Palm Beach zoning code review delayed until next season

When residents return for the Palm Beach season, they’ll be welcomed with a complete draft of the town’s new zoning code, after town consultants and officials agreed this week to pause their review until the draft is finished.

Planning and Zoning commissioners, meeting Tuesday, and the consultant leading the drafting process, Sean Suder of ZoneCo., agreed to delay the review after commissioners expressed concerns about the limitations proposed for low-density residential districts.

During the commission's April meeting, members criticized the draft's subcategories for the town's lower-density residential districts, limitations placed on a house's location on a lot, and a home's required distance from the street.

"The more restrictions you keep putting on these areas— you cannot build what we love in Palm Beach," Alternate Commissioner Dragana Connaughton said.

That section had been the one most reviewed by town officials, having been completed at the end of 2023.

During the five zoning code-related meetings, spanning from November to April, the commission was also presented with ZoneCo.'s studies of the town’s Midtown commercial district zoning as well as zoning for the island’s condominium-laden South End, alongside zoning recommendations for the two regions. Both presentations were also met with apprehension, with the commission worrying that placing hard limitations on design choices in Midtown's commercial district could limit the architectural flavor that defines Palm Beach.

"I don't know where we go from here, because there is a lot of open questions," Chair Gail Coniglio said during the April meeting.

To circumvent any more roadblocks slowing down the drafting process, Town Planner Jennifer Hofmeister-Drew recommended taking an approach akin to the draft Comprehensive Plan review: Having the document written in full before initiating a line-by-line review. Suder concurred, noting the interrelation between districts, and the countless zoning laws not tied to specific districts.

During May’s meeting, he noted that beyond drafting the remaining districts, ZoneCo. will also focus on alleviating the commission's concerns regarding low-density residential districts.

He said that instead of designing residential zoning regulations around street width and whether they are a block near the ocean, inland, or part of the island's "Sea" streets — Seaspray, Seabreeze and Seaview avenues — the firm is considering taking an approach that considers a property's immediate context; namely, the buildings near or surrounding it.

Commissioners and town officials also gave recommendations to policies they hoped to see in the new zoning code.

Commissioner Michael Vincent John Spaziani said the zoning code should incentivize the construction of buildings that can be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certified, stating that the town should be leading the nation as a environmentally sustainable community.

Hofmeister-Drew recommended revising the definition of "town-serving status" in the zoning code, a status required for all town private businesses. She said a revision would help town officials limit future commercial developments that would be regional attractions.

Regarding the town's South End, Commissioner Richard Kleid asked Suder to create a survey that could be passed to the board of directors of the various condominiums that define the region. Suder said he will work with town staff to deliver that survey during the summer, and plan a future meeting with representatives from South End's condos.

With the draft expected to be complete by September, Suder said commissioners can meet with him one on one during the summer to discuss the finer details in the draft zoning code. He also recommended commissioners invite their favorite architects to these one-on-one meetings, to ensure the future zoning code does not limit the the architectural designs unique to Palm Beach.

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.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Full draft of new zoning code will be available when season starts