Florida City Mayor Otis T. Wallace knows that the housing boom is deflated.

But it will be back, and Florida City hopes to be ready with thousands of acres as one of last communities in South Florida to have so much land available.

So far, about 2,500 acres have been annexed and the city is going after another 2,200 acres or more, according to City Planner Henry Iler.

Worried that other chain restaurants would follow Starbucks onto the island, the council in 2006 imposed zoning-in-progess rules to block chain restaurants while the town staff refined criteria to define those restaurants. Iler Planning Group was hired to develop the new regulations for the Town of Palm Beach.

The guidelines tentatively approved Monday would define a formula restaurant as one belonging to a chain of three or more establishments nationwide and meeting at least two of three additional criteria.

The City held a series of three visioning sessions where citizens were given the opportunity to provide their vision of the future. During the third visioning exercise a visual preference survey was conducted. The visual preference survey used images and simulations to help people focus on how they would like to see future development occur. In this session, the groups also will be working to expand on the previous goals and strategies.

All attendees were given the opportunity to vote on the major issues. The results from the meeting were compiled by City staff and given to the Iler Planning Group, a consulting firm hired by the City to assist in long-range planning research. The Iler Group will be compiling the results from all three visioning sessions into a final report that will presented to the public early next year. The final visioning session will take place in mid-January 2008.

Henry Iler, an urban planner hired by residents of a half-dozen communities along Old Germantown Road, told the commission the project’s 17 unit-per-acre density was incompatible and “out of character” with those neighborhoods, which average six to eight units per acre.

Delray Beach-based Ascot Development plans to offer 32 of the units for $225,000 to $275,000, to people from professions such as teaching, nursing and firefighting. The firm is set to receive a $5 million state grant for the affordable housing units. Residents said they didn’t oppose the workforce housing or having blue-collar neighbors; just the scope of the

Henry Iler, president of Iler Planning Group, said he intends to adjust the proposed redevelopment plan after hearing the public’s latest comments, especially on parking.

The project’s next steps include submitting a draft design report to the city this month, a public meeting between planners and Cove business owners in October, and presentations to the Community Appearance Board and CRA, which is the City Commission sitting as a different body. Iler Planning Group plans to make its final presentation to the agency in December.

“I think they did a great job,” said The Cove Restaurant and Marina owner Susan Agnew, referring to the planners. “We’ve had shopping center association meetings before and we haven’t gone this far. This is the most positive response we’ve gotten.”

As proposed, the 13 acres of aging buildings would be upgraded by pastel paint, Key West-style shutters, tin roofs and planters. There also would be taller buildings on the north end, more lighting, a five-level parking garage with 500 spaces, as well as a Disney-esque, two-tier clock entrance identifying it as “The Cove Village.”

The design was born during four days of brainstorming that began with the Iler Planning Group of Palm Beach Gardens soliciting ideas from affected businesses and residents — a session that produced conflicting goals.

It is a proposal so complex that four workshops are slated to discuss it.

Meetings on the long-awaited face-lift for the Cove Shopping Center get under way Aug. 20, and organizers are hoping residents turn out for what they are calling “visioning work groups.”

“The purpose of the charrette is to gather everyones input,” said Carlos Baia, the citys economic development manager.

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The Briny Breezes sale is off.

Ocean Land Developers sent certified documents within the hour, telling the corporate board the deal to buy the mobile home park for $510 million and convert it to a resort had fallen through, Ocean Land Vice President Logan Pierson said.

“The Coalition finds the CPAs to be flawed on a fundamental level, not only in the language of the CPAs but also the goals, objectives and policies,” Florida Coalition for Preservation Attorney Jane West wrote in a letter to the Department of Community Affairs accompanying the report. “Legally, the CPAs do not appear to be based on data and analysis and appear to be very conclusory and vague.”

The proposed redevelopment amendments and the Evaluation and Appraisal Report before the DCA would replace the current Briny Breezes Comprehensive Plan in its entirety.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.–BUSINESS WIRE–The Florida Coalition for Preservation today released a report from the respected Iler Planning Group showing the proposed density of the Briny Breezes redevelopment project is grossly incompatible with the surrounding area. The Coalition has sent the report to Department of Community Affairs official reviewing the proposed comprehensive plan amendments CPAs related to the project.

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