The Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday supported plans for the Super Target store on Okeechobee Blvd. to demolish its defunct garden center and replace it with a landscaped area.
Site Plan Coordinator Kevin Erwin said that the store, which is at the northwest corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and State Road 7, is part of the Fox Property commercial development. It was annexed into the village in 2006 after the Target store had already been constructed.
Erwin noted that the existing garden center has been closed and vacant for a number of years.
“They will be removing the fencing and the other portions of the garden center, and they’re going to paint the building and patch the stucco so that everything matches the existing building,” he said, adding that village staff recommends approval.
Commissioner Joseph Boyle asked about the open area that will remain, and Erwin said that Target has provided a landscape plan for Argentine Bahia sod, eight trees and a hedge along the side of the building. He said the landscaping meets all code requirements.
Commissioner Jackie Larson was glad something was being done about the shuttered garden center space. “I’m glad to see you’re doing some landscaping here,” she said. “I think it’ll look great.”
Larson made a motion to approve the application, which carried 5-0.
In other business:
• The commissioners unanimously recommended approval of changes to a previous application by the International House of Pancakes planned for the Coral Sky Shopping Center to eliminate awnings that were found to conflict with existing tenant signage, and reconfigure the remaining awnings.
Erwin said that the IHOP signs, blue awnings and copper panels were originally approved in June 2014. The previously approved site plan for the parcel at the southeast corner of Process Drive and State Road 7 originally had copper panels and awnings that went across the entire front.
“They’ve eliminated the awnings that continue all the way down, shortened the copper panels and moved the copper panel over to where the awning has been shortened,” Erwin said, explaining that the copper panel would have conflicted with the Payless shoe store sign.
“Going all the way down would have covered probably two-thirds of their sign,” he said. “Village staff recognizes what they are trying to accomplish and recommends approval of this application.”
Chris Howard, representing IHOP, said that the plan also leaves an open area on the north side of the building to avoid a sign conflict with that tenant, if that storefront should become occupied.
“There’s not a tenant there, and we’re leaving a void there where they can have a sign in line with everyone else and not conflict with them,” Howard said.
Larson said she hoped IHOP’s decision to locate there would encourage other tenants to fill empty spaces in the plaza.
• The commissioners also unanimously recommended preliminary plat approval to replat several tracts on 23.52 acres on the east side of SR 7 about three-quarters of a mile south of Southern Blvd. The application was made by Caulfield & Wheeler, on behalf of owners Cara LLC and Pebb Enterprises.
Erwin said that the site, formerly the Odum Sod property, received a large-scale land use plan approval from the village in June 2013, and assigned 10.57 acres fronting SR 7 a commercial land use designation. That portion received general commercial zoning in November. The remainder of the property has a single-family land use and zoning designation.
