Palm Beach residents one step closer to safety after panel OKs new gate for North End home

Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News
Updated ·4 min read
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Just west of Palm Beach's iconic Annie's Dock is a home at 1616 N. Ocean Blvd., where strangers have often come uninvited onto the property, thanks in part to the lack of parking in the surrounding area near the inlet.
Just west of Palm Beach's iconic Annie's Dock is a home at 1616 N. Ocean Blvd., where strangers have often come uninvited onto the property, thanks in part to the lack of parking in the surrounding area near the inlet.

After years of enduring trespassing and disturbances, the owners of 1616 N. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach may soon find respite after the Architectural Commission unanimously voted in favor of two driveway gates at the property.

While commissioners struggled to accept the simple black aluminum gates in a neighborhood where only larger oceanfront estates have gates, issues regarding safety at the property overrode any concerns over style and location.

“I was going to deny the project, but I wasn’t aware of the security concerns, and I think that’s an overriding issue,” said Alternate Commissioner Dan Floersheimer during the Dec. 15 meeting.

The 7,966-square-foot modern-style home, owned by Joan Eigen, David Eigen and Wendy Haigney, faces the inlet at the northern tip of the island and stands immediately adjacent to the municipal dock, which is often referred to by longtime locals as Annie’s Dock, a popular location on the island for residents, visitors and anglers.

More: Annie’s Dock once stood at Palm Beach’s north tip

However, thanks to the dock’s small size, popularity and lack of parking, visitors have consistently entered the yard at No. 1616 through the North Ocean Boulevard driveway entrances or a small access gate on the property's northeast corner.

The property is fenced in by a 6-foot-plus hedge barrier that fills the gap between the entrances.

The Architectural Commission has frequently declined to approve property owners’ requests for new driveway gates in neighborhoods where most of homes don’t have them. Among its duties, the design panel is tasked with ensuring that the look of any new residential construction projects appear in harmony with neighboring residences.

The Palm Beach Architectural Commission has endorsed a project to add security gates a house at 1616 N. Ocean Blvd. next to the public dock at the northern tip of Palm Beach.
The Palm Beach Architectural Commission has endorsed a project to add security gates a house at 1616 N. Ocean Blvd. next to the public dock at the northern tip of Palm Beach.

But there are exceptions.

“It was about 30 (police reports) in one year” that helped prompt the owner's request for gates, said project attorney Maura Ziska during the Dec. 15 meeting.

According to Joan Eigen, who has resided at the property since its construction in the late 1970s, the location has always made it susceptible to unplanned visits from strangers.

“We thought about putting a gate up in the past, but we decided not to, since at the time it was just neighborhood kids and the occasional dog pooping on our lawn,” she told the Palm Beach Daily News.

Through the years, the type of visitors changed, and with it, so did the family's sense of safety and privacy. In July 2021, a police report was filed that said a man in his mid-20s had parked his car in their driveway, then screamed and paced through the yard and pool area.    

In one July 2021 episode, a man marooned himself on the Palm Beach property at 1616 N. Ocean Blvd.'s driveway, yelling at the top of his lungs while pacing the front yard and pool area.
In one July 2021 episode, a man marooned himself on the Palm Beach property at 1616 N. Ocean Blvd.'s driveway, yelling at the top of his lungs while pacing the front yard and pool area.

When confronted, the man asked for water and gas money, the report said. He only left the property after his mother drove from Jupiter to the North End residence to deliver gas to the unruly if stranded man.

It was just one of the more than 30 instances of intrusions reported to police between March 2021 and March 2023. The majority of the incidents occurred in 2022, the reports show.

In a previous 2020 incident, a man had planned a marriage proposal on the municipal dock and invited a large number of guests to witness the event. About 20 of them decided to watch from the Eigens' front lawn, all without asking for permission to enter the property, said Joan Eigen.

In the most recent incident, reported Dec. 16, a pot blocking the northeast access gate to the property had allegedly been stolen.  

More: Third time's a charm: Pinson returns to lead Palm Beach Board of Realtors

With this level of disruption, the owners believed they had only one choice, Joan Eigen said: install the proposed sliding metal gate. That meant seeking a zoning variance, as such a gate would normally require a 9-foot-wide and 18-foot-deep driveway entrance between the gate and road.

She was thankful, she said, that planning officials fully supported of the gate. She attributed that to both the severity of the problem and her longstanding good relationship with the town.

Ziska also highlighted the town's support during the architectural board meeting.

“We’ve actually consulted with (Public Works Director) Paul Brazil and he’s also in support of this,” Ziska said during the meeting.

Following a brief discussion, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the design and in a separate vote, unanimously recommended the Town Council approve the variance, which will be presented during the council’s Jan. 11 Development Review meeting.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach board signs off on gate for besieged North End home