Vote moves Acreage truckers' wish to park tractor-trailers on their lots closer to happening

THE ACREAGE — Truckers in The Acreage scored a victory Wednesday when Palm Beach County commissioners took the first step toward allowing them to store large tractor-trailers on their properties.

They have been arguing with county officials since 2018 when code-enforcement officers began to cite them for violating the current ordinance that bars the storage of any vehicle weighing more than 12,500 pounds and that limited owners to one vehicle.

Under a new ordinance, two vehicles could be stored and the weight limit would increase to 16,000 pounds for most rural areas, but for properties covered by The Acreage Neighborhood Plan, the weight limit would rise to 80,000 pounds, and two of them could be stored.

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Without the zoning-code changes, the truckers face the likelihood of having to get rid of their trucks along with having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in code enforcement fines. Currently, 61 truckers face citations.

The commission voted 4-3 to advertise a zoning-code change to benefit the truckers, but the decision stoked fears that truckers from throughout South Florida will flock to The Acreage to park their tractor-trailers.

Voting to have the ordinance advertised, which is needed before it can be voted upon, were Mayor Maria Sachs and Commissioners Marci Woodward, Sara Baxter and Mack Bernard. Commissioners Gregg Weiss, Michael Barnett and Maria Marino opposed it.

The vote followed a two-hour-plus public hearing. The commission will revisit the issue in January when a second public hearing will be held. At least one commissioner, Barnett, said he will push for changes then.

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What concerned Barnett and Marino was that the vote overrode a recommendation by county planners that only those truckers operating as of Aug. 30, 2023, be allowed to benefit.

“We got more than we bargained for,” said state Rep. Rick Roth of the decision to allow new truckers to come to The Acreage. Roth has been working closely with truckers to revise the zoning code. He participated with them in demonstrations outside the county administration building earlier in the year.

Roth told The Palm Beach Post that including the Aug. 30, 2023, date was a reasonable compromise, adding he is concerned that opposition now could grow once the issue returns for another public hearing in January. Barnett said he will lobby to include the August date at the next public hearing.

“What we are saying is that there could be tens of thousands of these large trucks in The Acreage,” said Marino. “I cannot support that.”

There are 15,800 parcels and 21,500 acres in The Acreage Neighborhood Plan. About 45,000 people live in the rural area north of Royal Palm Beach. Marino wanted to keep the weight limit to 16,000 pounds.

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The ordinance was approved over the objection of the Indian Trail Improvement District, the agency that maintains the mostly unpaved road system in The Acreage.

Burgess Hanson, its executive director, said the presence of tractor-trailers will cause annual maintenance and repair expenses to increase by more than $800,000. And Hanson noted that the district cannot place more of those costs onto the owners of the trucks. The costs would have to be equally shared by all residents, he said.

“We cannot place this type of financial burden on all taxpayers that will only benefit a small group,” said Hansen. “Our roads are not designed for repeated usage by these trucks.”

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Baxter, the proponent of the change, said keeping the ordinance as is would force scores of small businesses to shut down. Many of them, she said, have been parking their tractor-trailers in The Acreage for more than 20 years.

Jorge Garcia is one of them. He testified that he has two large flatbed trucks. Problems started when Westlake and other residential developments in the region were built, he said, adding, “I feel like they are trying to push me out.”

Baxter called the fear that thousands of truckers will relocate to The Acreage misguided, noting that only owner operators will be able to store the semis. The trucks must leave no earlier than 6 a.m. and return no later than 8 p.m.

“This is a way to preserve a way of life,” Baxter said. “Only one area of the county is impacted.”

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RTS Carrier Services, a company that assists smaller trucking companies, reports on its web site that there are currently about 3 million tractor-trailers on the road but only 300,000 overnight parking spaces. Simply put, RTS says there are too many trucks and not enough parking spaces.

The truckers in The Acreage have repeatedly said there is no other place for them to park their trucks if the current ordinance is enforced. County officials say that they have noticed truckers illegally park along shoulders of roads in unincorporated western areas of the county.

From Nov. 22 to Nov. 24, a Post reporter observed 14 tractor-trailers parked along the south side of Boynton Beach Boulevard at its intersection with State Road 7. Such parking is illegal, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, and the owners of the trucks could be ticketed.

By Nov. 27, all but one of the trucks were gone.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Truckers move step closer to storing tractor-trailers on Acreage lots