Palm Beach Gardens makes late push to persuade property owners to annex lands into city

PALM BEACH GARDENS — City officials made a final effort to quell concerns over a looming annexation vote by inviting residents of the unincorporated areas they hope to annex to City Hall last week.

Palm Beach Gardens made its first push toward the sprawling annexation plan in September, when council members announced they would seek to annex five areas now totaling 1,316 acres and 8,352 residents.

Officials said it was part of a larger strategy to round out the city’s boundaries, provide area residents with more representation and have greater control over development and redevelopment in those areas.

Voters living in the annexation areas are set to vote on the issue March 19. To be annexed into the city, voters in each of the five areas would need at least 50% of the vote plus one.

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City staff members gave a presentation during last week’s meeting and answered questions about the annexation, mostly about code compliance, property tax bills and sewer systems.

The open-house-style meeting Feb. 13 was quieter than the last. Only about 30 people attended compared to the more than 100 people who packed City Hall at the last informational meeting in October 2023.

“We hope to give people an accurate assessment of what this annexation would mean for their quality of life,” said Lori LaVerriere, deputy city manager. “Nothing dramatic is going to change. It’s going to be an improvement in the delivery of public services.”

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Many think the city will enforce stricter rules surrounding what a homeowner is allowed to do with their property, LaVerriere said. City officials say they will honor the code that the residents currently live under now in Palm Beach County.

“It is not our intent to disrupt your way of life or the unique character in your community,” LaVerriere said. “There’s some fear mongering out there saying, ‘You can't drive your work truck home anymore.’ That’s not the truth.”

City officials say property tax bills will vary on a case-by-case basis if the home is added to the city.

Neighborhoods will keep the sewer systems already in place if they are annexed into the city. If a community on septic tanks requests to connect to Seacoast Utility Authority sewer systems, the city could use grant funds to cover this cost, a spokesperson said.

City Hall meeting persuades some as others cry government overreach

Some residents in the proposed annexation zones started a donation-funded political committee called the Coalition Against Annexation in late November 2023, according to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections.

The Coalition Against Annexation has amassed more than $5,300 in donations, according to Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections records.

It has ordered hundreds of “vote against annexation” signs and they receive around 20 to 40 requests each week from area locals to plant signs in their yard, said Melissa Wiegand, one of its leaders.

The union representing Palm Beach County Fire Rescue firefighters, Local 2928 of the International Association of Firefighters, publicly supports the group, according to Jeffrey Newsome, the chapter’s president.

The five areas in question would be served by Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue if property owners vote to annex their lands to the city. However, Newsome said county firefighter jobs will not be affected if the annexation goes through.

“We are big enough and expanding in the central part of the county, so I think we can weather the storm,” Newsome said. “It’s not that we are going to have to worry about layoffs. It’s that we want to continue providing the best service available.”

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Members of the group have distributed literature to mailboxes at some homes in the areas asking them to vote against annexation and rallied with signs outside City Hall.

One of their brochures states that residents will face 15% higher property taxes, be subject to Palm Beach Gardens codes and have no new services if the annexation goes through.

These statements are at odds with projections listed on the city’s website and with information available from the Palm Beach County Property Tax Collector's Office. That information reported:

• Owners of homes valued at $411,250 — of which more than 70% of homes in the annexation areas are valued below — would end up with little difference in their tax bills.

• Those with homes valued at $250,000 would save $274.95 in taxes a year.

• Those with homes valued at $600,000 would pay $324.22 more in taxes, according to the city’s estimates.

Wiegand held up an anti-annexation sign on the sidewalk along Military Trail outside City Hall on the night of the last open house meeting.

“People are sick of government overreach,” said Wiegand, a resident of Area 1, the largest proposed annexation zone. “Everybody was blindsided by this. I feel like the city is completely ignoring our issues.”

Wiegand said she worries that the city will raise taxes and impose fines over code violations if the annexation goes through.

Thomas McCracken, another resident of Area 1, is leaning toward annexing into the city after having his questions answered at the meeting.

“I had easy conversations and the city staff are friendly people,” said McCracken. “I think a big benefit would be police protection. Palm Beach Gardens police are responsive and they already patrol right next to my house.”

Kenny and Patricia Goff received answers to tax questions they brought to the meeting, but are wary of any change to the neighborhood they’ve lived in since 1970.

“We’ve been in our house for a long time and raised our family there,” Patricia said. “This would be something totally different. I’m undecided about how I will vote and still have concerns.”

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Hidden Key neighborhood files lawsuit to stop annexation

Four residents of Hidden Key, a neighborhood along Jack Nicklaus Drive in the Area 1 annexation zone, have taken the city to court in an effort to stop the proceedings.

The lawsuit they filed in January claims that their zone is not compact or contiguous to the city, which are both state law requirements for annexation. It asks a judge to cancel the ballot question for Area 1 residents completely.

Area 1 is by far the largest of the five annexation zones. It stretches from Alternate A1A east to U.S. 1, and from Donald Ross Road to south of PGA Boulevard. It encompasses 1,244 acres and would bring 3,607 residences and 7,760 people into the city. Other communities in the zone are Cabana Colony, Crystal Point and Frenchman’s Landing.

The county Supervisor of Elections Office has already printed ballots and issued vote-by-mail ballots.

An appellate panel was assigned to rule on the case. It will be made up of a group of three judges.

“The lawsuit’s main goal is to invalidate this annexation zone, which is massive, not only in size, but also in scope,” said Nicholas Gieseler, the Stuart-based lawyer representing the Hidden Key residents. “Instead of doing individual annexation zones, the city tried to combine them all into one huge zone.”

Giesler asked the court to expedite the case in early February. In the city’s response, City Attorney R. Max Lohman wrote that the argument that Area 1 is not contiguous to the city’s boundaries is false.

The choice to put an area in its own zone is up to municipalities, not the court, Lohman wrote.

“Petitioners request this Court to expedite review of this matter in the hope that this Court might rule in their favor and deny their 5,220 neighbors the right to vote on the annexation,” Lohman wrote.

“Even if the annexation of Area 1 is passed by the voters, the Court retains the power to invalidate the results if the Court were to grant the petition. There is no irreparable harm. There is no necessity for an immediate resolution.”

A hearing date has not been set, court records showed last week.

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Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Gardens makes late push to persuade property owners to annex lands