Rules eased for farming region
County Commission’s vote makes it simpler to develop small parcels.
More residential and commercial development is on the way in Palm Beach County’s Agricultural Reserve, a 22,000-acre farming zone located west of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach that has been the focal point of the ongoing debate about growth in the county.
During a contentious allday meeting Monday, county commissioners voted to loosen rules limiting development in the reserve. Commissioners also gave preliminary approval to a request that would allow a 17-acre packing plant site at the northeast corner of State Road 7 and Clint Moore Road to be developed for nonresidential uses.
Environmentalists and preservationists decried the moves as a sop to developers at the expense of the need for open space and farmland.
“They clearly disregarded the will of the people who live here,” said Barry Silver, a former state legislator who opposed the changes.
Supporters said the county merely righted a wrong by giving smaller landowners in the reserve the same opportunity larger landowners have had to sell their land.
“Liberty and justice for all,” said Kevin Costello, a nursery operator in the Ag Reserve who pushed for the rule change. “And now we’ve got justice.”
Developers looking to build in the Ag Reserve must preserve 60 acres for every 40 they develop. And if the parcel they want to use to meet that preservation requirement is smaller than 150 acres, it must be contiguous to other land already in preservation.
The goal was to allow for some development in the reserve while at the same time preserving much of it for agriculture.
But smaller landowners complained that the rules unfairly depressed the value of their land, forcing them to remain in unprofitable nursery or farming operations. As big parcels in the reserve got snapped up, developers found it increasingly difficult to meet the county’s preservation requirement.
In stepped the commission, which directed county staff members to come up with a solution.
That solution called for the abolition of the so-called contiguity requirement. Developers still would have to set aside 60 acres for every 40 they develop, but, if they used parcels smaller than 150 acres, those parcels would no longer have to be contiguous to land already in preservation.
The Commission voted 5-2 in favor of that change, which was opposed by Commissioners Melissa McKinlay and Paulette Burdick.
Commissioners who supported the staff ’s recommendation saw multiple benefits: Nursery operators and farmers would get a better price for their land; developers would have more options; and more land — as much as 1,000 acres — would be set aside for preservation. A win-win-win, right? No, no, no, environmentalists and preservationists said.
Smaller preservation parcels don’t have the same environmental value as larger ones, they argue. More development, they add, will lead to more road construction, more traffic, more water usage. All the while, valuable farmland that rarely, if ever, freezes will be paved over, they say.
“I think this is a crucial moment in the history of Palm Beach County,” said Drew Martin, conservation chair of the Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club. “We implore you to take a step back and look at what’s going on here.”
Most commissioners, however, rejected the idea that the change was a big one. They noted that a master plan for the reserve — which was not officially adopted but which has served as a general guide — anticipated that 14,000 housing units would be built in the area. Public land sales and purchases reduced that antic- ipated number to about 13,000 housing units.
Commissioners said dropping the contiguity rule change would not take the number of units anticipated for the reserve beyond 13,000, but it could set aside for preservation as much as 1,000 acres.
“The key is to do no harm,” Commissioner Priscilla Taylor said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Those who opposed the contiguity rule change also argued against allowing the Thomas family’s packing plant to be developed for nonresidential purposes.
Initially, the change request generated opposition from many in The Oaks, an upscale gated community west of Boca Raton and just southeast of the reserve.
But in talks with property owners, the Thomas family agreed to several development limitations, including a promise that no big box retailers would be brought in, nor would a funeral home, a gas station or a self-storage facilit y.
Those changes squashed opposition in The Oaks’ property owners’ association. Commissioners voted 6-1 for preliminary approval of the Thomas request, which could be given final approval in January.
Burdick, who cast the lone vote against the request, said approving the Thomas request would set a precedent. Commissioners, she said, would have a hard time turning down requests from other landowners who want to rezone their property even if doing so is against the public interest. “How do we say no?” Burdick asked.