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Nearly 23,000 homes, shopping plannedin Palm Beach CountyNovember 17, 2013 | By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel
A flurry of Palm Beach County development proposals could bring enoughnew homes to house a population nearly the size of Delray Beach on far-flung farmland.
New development proposed for old citrus groves, mining land and pasturescould bring nearly 23,000 homes — along with new shopping centers, a college campus and possiblyeven a spring training baseball stadium.
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"This is a dramatic change," Royal Palm Beach City Councilman Jeff Hmara said. "Let's just be sure thatwe are doing this in the least offensive way possible."
The development proposals now in the works target some of the largest properties still available in PalmBeach County, without pressing all the way west into sugar cane country.
Development pressures that cooled during the Great Recession have been revived now that Palm BeachCounty home prices are rising again. Now the race is on for landowners to win development approvaland get building, before there's another dip in the real estate market.
The potential influx of suburbia scares Loxahatchee-area residents worried about losing the rural lifestylein an area where horseback riders share unpaved roads with commuters and chicken coops can be foundalong with backyard pools.
The development proposal also worries those in Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and other nearby towns,concerned about a parade of additional traffic overwhelming already crowded roads, includingOkeechobee and Southern Boulevard.
Developers dispute the concerns, saying new communities will bring job-producing businesses inaddition to homes. And development backers contend that building new shopping destinations, doctors'offices and other community attractions will benefit existing residents along with their new neighbors.
The County Commission has already approved revived plans to build 2,000 homes on 1,200 acres onceintended for rock mining at Palm Beach Aggregates.
Commissioners in October gave the go-ahead to Highland Dunes development, on Southern Boulevardabout 2 1/2 miles west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, which had been put on hold back in 2008 afterSouth Florida's building boom went bust.
A few miles away from Highland Dunes, Minto Communities has proposes building 6,500 homes on the4,000-acre former Callery-Judge Grove, split by Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. That would be more thantwice the number of homes currently allowed.
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In addition to the new homes, plans for "Minto West" call for 1.4 million square feet of space for shops,offices, manufacturing and even research and development.
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The proposal includes building a 3,000-student college campus and room for a baseball stadium aimed atattracting a spring training team.
Minto West is expected to go before the County Commission for initial consideration next summer.
The number of homes allowed for Minto West could set a precedent for neighboring Indian Trail Groves,about 5,000 acres G.L. Homes has long planned for development.
On Northlake Boulevard a few miles east of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, developers propose building7,600 homes on the nearly 5,000-acre Vavrus Ranch.
The Avernir community would also include 1.7 million square feet of space for retail development as well asmedical and other professional offices. Developers envision adding a golf course, assisted living facility,hotel and room for a college campus.
Unlike the others, plans for the Vavrus property have to go through Palm Beach Gardens' approvalprocess.
Building industry representatives say simple supply and demand is driving this revived development push.
"We are running out of land," said long-time Palm Beach County development consultant Robert Bentz,whose firm is part of the team working on the Avernir proposal. "These properties have been sitting therefor a very long time waiting for the market to come [back]."
Development proposals have to show that local roads can accommodate the traffic that comes from theirbuilding plans in order to proceed. Road widening or other improvements can be required if projectionsraise concerns about road congestion.
Development critics have raised concerns that these traffic projections don't give enough weight to futurebuilding to come and that it's inevitable that allowing thousands of new homes will only make traffic worse.
But development consultant Kieren Kilday, who represented the Highland Dunes project, said propertyowners should be held responsible for the traffic expected from their proposals, others already submittedand land uses approved for surrounding properties.
"That's how the system works," Kilday said. "There isn't any logical reason to try to take into account whatsomeone might want. … It's pure speculation."
The County Commission will be factoring in the cumulative traffic effects of the proposed developments aswell as residents' quality of life concerns when the projects come up for a vote, Palm Beach County MayorSteven Abrams said.
"These are parcels that have development rights," Abrams said. "The question is how much."
County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, whose district includes the Loxahatchee area,
worries that developer and building industry influence over local government will open the door too far.
Santamaria — a developer turned politician — said it will take public pushback, both at local governmentmeetings at that the polls, to keep overdevelopment from "destroying the quality of life."
"The people are fed up," Santamaria said. "They looked for a quiet, peaceful place 20 years ago [and] nowit is becoming another Miami-Dade. It is becoming another Broward."
[email protected], 561-228-5504 or Twitter@abreidnews
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