By making the preserve parcel buildable, the Bedners could make a huge profit if they sell the land to a builder.
Ag Reserve encroached: tracing development along Lyons Road
From Hypoluxo Road to Clint Moore Road, development can be seen all along Lyons Road, threatening to transform the Palm Beach County Agricultural Reserve
County commissioners approved a zoning change Thursday that will result in more than 200,000 square feet of warehouses being placed on preserved land in the Agricultural Reserve west of Boynton Beach.The Bedners say they need the revenue stream the warehouses will generate to help operations.But County Planner Bryce Van Horn said approving the request would represent a fundamental policy change in the Ag Reserve rules designed to protect agriculture and limit development.
Despite opposition from county planners who called it a “fundamental policy change,” county commissioners approved a zoning change that will result in more than 200,000 square feet of warehouses being placed on preserved land in the Agricultural Reserve west of Boynton Beach.
The zoning changes were sought by the Bedner family, one of the county’s largest farming entities. The Bedners say they need the revenue stream the warehouses will generate to help operations.
Along with the Sierra Club and the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations (COBWRA), county planners opposed the changes, approved on Thursday, Aug. 22. County Planner Bryce Van Horn said approving the request would represent a fundamental policy change in the Ag Reserve rules designed to protect agriculture and limit development. He noted that the Bedners already received special treatment in 2012 when the county allowed them to build an 8,600-square-foot retail food store in the Ag Reserve.
The Ag Reserve is a 22,000-acre tract established in the 1980s to limit development and protect agriculture.
With the zoning changes made Thursday, the Bedners will be able to relocate a five-acre parcel of preserved land onto their site that houses a retail store, located about two miles south of Boynton Beach Boulevard on State Road 7. The county created an “Agricultural Marketplace” designation for the Bedners that allowed them to replace what had been a produce stand with a retail building. The code, though, said that preserve parcels could not be located on the tract of land where the store was built. That was changed on Thursday.
‘LINE IN THE SAND’: Why COBWRA opposes project to build apartment complex west of Lake Worth Beach
“We love the Bedners,” said Barbara Roth, president of COBWRA, “but this is too much of a reach,” noting that the warehouses will be very close to Arthur Marshall National Wildlife Refuge. Dagmar Brahs, a past president of COBWRA, said the approval will open up a Pandora’s box, asking: “Who is coming up next?”
Brahs and other critics noted that it was never anticipated that the Bedners would be able to relocate a preserved parcel onto the food market site.
Area Realtor Jim Knight supported the Bedners, noting that farmer after farmer has left the region. The warehouses will help them to stay in business, he said.
The vote to approve the request was 5-1 with County Mayor Maria Sachs voting no.
Bedners have often contributed to candidates in county commission races
Throughout the years, the Bedners have often contributed to candidates involved in county commission races. Finance reports show Bedner-affiliated entities have contributed at least $28,000 to four county commissioners since April 2022; Sara Baxter (received $17,000); Maria Marino ($4,000); Gregg Weiss ($2,000) and Mack Bernard’s political action committee ($5,000).
The Bedners bought the preserve parcel for $500,000 on July 30. Based on recent sales, the parcel, now that it can be built upon, has a value of more than $3 million. It is not clear whether the Bedners will build the warehouses or sell the land to a warehouse builder.
Chipping away at the Agricultural Reserve land
In the Ag Reserve, located west of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton, developers, for the most part, are required to build on only 40% of their developable land. They can exceed that figure by preserving land in the Ag Reserve away from their development.
That is what the owners of the All Seasons Congregate Living facility did when they built west of Delray Beach. They bought a five-acre site at the northwest corner of Lee Road and State Road 7 and agreed to keep it non-buildable in perpetuity. That is the parcel bought by the Bedners that was the subject of the zoning change on Thursday.
The preserved site is just to the north of the marketplace building. County planners note that the intent of allowing the Fresh Market facility was to help support adjacent, ongoing farming operations. Approving the new warehouse request would undermine that goal, they say.
The request “introduces potential intensity that may generate negative impacts on a majority of adjacent lands bordering the sites. The proposed change provides a further exception for a use that was previously accommodated (the Fresh Market building), and fails to further the existing goal and objective policies in the Agricultural Reserve Tier of farmland protection and agricultural perpetuation,” staff wrote in a memo submitted to county commissioners.
Why the Bedner Farm wants to build the warehouses on the land
In their submission to county officials, the Bedners say the warehouses are necessary to support the growing population in the immediate area “as well as accessory support for the agriculture surrounding the site.” It will also create jobs, they say, and access would be from State Road 7, which would direct traffic away from local roads.
The document submitted to the county identifies Charles, Bruce, Stephen and Marie Bedner as the applicants.
RELATED: The public’s email responses to county’s GL Homes land deal don’t paint a happy picture
The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council had concerns about approving the request.
“The overall trend in the reduction of agricultural uses in the Ag Reserve is of concern, because the conversions result in the net loss of a regional resource that may never be recovered,” the Council said in a memo addressed to county commissioners. “Council encourages the County to take a strong position to protect agricultural uses in the Ag Reserve.”
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Will GL Homes land swap deal signal an end to 50 years of protected land?
More and more farmland has been lost in recent years to development as the commission created a new Commerce category that allows for commercial construction along Boynton Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue. The Treasure Council argued that approving the Bedners’ request could lead to “further weakening of preserves in the Ag Reserve.”
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at [email protected]. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66cdd3257122420e9755d4b4386e371a&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fboynton%2F2024%2F08%2F24%2Fbedners-get-ok-to-build-warehouses-on-preserved-land-in-agricultural-reserve-palm-beach-county%2F74889330007%2F&c=3572462649932812726&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-23 23:05:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
