West Palm Beach deserves a better waterfront. The city listened. Now it must get to work.
West Palm Beach officials have done an admirable job reaching out to the public on how the city's showcase waterfront can be made even better for residents and visitors. Now the officials need to show they've listened.
There's plenty of cause for skepticism.
After all, there've been consultant reports in 1994, 2007, 2014, 2017... Some improvements got implemented, while many others fell by the wayside, from neglect, lack of enthusiasm at City Hall, lack of money, or in some cases, because urban designers got carried away with proposed features like giant geodesic domes or restaurants that would float in water three feet deep.
On the waterfront: West Palm Beach schedules public meetings to get ideas on waterfront development
At other times, the city pushed plans hatched without public consent. There's an office tower now rising 25 stories tall, 400 feet from Flagler Drive, in an area where the public twice voted that buildings should be limited to five stories. But city commissioners, led by Mayor Keith James, rewrote the rules to do a billionaire's bidding and that was that.
Several months ago a marina developer walked into city hall, and suddenly we learned of plans to block our beautiful Lake Worth Lagoon vistas with docks for dozens of yachts. The public outcry forced the city to back down. From that, though, emerged the laudable outreach now nearing a conclusion, to engage stakeholders in a conversation about the waterfront and its future. Several meetings were held to solicit opinions of those who live and work downtown and elsewhere in the city, and a survey was distributed. The meetings were recorded and placed on the city website, at yourwaterfront@wpb.org, for viewing by those who couldn't attend. We recommend you take a look.
One of the meetings was held April 20 in Mandel Public Library. It was led by Jennifer Ferriol, the city's director of Housing and Community Development and a downtown resident. Ferriol and consultant Tony Garcia, Miami-based co-founder of Street Plans, a firm specialized in "place-making," invited attendees to spell out what changes they'd like to see on and near the waterfront. The officials made clear the city knows the public doesn't want more docks.
"They did not hire me to rubber stamp the marina," Garcia said. "This is about public spaces and the land that goes along the waterfront."
Does West Palm Beach's open waterfront need a marina? Ask the public | Editorial
Attendees made clear they wanted views, peacefulness, and scenic open space. Their concerns: the homeless, parking, cleanliness, lack of shade, aggressive development and too much focus on cars. A number urged the city to do a better job maintaining what it has, and to make sure that whatever new features are incorporated in the design include maintenance. Ill-kept landscaping, empty planters, fallen palm fronds and dead sod were disappointments of past plans, they said.
Kiosks to encourage local start-up businesses would be fine, as long as they weren't blocking walkways or bicycle paths, some said, urging the officials not to confuse commercialization of public property with progress. Another said the city should extend the wide waterfront bike and pedestrian pathway to the north, where it's obstructed by the Palm Harbor marina and tennis courts near the Flagler Memorial Bridge.
County Commissioner Gregg Weiss urged the planners to conduct water quality tests of the lagoon before launching any projects that might affect it. Cynthia McNally, who served on the Downtown Development Authority, noted that the city should have sufficient money for waterfront-related work and maintenance, because of a special tax levied on downtown property owners.
The city plans to assemble a report on the comments and survey findings, along with consultant recommendations. There may be some quick fixes, along with other long-term improvements, she said, and sea level rise will need to be addressed. Garcia, for his part, noted that sea walls can be replaced with various configurations of steps leading down to the water. He pointed to plans that have succeeded in other cities in the U.S. and elsewhere. And he said that, based on public comments, improvements recommended in past plans but never implemented could be brought to the fore.
Experience has shown that consultant plans downtown can lead to great changes – an improved streetscape, a Great Lawn, a public pier, for example – or to nothing at all, if the city fails to put its weight and its money behind the transformation. However this plan emerges, though, it will be better because of the public's participation.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach received feedback on its waterfront. City must use it