fort Lauderdale listed on the deed. Neither of those firms responded to an inquiry. Azure Development, which is developing the property for 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., couldn’t be reached for comment. A representative for the owner of the 2600 property, Grand Bank National Association, based in New Jersey, could not be reached either. ageggis@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6624, or @AnneBoca.

The golden medallion of the sun is perched high in the sky and the shore is a graceful arc of white-golden sand, glittering under the sunrise. Even on a calm day, the waves, like wild horses, rear up before crashing down on the shoreline, pounding the sand with their white foam hooves. The volunteers for International Coastal Cleanup Day at South Beach Park in Boca Raton bustle with activity. One volunteer with thick glistening gushing sweat soaking through the fabric of her shirt wipes the swaddled sweat gathered in her cap. The bleary-eyed volunteer guzzles down water and says, “We have to get together and better our Boca community.” Usually, you’ll find sunbathing, floral board shorts and bikinis at the beach. But for International Coastal Cleanup Day, the non-profit organization Boca Save Our Beaches is suiting up and volunteering to preserve the ocean, the beach, and marine life at South Beach Park. Boca Save Our Beaches started in 2015 when the Boca Raton community came together at South Beach Park to clean up and document the trash littering the 24-acre beach. Boca Save Our Beaches is back again at South Beach Park to bring economic awareness regarding the destruction of the coastal environment. The wind whips around volunteers and carried the unmistakable aroma of salt. The hot yellow sun is warm and the rays stretch out like fingers across a blue sky. It looks as if heat rained down on these beach cleanup volunteers like a breath from Hell. First-time beach cleanup volunteer and Saxena White worker, 25-year-old Kelly Diehr says, “This is making Boca a better place. We’re helping to make the community a more beautiful place.” When Diehr isn’t being a bookworm or volunteering for other environmental events, Diehr believes, “The Boca Ocean really stands out. It’s gorgeous from all the rest and we should keep it that way. We have to get together and better our Boca community and wildlife.” When recent birthday boy Tom Zeichman isn’t playing golf or staying updated with FAU athletics and academics, Zeichman says, “I’m only a mile away from the beach and my friends who volunteer are very active on social media.” One of those friends being Customer Management for Boca Save Our Beaches David Sergi, who says, “We’re very active on social media. Meeting new people and seeing new faces really inspires me to keep coming to these events. Even if you clean up for five minutes you can fill up a bucket of trash.” Boca beaches are usually very clean. On the other hand, most of the trash is found in the large waist-high bushy scrub areas. Some of the items found in those areas include, Bottles Plastic bags Cigarette butts, despite it being a smoke-free beach Rubber Metal Even tires College students get time off from school every spring and with South Florida being a popular destination for students, Boca beaches are bombarded with debris. “Always the beer bottles and other bottled or can drinks that are always found. That’s why it’s good for kids and students to know about their community,” says “Sergi. When Tom Zeichman isn’t golfing, you may catch him on social media supporting Boca Save Our Beaches. By Nile Fortner/FAU student It’s also Eric Wit’s first time doing a beach cleanup, Wit says, “We and people respect each other and the beach. Day, night, it doesn’t matter, it’s always respect and this event shows respect.” Wit, who is participating with his wife and two children says, “It’s great for kids, teaches them something new. It teaches you that you’ve to give back to your community.” Shaped like whipped ice-cream, flecked like Oreo cookies in vanilla, swooping curves on the seashell that tapers to a point, a perfect home for a hermit crab. The shore is lined with seashells that aren’t any bigger than the nail on your pinky. Almost mistaking the shell for trash is Kristie Berger. The retired scuba-diving instructor says, “Other organizations will go out to different parts of the coast. But we really have to take care of what’s here. We really are set to make a difference right here in Boca Raton.” Within an hour, Berger’s bucket was already submerged with trash items such as beer bottles, plastic cups, and snack wrappers. With a bundle of blonde hair with more waves than the ocean, Boca Save Our Beaches founder Jessica Gray has found support from The City of Boca Raton and Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc. Gray, who has described herself as a “huge environmentalist”, says, “Our last cleanup we got over 400 pounds and not counting today, we’ve gotten 2,800 pounds of trash. Every little bit helps. I just found an old toothbrush on the beach.” Every little bit helps and Gray ended by saying, “This is inspiring. Now, who wants to brush their teeth?” Everyone cools down from the blazing beach heat at Boca’s Prosperity Brewers by chugging down a couple of cold ones. The golden-orange glow of the glass was as bright as the sun on the beach. A man in flip-flops and a floral Hawaiian shirt holds a drink in his hand and ends the day by saying, “Cheers, to our clean beaches and community.” https://www.mysouthfloridatoday.com/news/seas-the-day-with-boca-save-our-beaches/

