Town Council - Development Review

TOWN OF PALM BEACH

Minutes of the Development Review Town Council Meeting Held on December 11,2024

1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

The Town Council Development Review meeting was called to order on December 11,2024, at 9:30 a.m. On roll call, all elected officials were found to be present.

Acting Town Clerk Churney gave the invocation. Council President Lindsay led the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. COMMENTS OF MAYOR DANIELLE H. MOORE

Mayor Moore wished everyone Happy Holidays and expressed her appreciation for the discussion on traffic at the Tuesday meeting.

IV. COMMENTS OF TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS

Council President Lindsay announced a 10 a.m. time certain for 376 S. County Road. She stated that the Town Council would decide at 11:30 a.m. whether the break was needed.

Council Member Moran thanked her fellow council members for making her feel TC Development Review Meeting Minutes 12-11-2025 1 of 13 welcome during her first year and wished everyone a Happy Holiday season.

Council President Lindsay wished everyone a Happy Holiday season. She also stated that Town Manager Blouin would implement a website where residents could comment on the traffic.

V. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS - 3-MINUTE LIMIT, PLEASE

VI. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Council President Pro Tem Crampton and seconded by Council Member Moran to approve the agenda as presented.

Mr. Cooney raised the construction hours that had passed at the meeting on Tuesday and asked to discuss when the hours would be in effect. He clarified that 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. would be set aside for quiet work. He had heard concern that an hour of quiet work time had been lost with the change compared to the rules in place.

The motion was carried unanimously, 5-0.

VII. REGULAR BUSINESS

A. Discussion Regarding Construction That Deviates From the Approved Permit Plans

Mr. Bergman introduced the item and explained the issues. He suggested a strike could be issued in the three-strike program once the staff determines a deviation. He suggested the Town Council consider adding a fee for this deviation. He stated that if the Town Council agreed, a code amendment could be prepared and presented at an upcoming meeting.

Council Member Cooney favored Mr. Bergman's suggestions. He thought incremental steps were needed. He agreed with Council Member Araskog but thought that the Planning, Zoning, and Building Department might be able to preserve some flexibility.

Council President Pro Tem Crampton agreed with Council President Lindsay and Council Member Araskog. He thought the inspections should be stepped up, even if that meant hiring another employee. He favored heavier fines and penalties.

* * *

Council Member Moran agreed and thought there were many reasons to support the decision, including adding items to long agendas and the neighbors that depended on the approved plans. However, she did not want minor changes to be subjected to this penalty.

Council President Lindsay called for public comment.

Jamie Crowley, an attorney who works in the town, stated he missed the public comment portion of the meeting and asked if he could raise an issue about traffic that occurred at the meeting on Tuesday. He discussed the change in construction hours for projects with existing permits and stated the projects were losing an additional hour of noisy work.

Discussion ensued about the construction hours to address Mr. Crowley's concern about contractors losing an hour of doing the noisier tasks associated with a construction project.

The Town Council stated that they would revisit the issue.

A motion was made by Council President Pro Tem Crampton and seconded by Council Member Moran to reopen the discussion on traffic mitigation strategies at the meeting on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. The motion carried 4-1, with Council Member Cooney dissenting.

A motion was made by Council President Pro Tem Crampton and seconded by Council Member Araskog to defer the discussion on traffic mitigation strategies to the January 14,2025, meeting. The motion carried 4-1, with Council Member Cooney dissenting.

The discussion returned to construction, which deviated from the approved permit plans.

Anne Pepper, 333 Seaspray Avenue, fully supported the changes and enforcement in the process.

Anne Fairfax, 455 Worth Avenue, thought fewer projects existed since the COVID pandemic. She wondered if the staff saw the same changes.

1. Does the Town Council support the PZC's consensus that staff should lead Zoning Code Review and Reform?

The Town Council unanimously agreed to allow Mr. Bergman and the staff to assemble a list of suggestions and return to a future meeting to present it to the Council.

A. Discussion Regarding Staff Lead on Code Review & Reform

Council Member Moran asked if a timeline could be created for staff to review TC Development Review Meeting Minutes 12-11-2025 3 of 13 and reform the zoning code, to which Mr. Bergman responded in the affirmative.

Council Member Cooney supported the changes suggested by staff. He expressed some reservations about placing the entire process on staff and was concerned about the workload. He thought incorporating some type of peer review would benefit the community.

Council Member Araskog agreed with Council Member Cooney's comments. She thought that architects and a land use attorney would be necessary, along with the review of Town Attorney O'Connor. She asked for regular updates from the staff.

Mayor Moore discussed the reasons for hiring the outside consultants, and Ms. Hofmeister-Drew discussed the qualified staff now in place to complete the code reform.

Council President Pro Tem Crampton thought that ZoneCo should remain a consultant since they were professionals and could continue bringing outside resources.