I strongly support the continued inclusion of our Town Serving requirement in our Comprehensive Plan. Perhaps one of the best statements illustrating the importance of this requirement is reflected In a 1989 case before the Circuit Judge Mary Lupo challenging the Town Serving ordinance. Judge Lupo concluded:
"The town-serving ordinance bears a substantial relationship to the public health, safety and welfare of the Town of Palm Beach. "
This is a short, but critical and emphatic statement, underscoring why we must continue to not only include Town Serving requirements in our Comprehensive Plan, but vigorously support them.
The “Town-serving” requirement, one of 14 criteria within the Special Exception portion of our Code of Ordinances has proven to be one of the very best means we have to preserve the small scale businesses which creates our unique shopping and dining experiences. This highly effective planning tool has had great positive effect since it was first implemented in 1980.
The policy was upheld twice in Court. Without it, Leslie Wexner’s L-Brand stores like The Limited, Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works and the White Barn Candle Company would be lining Worth Avenue until they lost favor and other bigger brands tried to come in. TheAvenue could have morphed into an outdoor mini-mall. If you follow retail, malls are failing unless they are discount. Palm Beach has never competed with malls and has never sought to attract discount shoppers.
Town-serving is an essential planning ‘tool in the tool box’.
The requirement to report is not onerous or expensive. Small businesses of 2,000 sf or less are exempt from reporting. If an application is greater than 3,000 sf or 4,000 sf for Worth Avenue, the 14 criteria that need to be met gets triggered, including documentation of compliance that is provided a year after approval. Often, except in the case of Clubs and restaurants, that is the first and last accounting they have to do. Additionally, the Town-Serving concept upholds the quality of life vision for the Town enshrined in our Comp Plan which is not simply a regulatory document. It’s also a legal one.
I urge the Council to review the Town-serving concept, its purpose and effectiveness in preserving our unique, small scale commercial zones. The shopping and dining experience here is essential to the ‘brand’ of Palm Beach. A crucial tool which is applied in few situations but is essential in order to limit applications whose consequences could be disastrous for Palm Beach must be retained in our Comp Plan and supported and applied in our Ordinances.
At the last development review meeting it appeared that some Council members have misunderstood the application of the town-serving rules, especially with respect to who must report their compliance. For clarification, here are the rules:
- If an occupant uses less than 3,000 sf in the commercial districts or less than 4,000 sf in the Worth Ave. district, it is automatically assumed to be town-serving and there is no reporting requirement whatsoever.
- Only if a use exceeds the GLA maximums is reporting required. Businesses applying for a special exception are subject to reporting as the Council deems necessary in the Declaration of Use.
n 2010, when the Brisson town-serving study was done, 80% of businesses occupied under 2,000 sf and 92% occupied under 4,000 sf. At that time, only 15 businesses out of several hundred were required to report. Following this study, the GLA maximums were increased to 3,000 sf (and 4,000 in the Worth Ave. district), due to the oversupply of retail space during the Great Recession. A number of additional special exceptions for over-sized uses have been granted since then, so the number reporting may have risen somewhat, but it is still a very small minority of businesses.
Another concern that arose at last month's Council meeting was the ability to enforce the rules. This can easily be done on a random basis (as with the IRS) for over-sized uses, perhaps every 5-7 years, with 3-6 months notice to the owner. More intense uses can be subject to more frequent reporting if Council deems it necessary. The IRS has many rules that it cannot possibly enforce for every tax return, but random (and targeted) audits serve to keep most people following the rules. Our town should be able to do something similar, by establishing a clear procedure for enforcement and carrying it out.
With respect to the Comprehensive Plan, the current draft is inconsistent in its references to the town-serving policies. In the Data and Analysis section of the Future Land Use Element, the GLA maximums are described, but in the Goals and Policies section they have been removed. Given the shortage of retail space in the current environment, many residents (myself included) would like to see the GLA maximums returned to their 2010 levels of 2,000 sf for commercial and 3,000 for Worth Ave. and see them restored to the Goals and Policies section.
The town-serving concept with GLA limits has been the backbone of the Comprehensive Plan for decades and has been a most effective planning and zoning tool. I believe that the town would change dramatically in a negative way without it. The ability to grant a special exception gives the Council the appropriate leeway to waive the GLA maximums in unusual circumstances.