URGENT: THE EAB MEETING REGARDING BEACH DEVELOPMENT ON 8/29 HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. In the video, scroll to frame 1:21:05 for Andrea’s ‘further business’ on this matter. Beach development projects WILL come up before the EAB and City Council in the near future, and we will keep you posted to help us SAVE OUR BEACHES! Thank you for all your emails and calls into City Hall. #togetherwecan The property owners of 2500 and 2600 N Ocean Blvd in Boca Raton continue to seek building permits to construct two four-story structures on the beach. Our City’s CCCL Setback Ordinance (City Code Section 28-1556) prohibits this because these properties lie seaward (east) of the Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL). In order to commence construction, a Variance must be provided by City Council. This specific CCCL Variance, if granted, would give property owners permission to build on untouched beach dunes of Boca Raton. To gain a CCCL Variance, property owners must first present their project to the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB), which issues a non-binding recommendation to the City Council. The recommendation is whether the project’s damage to the environment is acceptable. Clearly in the map, both properties, 2500 N Ocean and 2600 N Ocean, are seaward of the CCCL. City Code Section 28-1556 (4) allows for a Variance (i.e., an exception), and both 2500 and 2600 N Ocean have applied for that Variance, and hence a permit to build, under its provisions. In particular, to qualify for a Variance, the petitioner has to satisfy six distinct necessary conditions. Here we’ll look into the owners’ arguments for one particular condition: The Variance granted is the minimum Variance necessary for the petitioner to make reasonable use of the property. Both 2500 and 2600 N Ocean CCCL Variance applications contain the following passage: Without a Variance, City Code Section 28-1556(3) would prohibit any and all economically viable use of the Subject Property, and that the regulation would violate the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. There are two remarkable claims being made in the passage: that without a variance, the petitioners: 1. Could not make economic use of their lots; and 2. Their constitutional rights would be violated. We’ll see that neither claim has merit. First consider possible economic use of these beachside lots. They certainly provide value for recreation, enjoyment of scenic beauty, and preservation of nature, the very values for which the City adopted the CCCL Setback Ordinance in the first place. The beachfront properties could also serve as an amenity area, and this would count as economic use of the property as it does for several condominium developments on the west side of A1A. This would benefit any petitioners who also own land on the west side of A1A across from properties in question. Next let’s consider an ‘economically viable use’ that is monetary, that of selling these properties for profit. 1. 2500 N Ocean was purchased by Natural Lands LLC (Florida) in July 2011 for $950K, who then sold it to Natural Lands LLC (Delaware) in June 2017 for $140K. 2. The owner of 2600 N Ocean is documented as Grand Bank National Association who acquired the vacant lot in October 2011 for $100. Yes, you read that correctly: $100. The sale prices were so discounted for beachfront property in Boca largely because they were considered unbuildable due to our City’s CCCL Setback Ordinance. For the same reason, in 2018, the most recent tax year: 1. 2500 N Ocean was appraised at $140K 2. 2600 N Ocean at $150K by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. Both owners recently negotiated with the City for purchase of their properties. The owner of 2500 N Ocean required a return on investment of about 14,000%. The owner of 2600 N Ocean required a return on investment of about 20,000,000%. The City did not accede to the owners’ demands for ‘economically viable use’ of such excessive magnitude. But one wonders whether the City, or Beach and Parks District, or some foundation concerned with environmental or public values, might have purchased these properties for a fair and equitable amount, still leaving both owners with a hefty ‘economically viable’ profit. Owners don’t require a Variance to sell these lots at a healthy profit. We’ve just looked at the petitioners’ claim that denying them a Variance would deprive them of economical use of their properties and found it to be groundless. Their second remarkable claim is that our City’s CCCL Setback Ordinance is unconstitutional. It’s not clear why the owners of the two lots make this claim. Maybe they wish to suggest that this Ordinance is indefensible and so they should not be subject to its terms. Or maybe to suggest that they could sue the City if not granted the Variances they seek. What is clear is that that City Council is not the right forum for deciding a law’s constitutionality. Both petitioners have had standing for seven years to challenge the