Annexation's epic fail: 9-in-10 north county voters reject bids by Gardens, North Palm

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Residents of every unincorporated pocket of northern Palm Beach County targeted for annexation resoundingly rejected the offers Tuesday, March 19, with more than 9-in-10 ballots cast against becoming part of either North Palm Beach or Palm Beach Gardens.

Experts say the votes failed because of the way the governments pursued adding these homes and businesses to their municipal footprints and their tax bases: quickly, and without enough meetings for the residents to see any benefits in new services from the switch.

“It’s hard to convince people to vote to raise their property taxes,” said Dario Moreno, a Florida International University political science professor who has worked with local governments on annexation issues in Miami-Dade County for eight years.

“Cities try to mitigate this by saying, ‘We'll give you all these services,’ but voters tend to be very suspicious of that.”

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In one North Palm area, the vote against annexation was 136-0

Voters have rejected few ballot questions in Palm Beach County's recent history as overwhelmingly as the five in Palm Beach Gardens and the three in North Palm Beach proposing annexation.

In Palm Beach Gardens, the combined vote of the five annexation areas was 189 in favor and 2,763 against, a rejection rate of 93.6%, according to unofficial results from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office.

In North Palm Beach, the three ballot questions fared even worse: 6 in favor and 227 against, for a rate of 97.4%. The vote in an area that is home to Portage Landing and Hidden Key neighborhoods was 136-0 against.

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The five areas Palm Beach Gardens targeted would have added 1,316 acres and 8,352 residents to the city if all had voted to annex. The biggest area stretched from Donald Ross Road to south of PGA Boulevard, and from Alternate A1A east to U.S. 1. It included neighborhoods as diverse as Cabana Colony, Frenchman's Landing and Hidden Key.

The other four were smaller zones of older homes and apartments along Monet Road and RCA Boulevard.

In North Palm Beach, officials sought to annex a little over 200 homes in total. In all, 182 homes fell in proposed annexation areas for both municipalities. The courts would have had to resolve the matter if voters had approved measures for both, said county Elections Supervisor Wendy Sartory Link.

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Officials both in Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach have said the proposed annexations are part of larger strategies to round out the city’s boundaries and provide more representation and control over development and redevelopment in those areas.

The areas proposed for annexation would have become part of a municipality with a simple majority vote — 50% plus one — even if entire neighborhoods within their areas voted against it.

Annexation immediately became a hot topic among neighbors after Palm Beach Gardens unveiled its plans in September. It followed the city successfully annexing about 300 acres along Northlake Boulevard in the spring.

Some residents say they like things the way they are with Palm Beach County providing their services, and without any local government annexing them. Others saw benefits to it. If annexed, a resident would gain access to the municipalities’ police, fire and recreation services. Some may even see lower property tax bills, depending on their home’s assessed value.

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Both North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens were quick to concede defeat Tuesday and thanked those who engaged with the issue at the polls.

"While the outcome may not have aligned with our aspirations, we respect and honor the democratic process," Village Manager Chuck Huff said in a prepared statement. "We extend our gratitude to all those who participated in this important decision-making endeavor. Your engagement underscores the vitality of our community and the shared commitment to its future.”

Palm Beach Gardens, which saw several people speak out against the issue at City Council meetings in the past few months, also issued a statement following the vote.

"The City of Palm Beach Gardens respects the voice of the voters and the decision they have ultimately made not to join our jurisdiction," the statement read. "We look forward to remaining good neighbors to these communities and will continue providing excellent services to our existing residents."

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Karen Marcus represented many of the unincorporated pockets when she was a Palm Beach County commissioner from 1984 to 2012. She also filled a vacancy on the North Palm Beach Village Council from December 2023 to February. She said she expected that the annexation proposals would fail.

Marcus said North Palm Beach did not plan on pursuing the annexations this election cycle but changed course after Palm Beach Gardens announced its plans, which included some neighborhoods that the village had in their “future annexation plan” for almost a decade.

“I wasn’t surprised because of the way the whole thing happened, with the fact that Palm Beach Gardens didn't reach out to the residents ahead of time,” Marcus said. “The appearance of it was that they were being sneaky and not caring what the peoples’ opinions were.”

She said the municipalities could have attracted a favorable vote if they had more meetings, took them on tours of their city or village and took more time to meet with residents.

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She thinks one reason the vote margins were so wide was the work of the Coalition Against Annexation, which planted anti-annexation signs in yards around the areas and mailed out fliers asking people to vote against the ballot questions. Its members went door-to-door in some areas to collect donations and speak with neighbors.

“I’m delighted for the residents that were able to organize themselves because they were clearly very opposed,” Marcus said. “They’re a feisty group. The coalition was a big part of this.”

Moreno agreed, saying any annexation with an organized opposition loses the vote. He also noted that Tuesday was a “tilted election,” since the annexation vote was embedded in the Republican primary ballot.

“Republicans tend to have an older population; there is opposition to change,” Moreno said. “They don’t like government, and this looks like more of it and there is the tax issue.”

Ideally, city officials should visit the neighborhoods in the areas they would like to annex to discuss the prospect with residents beforehand, Moreno said.

“When I’ve seen annexation fail, it is when a city is being overly aggressive with taking over territory,” Moreno said. “Residents feel like they are going to be swamped and like they’re going to lose local control.”

Marcus said cities should be wary of pursuing annexation of neighborhoods with people who don’t want to join.

“People need to want to come into the city and you have to show them some real reasons why to,” Marcus said. “And then the city has to decide when enough is enough.”

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm voters block annexation by 9-1 margin