The Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commission recommended preliminary plat approval Tuesday for the 36-acre Cypress Key mixed-use development on the north side of Southern Blvd.
The site plan received Royal Palm Beach Village Council approval in May, which included architectural changes to townhouses that reduce the height from three to two stories to make them more compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.
Site Development Coordinator Kevin Erwin said the plat application was compatible with the site plan. It provides 23 single-family lots, 124 townhouses and several open-space tracts, as well as two commercial tracts near Southern Blvd.
Erwin said the residential portion of the application meets the village’s recreation space requirements either on site or through a combination of land and cash in lieu of up to half the required land area.
“It was determined in lieu of the land request, a fee would be paid for 1.65 acres of the required recreation land area,” Erwin said, explaining that the fee will be paid as a condition.
However, a condition of the council stated that the fee in lieu of land shall be paid for recreational facilities as agreed upon by the council and the developer. “In the past, the council has accepted $60,950 per acre as the accepted fee in lieu of the dedication of land,” he said. “Using that price, the recreation fee for the 1.65 acres would be $100,567.50.”
Village staff recommended approval of the price per acre in lieu of the dedication of recreation land, he said, explaining that the $60,950 per acre was reached in 2003 when the project was originally approved. “Being it was vested in 2003, staff feels it’s appropriate that the fee should be $60,950, which the village accepted back then,” Erwin said.
Erwin added that the final plat approval will not go through the zoning commission but directly to the council.
“The basic purpose for platting is to make sure that all the infrastructure is going to be available for the site, and obviously this is partially developed and already has some infrastructure,” he said.
Commissioner Jackie Larson asked what mitigation fees are used for, and Erwin said the village has a parks and recreation fund. “If the village has enough land for parks and rec, then it’s used to improve those areas,” Erwin said.
Commissioner Michael Axelberd made a motion to approve the request, which carried 5-0.
In other business:
• The commissioners also recommended approval of a preliminary site plan by Ascension Royal Palm Beach for 2.43 acres on the north side of Southern Blvd. about a half-mile east of State Road 7, formerly known as Sunshine Properties. Erwin said the parcel is within the larger Palm Beach County Farms plat in the general commercial zoning district and conforms to village code requirements. Larson made a motion to approve the request, which passed 5-0.
• Finally, the commissioners also recommended preliminary plat approval for the Toys ‘R’ Us Royal Office Park development on 13 acres on the east side of SR 7 about 0.8 mile south of Southern Blvd.
Erwin said the request is for a planned commercial development in the general commercial zoning district. “The preliminary plat is a replat of the Royal Office Park together with previously unplatted land,” he said. “It conforms with the platting requirements of village codes.”
Commissioner Felicia Matula made a motion to approve the application, which carried 5-0.