constitutionality of Sec. 28-1556(3), our City’s CCCL Setback Ordinance, since acquiring these lots in 2011. Have they filed motions to challenge this law in the courts, which is the right forum for doing so? If not, claims of unconstitutionality are gratuitous, and the City’s prerogative is to presume the law’s constitutionality. Remember to attend the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) meeting on August 29th at 5:30pm to voice your opposition to beach development. The focus at this meeting is environmental loss that would result from construction of these four-story buildings on our beaches. We’ve seen here that petitioners don’t come close to meeting this condition for Variance approval. We’ll see that they also fail to meet other necessary conditions in forthcoming articles. Yet despite failing to qualify for a Variance as required by City Code, developers of the beachfront parcels would be permitted to build if the candidates they fund, directly and through their hired attorneys and lobbyists, win seats on the City Council. https://bocawatch.org/beachfront-development-still-on-the-menu/

Publisher’s Comment: Regarding 2500 N. Ocean, BocaWatch has been reporting on this matter for over two (2) years now. Faults raised in today’s article falls directly at the collective feet of Suspended Mayor Susan Haynie and Acting Mayor Scott Singer. In a December 14, 2015 article titled “Fights worth Fighting”, BocaWatch reported the arguments that Haynie and Singer offered for granting variances to the developer; variances that established an entitlement to what was then an unbuildable lot into a lot with an asking price in the tens of millions. A second article titled “Misleading or Incompetence” published on November 28, 2016 further analyzes these extremely costly circumstances. Readers are encouraged to use the BocaWatch search engine above to bring up these articles and review. Haynie and Singer’s political judgments, their disregard for the residents’ call to not entitle the lot, and their ‘developer friendly’ results are simply unacceptable and troubling. At this time, the City Council will need to carefully consider the arguments identified by Jessica Gray in today’s article and any other legally defensible arguments that may be identified in reviewing the facts of this matter to prevent further developer threat to Boca Raton’s pristine beach. Al Zucaro, Publisher ________________________________________________________________________ Narrative: Last week, Boca Raton’s Beach and Parks District announced they will not be purchasing 2500 and 2600 N Ocean due to lack of funds and their $42+ million commitment to Ocean Breeze Golf Course. The property owners of 2500 N Ocean and 2600 N Ocean are asking for a sum around $20M per lot. Wondering out loud, who has an extra $40 million laying around? Meanwhile both properties were appraised in 2017 via Palm Beach County’s Property Appraiser for no more than $150,000. The owners of 2500 N Ocean and 2600 N Ocean individually purchased the unbuildable lots for less than $1 million while they were in foreclosure. However, in 2015 – City Council granted a lot width variance to 2500 N Ocean Blvd, deeming the lot buildable, with the exception of Jeremy Rodgers who voted against oceanfront mansions. Due to this variance, the property values have skyrocketed as the lots turned from an unbuildable lot into a buildable lot. Although not on the agenda yet, both properties, will come before City Council for a final CCCL variance. This yes or no vote will say – yes build on the beach, or no do not build on the beach. We need Council to vote NO when these parcels come up for review and put this to rest. In the City’s Code of Ordinances, it states: “The city hereby adopts the county coastal construction control line as established by the department of environmental protection, as specified under F.S. § 161.053, and recorded in the public records of the county in plat book 80, pages 137 through 155. Seaward of the established coastal construction control line no person shall: (a) Construct any structure whatsoever; (b) Make any excavation; (c) Remove any beach materials or otherwise alter existing ground elevations; (d) Drive any motor vehicle” https://library.municode.com/fl/boca_raton/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=VOII_CH28ZO_ARTXVSUDIRE_DIV10MIARRESE_S28-1556COCOSE Clearly in the map, both properties, 2500 N Ocean and 2600 N Ocean are seaward of the CCCL. Check out the map here: https://ca.dep.state.fl.us/mapdirect/?focus=beaches It is a rare scenario that Boca Raton’s City Council Members are in the same room as Boca Raton’s Beach and Parks District. There is a joint meeting between the City and the Beach and Parks District scheduled for Wednesday next week. Although only Ocean Breeze Golf Course is on the agenda – these two properties will be discussed. You are welcome to join as this meeting is open to the public. It is very important to ask ALL members, what are you going to do to protect our beaches? https://bocawatch.org/the-fight-to-save-our-beaches/

