The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors heard a presentation last week on the proposed 1,287-acre Iota Carol development, also known as Delray Linton Groves.
The land in question is north of 60th Street North and west of 190th Avenue North, just south of the GL Homes site. The project is to the west of Osceola Creek Middle School and Frontier Elementary School.
Ken Tuma with Urban Design Kilday Studios gave the presentation on Jan. 11.
Tuma noted that the Palm Beach County Commission transmitted a comp plan amendment with a density of 0.8 homes per acre allowing 1,030 total units. It will be back for final adoption by the county on Jan. 30.
Also proposed are 112,000 square feet of non-residential uses, as well as 26 acres for civic use and 11 acres of recreation areas. The development also proposes 431 acres of open space to be given to ITID for stormwater management.
“Almost 70 percent of the site will be dedicated to open space,” Tuma said, adding that 10 percent of the development will be designated for workforce housing, with 6 miles of pedestrian pathways and 4 miles of horse trails that connect to already approved horse trails at GL Homes. “Those are open to the public for anyone to use.”
The total equestrian pathways between the two adjacent projects will be 26 miles.
“There are some significant public benefits with this project,” Tuma said. “One of the key ones is a part of the transmittal that the Board of County Commissioners did at its hearing… that we would not have the ability to annex into any municipality. That’s an important one in relation to Westlake, and that was important to the Board of County Commissioners, so we agreed to that.”
He said they are still working with ITID staff to dedicate the 431 acres to the district for stormwater management, as well as ceding part of the site’s drainage allowance to ITID.
“The way that our project has ended up being built, we actually have more lakes onsite than we need. Because we have such a small density at 0.8 dwelling units per acre, our lakes have actually gotten bigger,” he said. “On a typical project this size, the lakes are about 15 percent of the development area. We’re actually going to be 23 percent.”
Tuma explained that under the site’s existing drainage permit, they will be able to reduce the discharge, and the remainder will be available to ITID.
Delray Linton Groves will provide $1.32 million above its required proportionate share requirement to the county for roadway improvements.
“We’re also agreeing, which is important to this board, to be an active unit of the Indian Trail Improvement District,” Tuma said.
Supervisor Betty Argue was concerned about the horse trails proposed along 190th, which is planned to be the major north/south connection for Delray Linton Groves and GL Homes’ Indian Trail Groves. Argue pointed out that Minto/Westlake had recently proposed an amendment removing horse trails from Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
“Their justification is because Seminole Pratt is not an appropriate place for the horse trails, so I want to know how are you doing with the horse trails along 190th, because it will be the busiest road through that area, and I don’t want this to be an excuse down the road,” she said.
Tuma said the road’s easement will be almost 300 feet wide, and the horse trail will be set far from the main roadway.
ITID President Jennifer Hager said she found the horse trail proposals to be oxymoronic.
“We have all this influx of development that’s going to produce all this traffic, and horses and traffic just don’t mix, so if you’re saying that just to appease any one of us or any of our neighboring residents who own horses and actively ride horses, we’re all doing a little chuckle right now with this proposal of horse trails,” she said. “I find it laughable that there are horse trails in a development, and are there horses allowed to live on the property?”
“There won’t be any horses on the property, but the [trails] will be open to the public,” Tuma said. “There will be access points to the public.”
“I won’t take my horse in there,” Hager said.
Supervisor Gary Dunkley said his primary interest was with the 431 acres to be dedicated to the district for stormwater management.
“How much would it cost as a community to develop that into a drainage facility?” he asked, pointing out that the estimated $50 million to dig out the GL Homes 640-acre dedication for stormwater management was unreachable.
He also asked if GL Homes’ 640 acres proposed for stormwater management could fit with Delray Linton Groves’ 431 acres.
“Is it a price tag that we can deal with?” Dunkley asked.
ITID Engineer Jay Foy said the $50 million that had been estimated for GL Homes’ 640 acres was primarily for digging out the area to make it a deep reservoir, but the combined areas with adequate levees could provide some stormwater management without excavation.
Foy said that putting in an additional levee would cost about $10 million, adding that an additional $10 million would be needed for a levee around GL Homes’ 640 acres. A pump would also be necessary to get water into the areas.
With the areas combined, Foy said that ITID would have about 55 percent of its need for additional drainage.
