Jupiter Town Council member Cheryl Schneider resigns, citing health concerns

JUPITER — Vice Mayor Cheryl Schneider announced her resignation at Thursday night’s Jupiter Town Council meeting, saying it was a difficult decision, but she must step down for health reasons.

“I will not be stepping away from the issues that are important to me and to you, or the things I have fought for over the last nine years,” said Schneider, who was elected to the council in 2022.

Mayor Jim Kuretski said Friday that the council will decide how to fill the vacant seat, either by appointing someone who served previously or by asking the public to submit résumés and selecting someone that way.

The council will probably take action at its next regular meeting, scheduled for Aug. 15. A new vice mayor will also be selected.

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Council member strongly opposed digging at Suni Sands

Schneider's resignation comes a little over a week after a contentious council meeting over the future of Suni Sands, a historically and archaeologically significant site near the Jupiter Inlet. Schneider, along with Council Member Cameron May, voted to preserve the entire 10 acres, but the other three council members opted to preserve only a portion of it.

At the July 25 meeting, the council approved a certificate to dig in 6 acres of the site, which developer Charles Modica bought 10 years ago with the intention of building a hotel, condominiums and townhouses and a restaurant. Suni Sands operated as a mobile home park from the 1940s through 2016.

Suni Sands contains a shell midden where Native American tribes lived 6,000 years ago, and the historic Celestial Railway’s pathway also runs across the site. The Florida Division of Historical Resources master site file lists both as historic archaeological sites that are potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Kuretski said Friday he is hopeful the town will ultimately be able to buy the site. That hinges on whether Modica decides he is willing to sell to the town and an agreement is reached.  If that day arrives, Kuretski said such a purchase would encompass an amount of land to be agreed upon, but the town would need to buy more than just the 4 acres of the shell midden.

“It’s a goal we have, subject to having a willing seller,” Kuretski said.

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If the council had voted to preserve the entire 10 acres, it would have prevented the town or anyone else from creating a park or other public venue at the site, Kuretski said.

At Thursday’s meeting, the town’s Tallahassee lobbyist, Tim Stanfield of the Greenberg Traurig law firm, said that if and when the town reaches an amicable resolution with the property owner, the secretary of state‘s office has indicated they would be willing to assist in the purchase financially.

Effect of Schneider's work felt in Abacoa, along waterfront

Schneider said she ran for office to protect the voice of the residents who want to “keep Jupiter Jupiter” and she hoped by being on the council, she would be able to make a difference.

Elected to a three-year Town Council term in March 2022, Schneider was selected this year by her colleagues to serve as vice mayor. She previously served on Jupiter’s Planning and Zoning Commission and co-founded the Jupiter Inlet Foundation in 2017. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019, finishing second to Todd Wodraska.

The foundation is a nonprofit that advocates for the protection of natural resources along the Jupiter Inlet waterfront. Schneider said she will continue her work as a citizen advocate with the foundation, which will be announcing some new projects and partnerships soon.

“Jupiter is a beautiful place. It is a wonderful place because of the people who live here and because of the locals who give Jupiter its heart and soul,” Schneider said.

Schneider’s involvement with the town began in 2014 when he worked with others who convinced the town to cut the number of proposed live-work units in her Abacoa neighborhood in half.

She also worked with Suni Sands residents to right some of the wrongs she felt had been done to them. After they alerted her to the threat development posed to the sea life and seagrass beds, she and another area resident, MB Hague, co-founded the foundation.

Schneider also fought to scale back the Love Street waterfront restaurant development when it was proposed.

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Schneider said Friday that she had submitted her resignation letter, as required to make it official.

The Jupiter Inlet Foundation will be partnering with another well-known group and focusing on an environmentally sensitive place in the Jupiter area, she said. The details will be announced when the partnership is finalized.

“Being on the council has been very hard for me. I want to focus on issues that are important to me, like Suni Sands. I will be able to do that through the foundation,” Schneider said.

“Not being on the council, it is just cleaner,” Schneider said. “The council is a lot of work behind the scenes, a lot of meetings. It was pushing me from a health perspective.”

Kuretski said it has yet to be determined whether the council could appoint someone to fill the seat through March 2024 and have a special election or could appoint someone to the position through 2025.

He praised Schneider during Thursday's meeting. “We appreciate your activism," he said. "Before, and being on the council, you have made quite a difference in our community.”

Vote on Bush Road townhome plan postponed

In other action Thursday, the council postponed voting on a revised plan submitted by Richbuilt of Jupiter to construct 23 rental townhomes on 2.93 acres at 550 Bush Road, the site of the Unity at Jupiter church.

In February the council denied an application for townhomes to be built there, and it was the council’s understanding the developer could not resubmit plans for 24 months. However, the town’s planning staff found the resubmitted application was substantially different from the first proposal and was deemed to be a different proposal.

The council directed its staff to clarify what constitutes a new project. Town Manager Frank Kitzerow agreed the town code is not as clear as it should be, and he would bring something to the council at a later date.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cheryl Schneider resigns from Jupiter council, citing health concerns