Boca Raton is known for its lavish beaches, parks, nature trails and golf courses. But, this year – it is all about to change. For the first time in over 35 years, two beachfront developments will be presented to the City Council for approval. The two mega mansions, one spanning over 14,000 square feet, will be plopped right onto the protected dune systems of Boca Raton’s pristine beaches; an area currently frequented by nesting sea turtles. An area that may soon house construction equipment, if all goes according to the owner/developer’s plan. Imagine in 90 days, Boca Raton will have its first beachfront development, since an ordinance protecting beachfront land was passed in 1981. The Costal Construction Control Line (CCCL) ordinance states, “no person shall: a) construct any structure whatsoever, b) make any excavation, c) remove any beach materials or alter existing ground elevations, or d) drive any motor vehicle on or over or cross any sand dune, or damage or cause to be damaged such sand dune or the vegetation growing thereon” on the dune system. A variance to the CCCL must be approved by the majority of the City Council in order to start construction; rejecting this variance request is the last opportunity to block the unthinkable destruction on our pristine beachfront. How did we get here??? One may ask, why would someone buy properties knowing the lots are unbuildable? Why would the City Council have already granted a variance on the 2500 property in 2015 when the owner/developer caused the hardship on which they complained of by their own actions? Residents can place the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Haynie and Councilman Singer. Mayor Haynie has been heard in public to say that granting the 2015 variance for 2500 N. Ocean was merely a formality and that there would be ample time and opportunity to stop this intrusive beach development. Well Mayor Haynie, if that were true then and remains true now, the Council is now at the last opportunity to stop the owner/ developer from this unthinkable intrusion…now is time, now is the last time to act! Councilman Singer, on the other hand, folded like a cheap suit in the September 2015 by voting to grant the original variance on 2500 N. Ocean, arguing that the city would lose in court to the owner/developer and would be at risk for untold damages. The City Attorney, that evening, on the public record, provided insight into the legal options with remarks suggesting that each property is unique and that each set of circumstances would be looked at individually in defense of granting or rejecting a variance. The city attorney stated clearly that rejecting the variance would be defensible in any subsequent legal challenge. So now, we, residents, are faced with the last opportunity to protect and preserve our beach front. As outlined in the City’s Code both 2500 and 2600 N. Ocean Blvd must request a variance to the CCCL; a variance without which the owner/developer will not be issued a building permit. The owner/developer of these properties will argue that without the variance they will be subject to the unfair burden of having lots that are unbuildable. In the case of 2500, the owner/developer contributed to this outcome when he purchased one undivided lot east and west of roadway A1A. The owner/developer then divided the lot into two parcels; sold the west lot portion to a related entity leaving the east lot portion unbuildable at 88 feet wide and requiring an initial variance from the minimum of 100 feet wide required by city code. The City Council in a 4 – 1 vote with Council Jeremy Rodgers being the only dissenting vote granted the variance. In plain language, our elected officials need to think long and hard before granting any further variances to allow these requested intrusions to Boca Raton’s beach front properties. Preserving our beaches has always been a guiding principal in Boca Raton, a principal that remains in effect today. This is a fight worth fighting for… Below are live links to previous articles and commentaries in BocaWatch which, starting in September 2015, provides you, the reader, the necessary history regarding this matter. The process and timeline to Save Our Beaches involved here is immediate and imperative….and is outlined generally here: 1. Home plans are submitted to Applied Technology Management https://www.appliedtm.com/. These are the same consultants who approve beach dredging in Boca Raton. The consultant has 45 days to recommend approval to start building. 2. Once the recommendation is in City Staff’s hands, it is placed on the agenda for Boca Raton’s Environmental Advisory Board within 30 days for review and recommendation. 3. The EAB’s recommendation will be placed on the City Council’s agenda within 30 days for final approval. 4. The City Council is the last stop. If the CCCL variance is granted only a Circuit court challenge can stop these projects. Once our beaches are gone, we cannot get them back. http://bocawatch.org/coming-soon-oceanfront-development-in-boca-raton-unthinkable-or-is-it/

