Final GL Homes land swap vote: Could two county commissioners flip and squash the deal?
Tuesday is D-Day for a monumental county vote on a never-ending issue that has been pitched, debated and dissected for more than a year.
County commissioners will decide whether to approve a controversial GL Homes' land swap proposal that would allow the homebuilder to construct a 1,000 unit high-end development on preserved land in the Ag Reserve in exchange for land in The Acreage area.
Approval would mark the first time the county has allowed a homebuilder to swap land outside the Ag Reserve to build on land that was preserved within it. Another change would be allowing development to occur west of State Road 7.
In May, commissioners voted 5-2 to send the proposal to the state for review. The state had no issues with the proposal, setting the stage for Tuesday's final vote.
Two commissioners would have to flip votes to halt the deal. It is rare for commissioners to change their positions between votes, but the commissioners have faced tremendous pressure to reverse their positions.
Commissioners Marci Woodward and Maria Sachs, who voted against the project, both said that they had received widespread community support for their vote opposing the plan. They said they are hopeful that they can persuade at least two of their colleagues to reverse their positions.
Commissioner Michael Barnett, who voted for the project in May, said Friday that he has not yet made up his mind. "No one should assume my vote will be the same," he said. "I still have meetings set up with a number of people."
GL Homes has sweetened the pot to get the deal done
To seal the deal Tuesday, GL Homes has added a number of perks for the county:
The county will get 1,600 acres of land in The Acreage area or Indian Trails Grove that can be used for a $150 million water-resource project, which would be built by GL Homes.
A $40 million, 272-unit workforce housing complex that will include apartments and for-sale residences. Of the 272 units, 152 would be for sale, and the remainder would be apartments. There has been pressure on the county to provide affordable and workforce housing in the Ag Reserve as almost all of the housing units built have been too expensive for county workers.
Donation of a 25-acre parcel for a county park.
Providing land for a synagogue and a special-needs facility for seniors and developmentally disabled people.
Reducing by a third, or nearly 1,300 units, a housing project already approved for The Acreage area.
The reason for all the sweeteners: GL Homes will be able to sell its 1,000 homes for far more than it would obtain in The Acreage area. The single-family, 55+ homes on its 682-acre parcel west of Boca Raton are expected to sell for more than $1 million each.
The County’s Agricultural Reserve Tier covers 22,150 acres west of Florida's Turnpike, east of the Arthur R. Marshall National Wildlife Refuge, north of Clint Moore Road and generally south of the Village of Wellington and Heritage Farms. Special rules were enacted at the turn of the century to limit development and preserve agriculture there.
Despite all the sweeteners, staff is again urging county commissioners to squash the plan.
"The increase of residential development and the reduction in preserve acreage would alter the fundamental policy concepts to preserve agriculture in the Ag Reserve Tier," according to the latest staff report, and would "significantly compromise basic concepts" of the county's growth management plan. Allowing dwelling units to be shifted from one geographic area of the county to another is a significant policy departure for the county, the report noted.
As of March, nearly 12,000 dwelling units had been approved in the Ag Reserve; the latest estimate of total buildout is 13,200 units. But that number would increase by another 1,272 if the swap is approved and thousands of more units are expected to be built under the new essential housing designation created in the Ag Reserve to allow for high-density developments.
More: The GL Homes land swap showdown is this week: Critics say GL's sweeteners are not enough
The staff report acknowledged that the construction of a reservoir is a significant regional benefit but noted that it could take years before federal and state permits are obtained and then even more years before it would be built.
Critics: Approval of the land swap sets a dangerous precedent
Critics of the plan argue approval would open the floodgates to development of preserved parcels in the Ag Reserve. More than 6,000 acres have been preserved, which means they cannot be built on unless the county agrees.
GL Homes President Misha Ezratti said Friday that the fears of seeing all those acres built upon are unfounded.
"We have set the bar very high," he said. "It is unlikely that anyone else could or would propose to do what we are doing in terms of these unprecedented benefits to the county. We are spending millions and millions of dollars that will provide the county with benefits for generations to come."
GL Homes' final pitch for county land swap: We'll build a $150 million water project
GL Homes has even added more sweeteners since county commissioners voted 5-2 to send the proposal to the state for review.
At Commissioner Sarah Baxter's request, GL Homes has agreed to build a 200-acre park in The Acreage near the proposed reservoir. The park would have space for recreational vehicle campgrounds and off-road trails with full-support facilities for off-road vehicles.
While the project has its supporters, residents of a nearby development strongly oppose it.
Staff wants the recreational vehicle campground to have at least 100 spaces with amenities, a minimum of 10 miles of off-road trails and buffers to mitigate noise. It is not clear whether those requests are acceptable to GL Homes.
Details on 25-acre park are still a sticking point in the deal
But one request is unacceptable to GL Homes. It relates to GL Homes' offer to build a park on 25 acres on the parcel west of Boca Raton.
Staff wants 50 acres, and park officials says they need $200,000 a year for 20 years to help maintain it. Kevin Ratterree, a GL Homes vice president, told the zoning commission during a recent hearing that the homebuilder cannot agree to either request.
The hearing in May to send the proposal to the state lasted nearly 11 hours. The final vote Tuesday to approve the project is expected to last as long if not longer.
Ezratti said he is hopeful commissioners will approve the land swap. He said his company has already spent millions of dollars to prepare its plans, but if the swap is not approved, GL Homes will build all of the homes in The Acreage that have been approved — 3,897. If the land swap goes through, the number of homes would be reduced by about one-third.
State Rep. Rick Roth, R-West Palm Beach, a lifelong farmer, said at the recent zoning commission hearing that the issue should be placed on the ballot to let voters make the call.
Roth said he is concerned that approval will result in the loss of landscape storage areas. The county recently changed the rules to allow landscapers to store their equipment on preserved land in the Ag Reserve as long as 70% of the parcel is used for farming.
Roth said that landscapers are running out of room to store their equipment and he fears that the swap would hurt the landscape industry, which desperately needs areas to store their equipment.
A look at how the commissioners might vote
The initial vote in May passed 5-2 so two commissioners would have to flip to give the "no" vote a majority. Here's a look at how they previously voted:
Previous YES votes
Mayor Gregg Weiss said he was swayed by the need for a water project and how it would help West Palm Beach.
Maria Marino called the May vote a difficult decision but said the land swap would spur economic development, and the water-resource project would improve the environment.
Michael Barnett could be one who might flip to a "no" vote.
Sara Baxter, who represents The Acreage, said the deal will benefit those in her district, which includes Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Wellington, Belle Glade and some land west of Lake Worth Beach.
Mack Bernard, who represents West Palm Beach, said the water resource project will help address the city's problems.
Previous NO votes
Vice Mayor Maria Sachs has opposed the land swap from the start. "They (GL Homes) gave their word that this would never be built upon. They built these other developments (Valencia Reserve, Valencia Isles and the Canyons) by preserving land at Hyder West. And now they want to build there."
Marci Woodward appears to be a solid "no" vote then and now. She recently appeared at a rally sponsored by the Coalition of West Boynton Residential Association rally, calling the proposal "rotten to the core."
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Final vote will decide GL Homes land swap deal in Palm Beach County
