Developer yanks controversial zoning request for redo of Wells Fargo site in Palm Beach

Palm Beach developer Frisbie Group will not pursue a controversial zoning tool that would have created a smoother path to building a major residential redevelopment project on several acres east of the landmarked Wells Fargo Bank buildings, a company representative confirmed Friday.

The developer has dropped its plans to ask the Palm Beach Town Council to create a planned unit development, or PUD, that would rezone the 5.8-acre lot at South County Road and Royal Palm Way currently owned by Wells Fargo, Rob Frisbie Jr. told the Palm Beach Daily News in a brief phone interview.

A project manager for the Frisbie Group, he said his family's company will no longer ask the council to approve four ordinances that would have been the first step toward obtaining the PUD designation. A review of the ordinances had been included on the agendas for the council's meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. Frisbie declined further comment, saying the company would soon release a statement about its decision to not pursue the PUD.

Frisbie Group decision followed tumultuous commission meeting

On Tuesday, Frisbie had presented a proposed site plan for the project during a contentious Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in which resident after resident objected to the PUD proposal.

With little hesitation, the commission unanimously voted against recommending that the Town Council approve the four PUD-related ordinances

Frisbie Group previously said the PUD zoning tool — rare in Palm Beach — would have allowed the Town Council to sign off on nearly every aspect of the development, which could then have proceeded without any zone code variance requests. The PUD would have changed the Wells Fargo property's three existing zoning districts — one for residential and two for commercial use — to a single residential district.

"No PUD in town will have this level of detail that we already have drafted as part of this process," Frisbie Group's Joshua Martin, a former director of the town's Planning, Zoning and Building Department, said in his presentation to the commission. A PUD was the best means of ensuring that the area would only be used for residential development, said Martin, who also is an alternate member of the Palm Beach Architectural Commission

Martin also said the Frisbie Group had decided to ask for a PUD because the town's existing zoning code would require multiple variances for the project. Those variances, he said, would likely not withstand a legal challenge, because the developer would need to prove a "hardship" to justify them.

"I can guarantee you there is no way we can prove a hardship on a vacant piece of property," Martin said.

Wells Fargo has said it plans to sell the property, the majority of which is occupied by parking lots. In the mix with Frisbie Group is The Related Cos., the titanic real estate firm owned by Palm Beach billionaire and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross.

The updated site plan for the “East Plaza” project presented Tuesday reflected the feedback the company received from officials and residents during January's Town Council meeting, Frisbie told the zoning commission. In the plan presented to the commission, the number of residences had dropped from 37 to 19. The main access for traffic had been moved from Royal Palm Way to South Ocean Boulevard, and the underground parking structure had been significantly reduced.

The zoning commission’s vote against the ordinances had the backing of nearly every resident who attended the meeting at Town Hall. Gone was the civility of the project's January presentation at Town Council. Several residents accused the Frisbie Group of placing profit over the well-being of the town and residents.

"The Frisbie group is merely interested in their own financial gain, not improving the island," said Win Lewis, who lives on Seaview Avenue, which runs along the north side of the Wells Fargo site. "They don't care that the resident's quality of life will pay the price for their greed."

Rob Frisbie responded to that claim later during the meeting.

"We are trying to work in good faith," he said. "There were some comments about (our company) just trying to make a profit. We have to make a profit on this — unfortunately, we can't do this plan if it is not profitable."

He added: "So, yes, (we're) not trying to be misleading on that at all, but at the same time, we feel genuinely that it is an incredible plan."

According to Frisbie, the new plan had reduced the density to three units per acre from the original plan's roughly seven units per acre. "We have relegated some of our strongest design opinions, in the spirit of true compromise ... to ensure that even our strongest critics will appreciate the strides we have made to incorporate their request and address their concerns," Frisbie told the zoning commission.

Town officials and residents were caught off guard by Frisbie Group's presentation of the site plan.

“I was totally surprised today, because much of my notes today reflect what we had heard from Frisbie (Group) in the past,” said Peter McLeod, resident and board member for the One Royal Palm Condominium, an oceanfront building that stands directly across Royal Palm Way from the Wells Fargo site.

P&Z commissioner: "I think you're going to be wasting a lot of our time"

Zoning commissioner Michael Spaziani, a strong opponent to the use of PUDs in town, voiced his distaste for the zoning tools before Frisibie began his presentation. Spaziani referred to the board's votes in December and January meetings to strike new PUDs from an in-the-works overhaul of the town's Comprehensive Plan.

"So, I'm not sure why you're in front us. You're going to make this presentation and we already voted on no PUDs," Spaziani told Frisbie. "So I think you're going to be wasting a lot of our time, because we already voted on that."

Frisbie responded by defending his presentation, saying that even if the commissioners chose to vote against recommending the PUD, the hearing would still provide the company with feedback on the updates implemented since January's Town Council meeting.

Spaziani was undeterred.

"What your family put this town through, (with) the Testa property — you divided this town in half, neighbors against neighbors," said Spaziani, referring to a years-long debate and a 2014 referendum vote regarding the Frisbie Group's redevelopment of the former Testa's Restaurant property on Royal Poinciana Way, a project that at one point had included a request for a PUD.

"We fought this before, and we already voted against this," Spaziani said.

Chair Gail Conigilio stepped in, asking town staff to clarify whether the PUD application could still be accepted and discussed by the commission. She was told it could.

Taking a conciliatory approach, Commissioner Richard Kleid said he was willing to listen to the presentation. He said even if the commission voted against recommending the ordinances, Frisbie Group could get some direction on what elements might be supported by the board.

Residents in the audience groaned and many said "No!" to Kleid's comments.

Revised site plan came as a surprise to officials, residents

Nearly every resident who spoke during the public discussion period mentioned the revised site plan, which had not yet been reviewed by the town's staff, as a reason for opposing the project.

"I think this is a hijacking of the process," Anne Pepper, a resident of Seaspray Avenue, said about the new plan. "There's no staff review of this specific plan ... and I think this is absolutely a travesty of our process."

Echoing other residents, Liza Pulitzer, who lives on the North End, said the project would significantly change and hamper the aesthetic of one of the town's most iconic intersections. Seaview Avenue residents Annie and Matt Iorio criticized a secondary access road included in the original site plan and the revised one, stating that it would send more traffic onto their street, decrease the neighborhood's safety and intensify traffic in the surrounding area.

Architectural Commission Alternate Member K.T. Catlin and One Royal Palm Way condo resident Jeffrey Berman were the only two residents supporting the project, and they did so via letters read during the meeting by attorney Maura Ziska. "We are personally looking forward to exchanging the empty parking lot across the street used for unauthorized beach parking and other less savory activities for the proposed development," Berman's letter said.

After the public finished speaking at meeting, commission members chose not to comment on the project. Instead they proceeded immediately to their unanimous vote against recommending each ordinance attached to the project.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.

Darrell Hofheinz is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Developer yanks controversial zoning request for Palm Beach project