Much to dismay of Flagler Pointe residents, Temple Israel gets initial nod for taller building

Temple Israel won preliminary approval Monday night for a zoning change in West Palm Beach that could allow for a nearly one-third increase in height restrictions on the site of its building on North Flagler Drive.

The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously approved Temple Israel's zoning request despite opposition from Flagler Pointe condominium complex residents, who argued that a 300-foot plus building would block their views of the Intracoastal Waterway and diminish their property values.

Commissioners must take up the issue for final consideration at a future meeting, but Monday's vote was a win for Temple Israel. It had argued that its property rights had been overlooked when the city created a new zoning district near Currie Park designed to spur development in an area that, until recently, had not experienced the boom transforming other parts of West Palm Beach.

Temple Israel's push for a higher height allowance and Flagler Pointe residents' opposition to that request was only the most recent battle between those in West Palm Beach who back new, tax revenue-generating development projects and others who fear that the city is losing its character and forsaking the rights of residents who already call it home.

In one way or another, that theme has run through recent discussions on a possible waterfront marina, a car wash expansion and even a jumbo dock on North Flagler.

Why Flagler Pointe residents are so opposed to the height increase

Michelle Tomlinson, a Flagler Pointe resident, urged commissioners to reject Temple Israel's request, noting that her condo complex could be flanked on both sides by tall development projects.

"If the projects are approved at such towering heights, I will be dismayed by the blatant disregard for the current owners and residents at Flagler Pointe and the commissioners' willingness to bow to these developers," Tomlinson wrote in an email to journalists at The Palm Beach Post.

"That would be a travesty. I would hope the reckless disregard would be remembered in future commissioner elections."

Opponents of Temple Israel's request argued that the organization, the oldest Jewish organization in Palm Beach County and one with a founding member — Joseph Mandel — who served as mayor of West Palm Beach in the 1920s, did not conduct enough outreach and was not forthcoming about what project would necessitate a higher building height allowance.

Harvey E. Oyer III, a powerhouse land-use attorney representing Temple Israel, disputed those claims, noting that the organization tried repeatedly to meet with Flagler Pointe residents and was only successful once, in August, when it was able to make a presentation to fewer than two dozen residents. And Oyer said Temple Israel is not hiding project plans because, at the moment, it has none.

"There is no project," Oyer told commissioners. "The temple is not moving. The temple has been in the north part of our city for 100 years. They're not going anywhere. What the temple is seeking is the same value as their neighbors received."

The backstory: An incentive to build on North Flagler goes back a decade

In 2014, West Palm Beach created the Currie Mixed Used District along North Flagler Drive in a bid to spur development in an area marked by vacant lots and economic distress. The city offered incentives, including increased building heights, as an inducement to developers.

It didn't work.

So the city took another crack at the problem in 2021, raising height allowances more. Some property owners, previously limited to a building height of 195 feet, were given permission to erect buildings of 300 and even 350 feet.

But Temple Israel's 1.8-acre tract, at the southern tip of the district, was not included in that higher building height allowance.

The organization sought to get a higher building height allowance, Oyer said, but it was told the city's new zoning plans were too far advanced to be changed. Temple Israel, Oyer said, was advised to come back at a later time and request a higher building height allowance.

That's what the group is doing now, Oyer said. Temple Israel, currently allowed to have a building of 202 feet, wants a zoning change that would allow for a structure of 306 feet.

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"As you're well aware, 100 more feet of development height adds a lot of intrinsic value to a property," Oyer told commissioners.

For the organization, whose building is 70 years old, that value could be used in a number of different ways, Oyer pointed out, including in a sale, a refinance or a rebuilding project.

"They have been talking to developers that they hope to work with to perhaps rebuild a temple on their site, bring back the school that used to serve that neighborhood, the preschool," Oyer said. "We're in desperate need of a preschool in the north end of our city, particularly with all of the young families that have moved to our community."

Temple Israel attorney: Synagogue is 'more than just a religious institution'

Oyer's pitch focused on fairness — what other district property owners were allowed and what Temple Israel was allowed. But he made sure to note the organization's long history in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County and its charitable work in both.

"This is not just a religious institution," Oyer said. "It is where the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered. This is not a land speculator, developer. This is one of the most integral parts of our community seeking the same treatment that all of their neighbors have received under the zoning code and, for some reason, they did not."

Several community big hitters backed Temple Israel's cause, including current and former leaders of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches and Gregg Weiss, a Palm Beach County Commission member who serves as the county mayor.

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"I'm asking on behalf of our congregation that you grant us the same property rights that you've granted our neighbors, that you treat us and our synagogue the same as you've treated the folks around us," Weiss said.

City Commission members said Temple Israel's request fit with their hope for the Currie Mixed Use District.

"I see the vision for the area," Commissioner Cathleen Ward said. "For the longest time, nobody's been wanting to develop in it. Nobody wants to put their money in that area. And, while I know it's hard to digest having a change, I think — given everything that we've learned — we do have sufficient evidence to be in favor of it."

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 wor; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Temple Israel in West Palm Beach gets initial approval for taller building