16 historic properties designated as landmarks during Palm Beach winter season

Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News
·3 min read
This home at 4 Ocean Lane was approved for landmarks designation Feb. 16 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The home is owned by Elizabeth Ailes, the widow of the late former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
This home at 4 Ocean Lane was approved for landmarks designation Feb. 16 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The home is owned by Elizabeth Ailes, the widow of the late former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.

With a bigger budget to work with, landmarks consultants Emily Stillings and Janet Murphy studied nearly two dozen of the town's historic properties for potential landmark designation this season.

Of those, 16 were approved for designation by the Town Council, Stillings told the Landmarks Preservation Commission at its meeting Wednesday.

During a presentation to commissioners, Stillings said the town researched and wrote 23 designation reports during the landmark-designation season, which runs from November to May. Another six properties that were deferred from last season also were reviewed for potential designation, Stillings said.

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Stillings and Murphy were given the green light last year by the Town Council to double the number of properties they approved to study for potential designation.

"Typically, the town's budget has allowed for the study of approximately 10 properties a year," Stillings said. "This last fiscal year, which started in October, they increased the budget to allow for the study of approximately 20 structures. We were able to write reports for 23 properties."

A John Volk-designed home at 345 Pendleton Lane was recommended for designation as a landmark in April by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Town Council approved the designation at its May meeting.
A John Volk-designed home at 345 Pendleton Lane was recommended for designation as a landmark in April by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Town Council approved the designation at its May meeting.

Combined with deferrals from last season, Stillings and Murphy studied a total of 29 structures, with 18 being approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The Town Council approved 16 of those for official designation, with the final three of those properties earning approval at the council's May 12 meeting.

Those structures are: 137 Kings Road; 300 Clarke Ave.; 425 Seabreeze Ave.; 215 Seaspray Ave.; 12 Lagomar Road; 1568 S. Ocean Blvd.; 250 Algoma Road; 266 Atlantic Ave.; 4 Ocean Lane; 287 Pendleton Ave.; 215 Mediterranean Road; 345 Pendleton Lane; 200 Algoma Road; 4 S. Lake Trail; 357 Crescent Drive; and 2155 Ibis Isle Road.

Eleven other properties were deferred until next season at the owners' request, Stillings said.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission recommends buildings for landmark protection to the council each year, and also considers development applications for historically significant buildings. This designation was created to discourage owners from tearing down older houses that aren’t landmarked, but still contribute to the charm and character of their neighborhoods.

For a building to qualify as historically significant, it must be at least 50 years old; located within a designated historic conservation district approved by the council; and meet at least one of four criteria as determined by a town expert in historic preservation.

Since the historically significant building program was created in August 2020, 37 properties have been studied for designation, Stillings said. Of those, 35 have been approved.

Historically significant buildings, like landmarked buildings, are exempt from flood-elevation Florida Building Code requirements. But there are several key distinctions between the two categories of buildings.

They include:

• Designation as a historically significant building can only be requested by the property owner.

• Designation of historically significant buildings is determined by the historical preservation planner for the town, with assistance from the town's landmarks consultant, Murphy Stillings LLC.

• Proposed projects for historically significant buildings are reviewed under guidelines for the landmarks board, but are not held to the same standards as a landmarked property.

• Outside of preserving the historic character of a property, neighborhood and town, the only incentive available for historically significant buildings is relief from the requirement to elevate an existing building in a flood-prone area when renovation costs exceed 50 percent of the approved value of the property.

• Historically significant buildings are not protected from demolition. Proposals for all demolitions are reviewed by the architectural commission.

Additionally, proposed projects on historically significant buildings must meet federal Interior Department standards for rehabilitating historic properties.

Landmarked properties are not subject to those standards unless they are part of a tax abatement project. More than 350 landmarked properties, sites and vistas are protected under the town's Historic Preservation Ordinance.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: 16 Palm Beach properties designated as landmarks during season