North Palm Beach Life - Village of North Palm Beach Master Plan

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Opinion: Where Do We Go from Here?

North Palm Updates Draft of Master Plan

The Village of North Palm Beach has updated a draft of the Village's Master Plan that was prepared by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. They note the file is large (204 screens, to be exact), but is a wide-ranging overview of North Palm -- past, present and future. Expect a workshop on this "at the end of July or beginning of August. In the meantime, comments are welcomed. The Village would like to thank everyone for their participation in this process."

Go here for the updated draft.
Comments on the Draft by Village Manager Jim Kelly

Interview: Mayor Robert Gebbia

Village of North Palm Beach Mayor Robert Gebbia sat down with me in the Village Council Chambers recently and neatly summarized the challenge the city faces. How do you maintain the feel of a "Mayberry RFD" and set the foundation for future growth at the same time?

Read More.

Clubhouse Presentation: Feb. 10-11, 2016

Public Meetings: Jan. 30 - Feb. 5

'Work in Progress'
Presentation
Available on
Village website

Click Here

The Master Plan presentation Feb. 5 at the Conservatory School
Photos by North Palm Beach Life

"WORK IN PROGRESS PRESENTATION"

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life/ northpalmlife@gmail.com

A week of meetings, analysis and study came to a conclusion Feb. 5 at 6 pm at the Conservatory School, where the process started a week earlier. Dana Little, Urban Design Director for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, presented the "Work in Progress" Master Plan to the residents and city officials.

Little started by thanking the residents for their efforts and input, saying they had the best turnout for any project that "didn't involve a contentious issue." Residents also were glowing in their praise for the city and the planning council's involvement as the Village maps a 10-year plan for future growth and development.

The overall goal, Little explained, is to "accommodate future growth but maintain the scale and character of the Village."

Little and his team then proceeded to go through economic facts and figures that would help lay the foundation for the concepts and ideas in the Master Plan draft.

Among the points made:

On average, the Village has grown by 9 people a year over the last 15 years. In comparison, over that same period, Jupiter has grown by 1,000 a year; Palm Beach Gardens by 1,300 a year and West Palm Beach by 1,600 a year.
There are 6,800 jobs in the Village -- 1.2 percent of all jobs in Palm Beach County.
Office space vacancy in the Village stands at 52 percent, with several aging buildings.
There are 7,900 housing units in the Village, 1,000 of which are seasonal.
Housing vacancies are less than 5 percent - very strong.
The strength of sales at Water Club demonstrate a pent-up demand for new housing.
Data shows strong market potential for a new hotel. They cited a Hyatt Place-type hotel as a good fit.
The Village has an "extraordinary amount" of mid-Century architecture, which is a hot item in real estate (example - Palm Springs, Ca.)
Over the next 5 years, the Village has an opportunity to reclaim $38 million in retail spending from the current $118 million in spending taking place outside the city.

Little then took the audience through some of the concepts and ideas his team developed in concert with suggestions from the residents and the city over the past week. They included:

Addressing the US 1 -Lakeshore-Parker Bridge traffic conflicts by working with the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) to look at lane and signal changes.
Consider adaptive re-uses for Crystal Tree Plaza that would include residential units.
A "Big Idea" for the Parker Bridge: Route US 1 UNDER the IntraCoastal via a tunnel, allowing both vehicle and marine traffic to move freely.
Transform the area that includes the Country Club and North Palm Beach Marina into a mixed use, 4-6 story center similar in appearance to buildings in Portofino, Italy.
Consider traffic calming options and bicycle lanes along Lighthouse and Anchorage.
The proposal to add a water taxi at various stops hit a roadblock from deed restrictions and various regulations -- but that could be overcome if the desire is strong enough.
Beautify areas of Prosperity Farm Rd. through road landscaping changes.
Re-development plan for the Earman River -- the Village should take full advantage of the water.
Work with Lake Park to re-develop the Twin Cities Mall site. Consider moving Publix to the street as part of that. Add parks and streets.
Consider having a Village Center near the land where the Post Office currently is.
Consider expansion of the Conservatory School, adding grades 9-12.
US 1 through the Village -- 4 lanes or 6? Options were presented that showed how four lanes would allow better use of the roadway for bicycles and pedestrians, as well as beautification. Again, Little pointed out the current six-lane portion of US 1 is well under trip capacity and is projected to remain so until 2040.

Much of what is proposed is contingent on changes in the zoning code, which all agree is too restrictive and out-of-date. That work is also ongoing.

What's next? Little and his team will craft a final draft over the next several months for presentation to the city council by late spring. Then it will be up to the mayor and the council to decide what actions to take.

Inside the North Palm Council Chambers, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council architects and planners work on implementing the findings from a week of public hearings into the Master Plan presentation, set for Friday at 6 pm at the Conservatory School on Anchorage. (NPBL Photos)

Notes from Jan. 30 Kick-off session at
the Conservatory School cafeteria

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life/northpalmlife@gmail.com

Opening presentation by Dana Little, Urban Design Director for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council:

Objective: Improve mobility, quality of life and economic vitality of the Village."
"This was an eight-month process to get to this point."
"Magical" is the description of the Village that came up repeatedly.
"The Village is 5.8 square miles; 2.2 square miles of that is water."
While it was initially a "bedroom" community for the 6,000 workers at Pratt and Whitney, it is really a "maritime community" with access to water spread throughout.
The Village has a diversity of buildings and uses; there was no "cookie cutter" approach to growth -- it "evolved over time."
It was noted that 30 percent of land use is devoted to roads. US 1, the major north-south artery, has a 4-lane/6-lane/4- lane configuration as it goes through the Village. The six lane-portion is well under capacity and projected to stay that way through 2040. Is there an opportunity to reduce lanes and make improvements that accommodate pedestrians, bicycles and shopping?
The next five years: 260 added households; more residents 55-plus.
The average yearly spend on retail and dining out: $24,000; amount of yearly spending going outside the Village: $118 million.
Office space has a 28-41 percent vacancy rate; obsolete buildings and bridge access is a challenge.
Burying power poles: The cost would be $17 million per mile.
Garbage pickup is five days a week. Should that be continued?
The Village has excellent schools -- well positioned for a stable population.
What is the best use of the shopping area at Northlake and US 1?
How to make better use of the Earman River.
Question: "Where is the Village in the Village of North Palm Beach"? Where is the town center?

Workgroup Sessions

Following the presentation, residents gathered into 12 workgroups to talk about what recommendations or suggestions they would want to see in the 10-year Master Plan. After lunch, a spokesman for each group presented their ideas. Here is a sampling of those:

"The Golf Club is the Village downtown."
"Establish a ferry that would take people from Lakeside Park to the beach at MacArthur Park."
"Create an outdoor amphitheater across from the Country Club."
"Make the area from the Country Club to North Palm Beach Marina a focal point for the Village."
"Beautification -- plant more trees along US 1 and Prosperity Rd -- make improvements to the west side of the Village."
"Create a 'wow' factor at the entry points to the Village."
"Create a K-12 school."
"Build a boutique hotel across from the Country Club."
"Have a water taxi that would connect parks and shopping."
"Create a skateboard park"
"New motto: 'Live-work-stay and play in the Village of North Palm Beach."
"Implement a bicycle rental program."
"Create a river walk on the Earman River."
"Reduce the six lanes on US 1 to four lanes to make it more pedestrian-friendly and create parallel parking."
"Follow the example of Boca Raton and control traffic lights on demand via cameras to avoid backups."