Palm Beach's architectural panel OK'd 118 projects in 2023. But how many others got axed?

It’s a fact of life for many Palm Beach residents and real estate investors: Those who own property in this ultra-wealthy town typically have the resources to change things up. That might involve replacing one home with another, building anew on a vacant lot, renovating an older house or apartment or just making a few tweaks to make a home more livable.

Whatever the reason that drives the change, the powerful Architectural Commission has seen it all.

And 2023 was a busy year for the board, Chairman Jeffery Smith said Tuesday at Town Hall during his annual report to the Town Council.

In all, architectural commissioners reviewed and approved 118 projects last year, Smith said. The commission also deferred 82 projects for restudy, killed eight others outright and saw 11 others withdrawn from consideration. In 32 cases, commissioners voted to recommend the Town Council approve code-variance requests for projects .

But those numbers don’t include all the projects submitted by so-called “applicants” to Town Hall. Some project proposals that meet certain criteria — such as routine roof or window replacements — never make it to the commission for full consideration. Instead, the town’s planning, zoning and building staff reviews and makes decisions about them.

Last year, Town Hall received 711 staff-level applications, up 16% over the previous year. Of those projects, 592 won a thumbs up, while 110 were denied. In the latter cases, the applicants had the option to bring the project before the full commission for review.

The Town Council also has put in place a revised procedure for the review of certain projects that qualify under the “Projects Designation Manual Matrix.” Last year was the first calendar year in which that system was in place, Smith said.

Under the program, some applications that could be reviewed and approved solely by staff are instead presented to the commission chairman for input before heading back for a staff review or moved to the board’s regular agenda.

“Town staff as well as applicants have benefited greatly from the commission-chair review, which has streamlined (the board’s) agendas,” Smith told the Town Council, obliquely referring to past meetings so packed with projects that they sometimes stretched over two days.

Even so, board members last year racked up 75 hours attending their once-a-month meetings, for an average of 6½ hours per session. The seven voting commissioners — plus three alternate members — looked at 286 agenda items, a number that includes projects deferred more than once.

“The commissioners remain enthusiastic and engaged in their volunteer service to the town and look forward to the continued work of ensuring the high quality of development and redevelopment with the town,” said Smith, the principal architect at Smith Architectural Group in Palm Beach.

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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach's architecture board OK'd 118 projects, axed 11 in 2023