ESPERANTE OWNERS JOIN FIGHT AGAINST ZONING DISTRICT
Suit says new zoning violates city, state rules, will affect rents, value.
WEST PALM BEACH — The city effort to spark office development on Okeechobee Boulevard has sparked three new legal actions by the owners of the Esperante office tower.
Esperante owners 222 Lakeview LLC say the city’s creation of the Okeechobee Business District violated West Palm Beach and state rules and would decrease the value of their building by allowing another tower to be built in front of it, blocking waterfront views.
The city commission approved the new zoning district last month, designating the blocks from CityPlace to the waterfront a special zoning area to create incentives for office construction, including allowing a 25-story tower in a previously five-story zone at Okeechobee and Flagler Drive, in front of the Esperante.
Nat Nason, attorney for 222 Lakeview, said the company has an appraisal that confirms a building in that spot would decrease Esperante rents and its overall value because many of its offices would lose views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the ocean. “Conceptually or intuitively, you put up a building that blocks those views, you know it’s going to have an impact,” he said.
Nason filed three actions: ■ Petitioned the State Department of Administrative Hearings for a hearing on the city’s alleged failure to follow its comprehensive plan and procedures. The city acted without sufficient data to justify the zoning change, he said.
■ Filed a writ seeking circuit court review of the city’s passage of the Okeechobee Business District ordinance, contending that the ordinance amounts to spot zoning — a move to favor one property.
■ Sued in circuit court for
“declaratory and injunctive relief,” again saying the city didn’t follow its own rules and that the city attorney, commission, planning board and development services director failed to follow proper procedure and violated due process requirements as well as spot zoning prohibitions.
City Administrator Jeff Green said Monday the city believes it complied with the rules. The city is moving to expedite the court actions.
“We’re moving forward because we believe we are right,” he said.
Mayor Jeri Muoio has said the district is needed because the city’s shortage of Class A office space is discouraging high-end employers from moving into the city. Opponents contend she is favoring The Related Cos., which wants to build on the Flagler Drive site, at the expense of citizen efforts not to allow tall buildings next to the waterfront.
Other opponents include Palm Beach County and the town of Palm Beach, which have pressed for traffic studies to ensure that future development on the Okeechobee corridor downtown doesn’t snarl traffic. The city counters that it has conducted a mobility study to specify methods for easing traffic and encouraging alternatives to cars.