Four Arts zoning proposal gets thumbs up from Palm Beach planning board

A proposal to create a zoning district that will pave the way for a $150 million renovation project at the Society of the Four Arts has received a positive review from Palm Beach's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Commissioners voted unanimously — with Vice Chair Eric Christu and Commissioner Jorge Sanchez recused, and alternates William Gilbane and Nicki McDonald voting in their stead — on March 5 to recommend approval of the pair of proposed measures to create a Cultural Institutions zoning district and change the town's comprehensive plan to create a future land use that would match the new zoning.

Past Coverage: Palm Beach council sends Four Arts zoning request to Planning and Zoning Commission

With that recommendation in hand, the Four Arts' requests now returns for a marathon of reviews in the coming week, first going before the Town Council on Tuesday, then the Town Council as the Local Planning Agency and as the Development Review Committee during two sessions on Wednesday.

The project already faced the Town Council twice for review before going to the Planning and Zoning Commission, as part of Palm Beach's development review process. The council has not yet voted to approve or deny the applications but provided feedback on the proposals at the January and February meetings of the Development Review Committee.

Attorney Harvey Oyer, agent for the Four Arts, told the planning board that the Four Arts and fellow Palm Beach institution the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum have been burdened over the years by their current placement in a low-density district. "We do not fit in any respect with a single-family residential zoning district," he said.

The Four Arts campus alone is 10 acres with a variety of uses, including the King Library, children's library, performance hall, education center and sculpture and botanical gardens. Oyer said the Four Arts, founded in 1936, has served the town more than any other organization in Palm Beach's history.

"I would venture to say that there is no other town in America the size of the town of Palm Beach that has this level and quantity and quality of offering," he said. "We are truly unique in that sense."

After 88 years of serving the town, parts of the campus are in serious need of repairs and renovations, Oyer said.

What did the Four Arts propose?

The Four Arts requests include a proposed new Cultural Institutions zoning district, which would define what qualifies as a cultural institution while creating specifications for how a property in the zoning district could be used.

The Four Arts also suggested a comprehensive plan amendment that would create a future land use of "private group use." That is to correct an error that Oyer has said the town made 35 years ago, when it created a private group use designation but did not create any zoning districts to go with it — a violation of state law, Oyer told the Town Council.

The staff agrees with Oyer when it comes to the issue of creating a private group use, said town planner Jennifer Hofmeister-Drew.

The town is currently going through an extensive zoning code review and rewrite, led by consultant Sean Suder of ZoneCo. Oyer said he consulted with town staff and Suder in drafting the pair of proposed changes.

Members of the Town Council and Planning and Zoning Commission expressed some hesitation about moving forward with the proposals while the zoning code rewrite is going on. Commission Chair Gail Coniglio asked whether it was putting the cart before the horse.

Time is of the essence, Oyer said of the work that needs to be done at the Four Arts. "I recognize and acknowledge it's a big ask, but it's not going to happen on a timeframe that works for us otherwise," he said, referring to the zoning changes.

As the commission went through the proposed zoning district line by line, several changes were suggested, including increased setbacks on the sides of a property in the proposed district, clarifying the definition of a cultural institution and specifying what kind of food service could be provided.

Four Arts eyeing major renovation

Oyer and the Four Arts' sense of urgency is driven by both the need for the work to be done on the campus and the need to capitalize on fundraising momentum the institution currently has, Oyer and Four Arts representatives told the commission.

As the campus has grown over the decades, it has accumulated buildings adapted from other uses, Oyer said, noting in particular the Esther B. O’Keeffe Building and Rovensky Administration Building on the Four Arts' south side.

The Rovensky Building previously was a car dealership on the ground floor with apartments above. It now houses offices, the headquarters for the garden club and the children's library. The O'Keeffe Building was the private Embassy Club built by Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner and real estate developer Paris Singer. It was renovated by another noted Palm Beach architect, John Volk, and the 700-seat Gubelmann Auditorium was added.

Philip Rylands, president and chief executive of the Four Arts, told the commission that the renovation seeks to solve many of the issues the organization faces.

The O'Keeffe and Rovensky buildings are lodged in the past, he said. The children's library on the third floor of the Rovensky is too small, and access is not safe. The Gubelmann Auditorium has no green room, no backstage and no support areas, Rylands said. The box office is makeshift, he said, and the air conditioning, security, lighting and sound systems are outdated.

"The project aesthetically enhances the Palm Beach visual environment, but it is also functional, in practical terms, of the needs, comfort and general enhancement of the experience of those people whom the Four Arts serves," Rylands said.

A key to the project is the extension of the third floor of the Rovensky Building, he said. Commissioners questioned whether a third story on a building in the proposed Cultural Institutions district was necessary. The Town Council would need to grant a special exception to allow a three-story building in the proposed district.

The renovation has an estimated price tag of $150 million, all of which would be raised by the Four Arts, representatives told the commission.

Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, chair of the Four Arts' capital campaign, said every day the project is delayed is another day they lose opportunities to fundraise.

"The Four Arts is suffering from facilities that are inadequate for the quality of the programming and the gifts that we give to the community," she said, adding later, "People give to the Four Arts, but they don't give to the unknown."

The children's library in particular is in dire need of updating and repairs, said Robert Forbes, a Four Arts board and executive committee member as well as chair of the organization's library committee.

"To accomplish our vision for a new children's library under the constraints of our residential zoning will be very difficult for you and us, with a terrifying array of multitudinous, tedious, time-consuming and costly variances," Forbes said.

Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Four Arts zoning gets thumbs up from Palm Beach planning board