I strongly support the continued inclusion of our Town Serving requirement in our Comprehensive Plan. Perhaps one of the best statements illustrating the importance of this requirement is reflected In a 1989 case before the Circuit Judge Mary Lupo challenging the Town Serving ordinance. Judge Lupo concluded:
"The town-serving ordinance bears a substantial relationship to the public health, safety and welfare of the Town of Palm Beach. "
This is a short, but critical and emphatic statement, underscoring why we must continue to not only include Town Serving requirements in our Comprehensive Plan, but vigorously support them.
Susan Watts
Palm Beach Resident
The “Town-serving” requirement, one of 14 criteria within the Special Exception portion of our Code of Ordinances has proven to be one of the very best means we have to preserve the small scale businesses which creates our unique shopping and dining experiences. This highly effective planning tool has had great positive effect since it was first implemented in 1980.
The policy was upheld twice in Court. Without it, Leslie Wexner’s L-Brand stores like The Limited, Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works and the White Barn Candle Company would be lining Worth Avenue until they lost favor and other bigger brands tried to come in. TheAvenue could have morphed into an outdoor mini-mall. If you follow retail, malls are failing unless they are discount. Palm Beach has never competed with malls and has never sought to attract discount shoppers.
Town-serving is an essential planning ‘tool in the tool box’.
The requirement to report is not onerous or expensive. Small businesses of 2,000 sf or less are exempt from reporting. If an application is greater than 3,000 sf or 4,000 sf for Worth Avenue, the 14 criteria that need to be met gets triggered, including documentation of compliance that is provided a year after approval. Often, except in the case of Clubs and restaurants, that is the first and last accounting they have to do. Additionally, the Town-Serving concept upholds the quality of life vision for the Town enshrined in our Comp Plan which is not simply a regulatory document. It’s also a legal one.
I urge the Council to review the Town-serving concept, its purpose and effectiveness in preserving our unique, small scale commercial zones. The shopping and dining experience here is essential to the ‘brand’ of Palm Beach. A crucial tool which is applied in few situations but is essential in order to limit applications whose consequences could be disastrous for Palm Beach must be retained in our Comp Plan and supported and applied in our Ordinances.
At the last development review meeting it appeared that some Council members have misunderstood the application of the town-serving rules, especially with respect to who must report their compliance. For clarification, here are the rules:
- If an occupant uses less than 3,000 sf in the commercial districts or less than 4,000 sf in the Worth Ave. district, it is automatically assumed to be town-serving and there is no reporting requirement whatsoever.
- Only if a use exceeds the GLA maximums is reporting required. Businesses applying for a special exception are subject to reporting as the Council deems necessary in the Declaration of Use.
n 2010, when the Brisson town-serving study was done, 80% of businesses occupied under 2,000 sf and 92% occupied under 4,000 sf. At that time, only 15 businesses out of several hundred were required to report. Following this study, the GLA maximums were increased to 3,000 sf (and 4,000 in the Worth Ave. district), due to the oversupply of retail space during the Great Recession. A number of additional special exceptions for over-sized uses have been granted since then, so the number reporting may have risen somewhat, but it is still a very small minority of businesses.
Another concern that arose at last month's Council meeting was the ability to enforce the rules. This can easily be done on a random basis (as with the IRS) for over-sized uses, perhaps every 5-7 years, with 3-6 months notice to the owner. More intense uses can be subject to more frequent reporting if Council deems it necessary. The IRS has many rules that it cannot possibly enforce for every tax return, but random (and targeted) audits serve to keep most people following the rules. Our town should be able to do something similar, by establishing a clear procedure for enforcement and carrying it out.
With respect to the Comprehensive Plan, the current draft is inconsistent in its references to the town-serving policies. In the Data and Analysis section of the Future Land Use Element, the GLA maximums are described, but in the Goals and Policies section they have been removed. Given the shortage of retail space in the current environment, many residents (myself included) would like to see the GLA maximums returned to their 2010 levels of 2,000 sf for commercial and 3,000 for Worth Ave. and see them restored to the Goals and Policies section.
The town-serving concept with GLA limits has been the backbone of the Comprehensive Plan for decades and has been a most effective planning and zoning tool. I believe that the town would change dramatically in a negative way without it. The ability to grant a special exception gives the Council the appropriate leeway to waive the GLA maximums in unusual circumstances.