In celebration of Earth Day, residents of Palm Beach County participate in an annual beach cleanup, removing massive amounts of litter from our coast. The Great American Cleanup, a project of Keep America Beautiful, is coordinated County wide by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful Inc. and the Solid Waste Authority. http://www.keeppbcbeautiful.org/great-american-cleanup.html On Saturday, April 15th, Boca Save our Beaches, a 501C3, hosted a beach cleanup at South Beach Park in Boca Raton. Beach cleanup supplies were provided by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful and Gumbo Limbo. With over 100 participants, 372 pounds of trash was removed from our public beach. Together, as a community of like-minded citizens, we celebrated the removal of 372 pounds of litter at Beer Trade Co. in Boca Raton. Islamorada Beer Company sponsored this brunch by providing drinks for participants 21 and over. An assortment of raffle items was donated to Boca Save our Beaches. Our support comes from our generous neighbors: A special thank you to all our volunteers, this would not have been possible without you! Remember, you can make a difference. http://bocawatch.org/the-great-american-cleanup-2017/

As presented during the initial 2500 N. Ocean debacle, Pandora’s box has opened for development on our beaches in Boca Raton. Introducing the “Boca Beach House,” at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. which is described as a “one of a kind oceanfront setting surrounded by nature preservation areas” according Azure Development, LLC. Azure Development is located in downtown Delray Beach, FL and the owner of 2600 N. Ocean is Grand Bank Natl Assn with a mailing address of GREENSPOON MARDER PA C/O 250 S AUSTRALIAN AVE STE 700, WEST PALM BEACH FL 33401. 2600 N. Ocean will consist of 4 bedrooms, 5 ½ baths, a glass elevator, 4 car garage, rooftop pool, spa, fire pit and a summer kitchen. Let’s not forget that 40-foot boardwalk through protected Sea Grapes leading to the ocean. Plans containing the exact square footage of the property are still in the works, however 4 stories are proposed. And, we thought 2500 was bad… What do 2500 N. Ocean and 2600 N. Ocean have in common? Both are monstrosities of “homes” plotted directly on sand dunes, endangering nature, wildlife and marine habitats. Boca is known to be the only city in South Florida without countless miles of development on the shoreline, until now. You can thank your un-resident friendly Council Members who vote in favor of this kind of development. The fate of our beaches is up to the City Council, as both properties will come forward with a public hearing and a decision will be voted on and made. Both properties are not scheduled on the agenda, but things change quickly around here. Below is a checklist of 2500 and 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. These developments have the potential to blight Boca Raton’s pristine beaches. Please join us in prodding the City Council to abandon their path of granting variances to avoid controversy. Let’s fight to keep our beaches. Let your voice be heard by the Mayor and City Council Members: http://myboca.us/cityforms/contactUsMain.aspx http://bocawatch.org/threats-to-boca-ratons-pristine-beaches/

It's Turtle Tuesday here in Boca Raton. Saying our farewells to Peanut, an adult Loggerhead that was found in May 2016 at Peanut Island. Peanut's health is back to normal after being rehabilitated at Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex, and she is going home!.

We have three approvals pending before a massive concrete structure brings irreversible damage to our pristine coastline. Since the Florida Department of Environmental Protection granted a permit to proceed with construction at 2500 N. Ocean, your City Council has begun to re-review the outcome of destroying our beaches. During a Council Meeting, last week, Deputy City Manager George Brown (see Manager Brown’s memo to City Council below) discussed the next steps in store for 2500 N. Ocean in Boca. Since the Council’s approval of the lot variance in 2015, the Environmental Advisory Board in Boca Raton will need to approve building on top of the sand dunes, followed by a CCCL variance. In June 2012, an initial application for the Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) was submitted by Natural Lands, LLC – the owner of the 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. parcel which is still pending approval. Plans were revised since the initial application; City staff is now waiting for Natural Lands LLC, a well-known Miami developer, to resubmit the updated structure plans reflecting the variance that the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied twice. City Council claims to have granted the variance to Natural Lands LLC simply for the fear of a lawsuit due to prior variances advanced to developers on undersized lots. Members of the City Council declared that the state would never approve development on the sand dunes… Now, two items approved, three to go. What do you think about the development in Boca? The place we call home where others vacation… What we now know and did not know before is that there is still opportunity to prevent this pending tragedy to our pristine beach. Residents, it is time to speak out, to speak out loudly….It is time to contact the City Council demanding a stop to this intrusion to our beach; an intrusion that is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This is a fight worth fighting….It is ultimately up to our five elected representatives, the City Council, to act on behalf of the residents…the time is now…. Remember, your voice is your vote; let your voice be heard now and at the ballot box in March… http://bocawatch.org/there-may-still-be-hope-for-our-beaches/

