The Acreage Landowners’ Association is putting its weight behind a petition hoping to stop construction of a convenience store with multiple gas pumps and a second commercial structure at the southeast corner of Northlake Blvd. and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
In an e-mail shared with the Town-Crier, ALA President Bob Morgan urged residents of the Acreage/Loxahatchee area, and other parts of the Indian Trail Improvement District, to “sign” an online petition that will be presented to the Palm Beach County Commission.
Morgan explained that the project “threatens to unleash commercialization on our entire neighborhood.”
The architectural firm behind the project, Jupiter-based Cotleur & Hearing, shared updated plans with the ALA at a meeting Wednesday, June 11. Donaldson Hearing, a partner in the firm, said the project will include a 12-pump gas station, a walk-in convenience store of 4,853 square feet, and a separate building for retail and medical offices of 10,442 square feet, according to Morgan.
Only one gas station is now located within ITID’s boundaries, at Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and Orange Blvd. However, there are several gas stations in the nearby City of Westlake and another planned for Northlake Blvd. across from the Avenir development.
Hearing could not be reached for comment. Cotleur & Hearing works on many projects in the western communities, particularly in the City of Westlake.
Morgan wrote that the project violates the Acreage Neighborhood Plan, which “recognizes the unique character of our community… but the West End Crossing project breaks from several of those guidelines. Most notable is the one that calls for the county to ‘protect the aquifer and residents by prohibiting the permitting of petroleum facilities.’”
Almost all of ITID’s 50,000 residents are on well water.
Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Sara Baxter, an Acreage resident who represents District 6, said the proposed project is not “a done deal at all” despite the commissioners voting earlier this year to allow it to move forward.
“Commissioners were very clear that we weren’t at all happy with the current proposal,” Baxter said. “If residents don’t want it, I’m not going to support it.”
At the May 21 meeting of the ITID Board of Supervisors, District Engineer Jay Foy told the board that in his opinion, the project did not meet ITID or county standards, including the need for compensating water storage.
“Until they do, it can’t happen,” ITID President Elizabeth Accomando said Wednesday. “But one way or another, something is going to be built on that corner.”
Aside from possible groundwater contamination, Morgan continued, “Crime and traffic tend to increase around commercial areas, which could mean more crime and car accidents — and, in turn, lower property values.”
If the Palm Beach County Commission approves the project contrary to the Acreage Neighborhood Plan, “They will effectively render it meaningless… The Acreage/Loxahatchee area as we know it will be history, a victim of broken promises of the commissioners,” Morgan concluded.
To view the petition, visit www.ala-petition.com. You do not have to be a member of the ALA to sign the petition.
