Season in Review: Reeling from explosive growth, Palm Beach confronts traffic, other woes
Growth management was one of the key issues confronted by the Town Council during Palm Beach's busy winter season.
As the town continues to draw new homeowners and more visitors, council members took steps to alleviate the concerns of residents who voiced frustrations with traffic congestion, parking, noise and safety.
The town's Business and Administrative Committee, led by council members Lew Crampton and Bobbie Lindsay, began looking at solutions for the town's long-standing parking challenges.
It created a 10-point plan to address these issues, with options including pre-paid parking stickers for residents, a shuttle service for hotel and restaurant employees, an expansion of paid parking using the ParkMobile app, and the addition of more free half-hour parking spaces.
Council members also approved a purchase order worth $330,795 to The Corradino Group to administer a traffic engineering and parking study, which will gather data for the town to review as it works to address parking scarcity and traffic congestion on the island.
As part of the study, The Corradino Group will review the traffic impact of existing restaurants in the town's commercial area, evaluate the existing parking supply in the commercial area, and review the origin and destination of the traffic traveling into the commercial area on a daily basis.
“We will collect data, do analysis, and figure out where you have real traffic and parking issues,” Joe Corradino, principal of The Corradino Group, told council members in February.
Future discussions will take place on the potential for regulating the number of restaurants or the distance between restaurants based on their location within the town, council members said at their January meeting.
Taking those steps could help preserve residents' quality of life and keep the town from becoming a regional destination, council members said.
"I think this is a very important issue for us to tackle," council member Bobbie Lindsay said. "It's part of our commitment to keeping Palm Beach, Palm Beach."
Safety also has been a top concern for council members, particularly on the town's busy roadways.
In December, the council authorized Mayor Danielle Moore to send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis to intervene in a Florida Department of Transportation plan to widen a portion of South Ocean Boulevard in the town's South End and expand a nearby recreation path.
The plan is unsafe for bicyclists, Moore wrote, and should be limited to milling and resurfacing the present roadway at its current width, and rebuilding the pedestrian path with limited widening and lengthening.
The Citizens' Association of Palm Beach also joined the letter-writing effort.
Last month, a town committee agreed to take a look at regulations that place limits on the use of bicycles and electric mobility devices on Palm Beach's roadways and sidewalks.
At the direction of the town council, the Ordinance, Rules and Standards Committee will review current laws that prohibit bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters on public sidewalks and roads in the town's commercial zoning districts, and consider whether to expand or alter those laws to include areas outside those districts.
The board also will look at limiting the popular Lake Trail to pedestrians only.
"We all realize the problems," Council President Maggie Zeidman told her colleagues at the March council meeting. "Let's send this to ORS and get a bigger dive into it."
Strategic planning and code review and reform moved forward during the winter season.
Moore chaired the town's eight-member Strategic Planning Board, which worked for more than a year to write a new long-range plan for the town.
The board has hosted focus groups and community engagement events in an effort to gather feedback to assist in that process.
In March, Jupiter-based training and consulting company Trainnovations outlined the board's activities and recommendations during a presentation to the council.
After a lengthy discussion, council members agreed to defer action until its meeting this month.
"It has been absolutely amazing," Moore told the Palm Beach Civic Association last month during its annual meeting at The Flagler Museum. "The committee has been terrific. We put together a group of residents who brought a diverse set of opinions, and who've worked really hard with a great team from Trainnovations. I've learned so much about the process and my fellow commissioners. I think we've accomplished a lot."
Code review and reform drew the attention of more than 300 residents and business owners who attended February's "Designing our Palm Beach Week" at the Mandel Recreation Center.
It included workshops, seminars and other events where updates to Palm Beach’s nearly 50-year-old zoning code could be discussed with the town's zoning consultants.
Sean Suder of ZoneCo, Joe Corradino of The Corradino Group and Joe Nickol of Yard & Co. are working on a total tear-down and ground-up rebuild of the town's commercial and residential zoning codes that govern land use and growth patterns.
"Designing Palm Beach Week had such incredibly positive feedback," Moore said. "There were over 200 people in the room for opening night, which gave everybody the overview of what was going to happen during the week. They were absolutely chock full at every session. I think the reason zoning reform and review have failed in the past is because they didn't follow this process. Everybody has had the opportunity to speak out and provide their input."
Town narrows water contract options
The council has been reviewing options to extend or replace its current water agreement with the city of West Palm Beach, which expires on Oct. 1, 2029.
Options include continuing the contract with West Palm Beach, and contracting with the city of Lake Worth Beach to provide water.
The town's Tax and Finance Committee will review the costs of the options and report back to the council, Moore said last month.
"The council has done a remarkably diligent job of checking every possible option and opportunity, and I think it will make the right decision," she said.
North Fire Station renovation underway
Construction on the top-to-bottom renovation of the North Fire-Rescue Station is expected to be complete by fall 2024, town administrators told the Daily News in March.
Crews have demolished the interior of the three-story building at 300 N. County Road, and are working on structural restoration.
Work on the $8 million project began last summer and will include a complete renovation of the landmarked structure, which was built in 1927.
Phipps Ocean Park revitalization plans approved
At its December meeting, the town council granted special exception and site plan approval for the Phipps Ocean Park redevelopment project.
Last month, council members approved plans to add a pair of pickleball courts and update the exterior of the lifeguard station as part of the $30 million project.
Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles is handling design development for the redesigned park, which will feature a new entrance, walking paths, a dune playground and a native plant propagation area.
"The Phipps Ocean Park revitalization is probably the opportunity of my lifetime to bring a significant project to the South End," Moore said last month. "We just have to be patient."
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach confronts code reform, traffic, parking for 2022-23 season