As of Tuesday, November 8th the Boca Raton Ballot Question, formerly known as Ordinance 5356, has passed, protecting waterfront land adjacent to the Intracoastal. The next fight; protecting beach parcels in the City of Boca Raton. 2500 N. Ocean Blvd, known as a critically eroded beach, has been granted permission by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to proceed with construction. “This property falls within the federally authorized Boca Raton Shore Protection Project which began in 1988 and is authorized until 2038,” according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. So how and why is 2500 going to be developed? One may ask. First, you can thank your current City Council members for this. Without their approval of variances in 2015 on the parcel– we would not be in this situation. This month it was announced that the Florida Environmental Protection Agency gave their approval for construction to commence at 2500, which lies on the east side of A1A. Next, the City of Boca Raton’s Environmental team will make their assessment on the property, and present their opinion to the Planning and Zoning Board and City Council. The Planning and Zoning Board will also provide their recommendations for the property to City Council. Lastly, the City Council will decide whether to approve the final variance for building on the coastal construction line. When that approval is made, the building permits will be granted. When that occurs, coming to Boca will be a monstrosity of a single family home plopped right on top of, what are now, protected sand dunes. Danger to marine life is expected, and with the construction 2500 will set an unwelcome precedent for development along our coast. Write your City Council opposing this development. Once 2500 breaks ground, we guarantee other beach destruction will follow. Stay tuned to BocaWatch for the next steps in stopping development on our beaches. The decision lies within your City’s hands. http://bocawatch.org/one-issue-down-another-one-to-go/

Remember last year?….The City Council approved a variance for the property at2500 N. Ocean Blvd. allowing a sub-standard lot to be approved for development of a 4 story, 10,000 sq. ft. residence on the ocean side of A1A. The City Council’s action was approved with a 4–1 vote. Councilman Jeremy Rodgers being the sole dissenter. City staff, in its presentation, stated that the variance request met all city code criteria and recommended approval. Staff, however, failed to provide any substantial justification as to how they arrived at their conclusions; how they justified that the applicant created a situation for which relief was being sought. BocaWatch provided a recap of the December 8th hearing (see Fights worth Fighting, December 14, 2015.) The public’s response was virtually immediate and very loud! The four approving votes, Mayor Haynie, Councilman Singer, Councilman Weinroth and Councilman Mullaugh did not take the one corrective action available to them at the time….any one of them could have filed a motion to reconsider at the following City Council meeting to revisit the issue and allow for a reversal of this incredibly harmful decision. There were two main arguments offered supporting the Council’s action: Predominantly heard from Mayor Haynie was that the approval of the variance was not decisive and that further approvals from state agencies would result in the developer being denied approval for this project; and This argument was supported by the legal conclusion made by Councilman Scott Singer, who instead of being a fact finder in the quasi-judicial hearing, placed himself in the role of judge, determining that the City could not defend a decision to deny the variance and, therefore, would face financial damages with a loss in the Circuit Court. Fearing the developer’s threat of legal action is bogus and should not be the criteria for our elected officials to act….There has to be a line in the sand that defines who we are and what the city of Boca Raton stands for.…. Our pristine beach is that defining moment….no longer! The question asked by the residents then was: When is a fight worth fighting?….The beaches have been pristine for decades and now, with this action, other dominoes are beginning to fall….others are already lining up to build on the ocean side of A1A because of the Council’s ill-advised action. This is all history… Current concern is that the assurances conveyed by the Mayor and others on the Council that granting the variance was a defensive act that would have little impact to the applicant’s ultimate goals of issuing the building permit. This position is now, and was at the time, bogus. Last week, (not so) conspicuously posted on the site was a NOTICE TO PROCEED (actual post) on land at article end) from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; to wit: the permittee, Natural Lands, LLC, is “hereby granted final authorization to proceed with construction or activities authorized by this notice.” A complete review of the Environmental Protection file can be found at the link below. Use “Public Oculous Login” to gain access. (copy and paste into your