New 283-foot jumbo dock on Flagler Drive approved by city despite residents' pushback
West Palm Beach approved a request Monday night for a dock off North Flagler Drive that extends 183 feet farther into the Intracoastal Waterway than typically allowed by city code.
The approval was granted two weeks after the City Commission rejected a plan to have a $16 million marina built off Flagler and despite opposition from some residents who argued the new jumbo dock would block their views and depress home values.
The dock debate essentially boiled down to a well- and better-off battle between residents of The Slade, an upscale condominium complex at 1551 N. Flagler Drive where units were available Tuesday from about $400,000 to just shy of $1.5 million, and the owners of 1525 N. Flagler Drive, a professional office complex.
Palm Beach County property records indicate that 1525 is owned by 1525 North Flagler LLC. Scott C. Murray and Jason Guari are both listed in state business records as manager/members of the limited liability corporation. They are attorneys at the Murray Guari law firm located at 1525 N. Flagler.
Their representative before the City Commission, Jack Rice, told commissioners the dock would have slips for two large vessels and would be for personal and not commercial use.
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But that did little to assuage the anger of residents from The Slade, who rallied against the proposal as one that would block their view of the Intracoastal, damage the environment and give a green light to other property owners who will want jumbo docks of their own.
"I bought my unit in 2005 expressly because of the direct, unobstructed intracoastal water view of both my personal residence and the building's main amenity, its east-facing, fifth-floor pool," Dana Fleichman of The Slade told commissioners.
"I was explicitly told at the time of my purchase that the view from my unit and the pool would not and could not be obstructed by future building. I'm extremely concerned that the proposed dock and the two multi-story super yachts that would be moored there would directly interfere with my (water use) rights and my use and enjoyment of my home and our pool by obliterating the direct sightline to the intracoastal, which is the primary reason I decided to purchase my home."
'Right to a view' on the waterfront is not guaranteed
Rice, however, told commissioners the right to a view is guaranteed to no one in West Palm Beach, which has approved requests for multiple docks longer than the 100 feet allowed for in city code.
Commissioner Joseph Peduzzi, an avid boater, noted that having large boats moored farther from shore would block views less than having them closer to shore.
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He wondered aloud whether the debate "is really about a dock or not about the development rights of the main property, the main parcel associated with the dock and somehow that a dock may increase the development potential somehow or the thought that that may occur."
Opponents of the proposed dock did note that 1525 N. Flagler has been listed for sale for $26 million through Sotheby's, a firm that specializes in art, luxury goods and real estate.
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A listing online Tuesday included details about the building and said "dock plans are currently submitted to the city of West Palm Beach."
Rice said on multiple occasions that 1525 N. Flagler Drive is not for sale.
Officials say the city's waterfront has lots of potential
Many downtown residents of West Palm Beach have shown an acute wariness of development along the city's waterfront, which Mayor Keith James and other city officials believe is under-utilized.
Residents reacted with fury when the city decided to open negotiations with a firm that planned to build a $16 million marina to the south of 1525 N. Flagler Drive. They called city officials, emailed them and showed up to City Commission meetings en masse to denounce the project.
The city decided not to move forward with those marina negotiations, though James said he still plans to hold community meetings to discuss what should be done to expand use of the waterfront.
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Commissioner Christy Fox, the lone commissioner to vote against the initial decision to open negotiations on a marina, suggested the city hold off on the dock request while gathering more information on what length limits the city should adhere to in its code.
She suggested folding dock discussions into the community meetings James is planning to hold about the waterfront.
That idea, however, did not gain traction among her colleagues, particularly after a marine biologist told them that vulnerable sea grasses would be harmed more by a dock of 100 feet than one of 283 feet.
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The sea grasses, the biologist said, are closer to shore and are a critical food source for marine life.
Commissioners eventually voted 4-1 in favor of the extended dock, with Fox again casting the lone vote in opposition.
"In this situation, I hear the concerns of the condo next door," Peduzzi said, "but I'm not so sure that I understand those concerns because it seems to me that a longer dock would probably put the vessel further out and probably lead to less obstruction of views. It would certainly lessen the environmental impact to the sea grass by any boats there and avoid dredging."
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach approves 283-foot jumbo dock despite some oppositions