browser). https://depedms.dep.state.fl.us:443/Oculus/servlet/shell?command=hitlist&[freeText=]&[folderName=]&[profile=Permitting_Authorization%2BPlans+and+Specifications]&[creator=]&[entityType=any]&[createdDateTo=]&[catalog=20]&[searchBy=profile]&[sortBy=Document+Date]&[createdDate=]&{District=_EQ_TLH}&{County=_EQ_PALM+BEACH}&{Facility-Site+ID=_EQ_BCS_PB001196} What is critically interesting in a review of this file is that the most critical obstacle for the applicant to overcome before the state’s issuing this NOTICE TO PROCEED was getting the city of Boca Raton’s zoning approval; an approval given unequivocally with the Council’s granting of the variance. Mayor Haynie’s assurance that the variance was merely a formality and that application to build on the ocean side of A1A would not be approved by other agencies was completely wrong. The question now raised is how was the Mayor and the Council so wrong? What we may now have is a classic example of the horns of a dilemma; two equally bad outcomes…. If city staff did not provide the City Council with an accurate analysis of the import in granting this variance as it relates to the ultimate outcome of issuing the notice to proceed, than there is a real question of competence. In the alternative, if City Council was made aware of the import in granting the variance but proceeded anyway, then there is a question of misleading the residents. Neither of these is acceptable. What is reality now, however, is that thanks to our City Council ill-advised decision, there seems to be no other obstacles to prevent this building project from moving forward…. Hence, what we have here is a vivid, real life reason to replace those elected officials that are ‘developer friendly’ with people that have a ‘resident friendly’ voice, a voice that puts the interest of the resident in front of the special interests. Your vote is your voice; let your voice be heard…. City Council elections are coming…get out and vote in March, 2017 http://bocawatch.org/misleading-or-incompetence-2500-n-ocean-approved/

Last evening the residents belonging to the Riviera Civic Association, the area on the Barrier Island made up of Sun and Surf, Riviera and Por La Mar, hosted a meeting with Councilman Robert Weinroth as its guest speaker. The meeting at the Boca Community Center was attended by over 80 people that represented approximately 12 additional communities. For an hour and forty-five minutes attendees grilled Mr. Weinroth on a variety of subjects and issues. The top two issues involved Mr. Weinroth’s decision to support the City’s providing a variance for the construction of a mansion on the beach dune at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd…a most heated issue in the City, bringing much anger from the people. Unlike Councilman Scott Singer, who has maintained his reluctance to support the variance but felt compelled to approve it, Mr. Weinroth showed little regret but stated that he felt the State and County would, most likely, not approve a building on the dune. As residents in Highland Beach can attest, the likelyhood of the house being built is very strong. So, Mr Weinroth, along with 3 other Council members put an end to 40+ years of not allowing building on the dune. He feels the City should not risk being sued by property owners. However, they would rather put the City in the position where they could possibly spend additional millions of your tax dollars paying more to protect the surrounding property they then they otherwise would have, had they not approved the variance. Another contentious issue was whether the City should enter a contract with Hillstone Restaurant Corp for leasing the Wildflower property allowing, them to put a brick and mortar restaurant on the property. A citizen asked Mr. Weinroth if he would support allowing citizens to vote on whether to have a restaurant vs an active urban green space for the many thousands of residents that will inhabit the downtown once it is built out. He stated that he would not support allowing the citizens who own the land to vote on its use. So, just to make sure I and all the other 80+ people heard him correctly, I asked “Are you denying the peoples right to vote on the use of property they own?” His reply was, he will not support citizens making a choice on how the property will be used. Other topics focused on Mr Weinroth’s voting record, which includes granting of variances and technical deviations that impact traffic and density. He also stated that he would not take an official stand against the 1¢ (17%) sales tax increase that threatens to impact south county businesses more than any other area. * So, there you have it. Everyone was most cordial and, I believe, appreciated the opportunity to air their concerns. Only by having these meetings and exchanging our thoughts with elected officials are we able to have a dialogue. It provides a window into their character and how they view the responsibilities we bestowed upon them with our collective votes. And, to his credit, Councilman Weinroth stated that if we did not like his decisions we are free to vote our feelings accordingly. *BocaWatch was contacted by Mr Weinroth post publication to clarify that he is personally against the sales tax increase. His comment was “The City Council as a body, will, in all likelihood, not take a stand”. http://bocawatch.org/big-turn-out-for-public-meeting-with-councilman-weinroth/#comments