A proposal involving a 48-unit townhome development on a former church property in Palm Springs was unanimously rejected by the village's Planning and Zoning Board Tuesday— but the fight over the project is far from over.
Developers are seeking to annex the Community of Christ Church property at 1580 Prairie Road — a 3.57-acre site — into the Village of Palm Springs to make way for the townhome project. The Planning and Zoning Board voted the items down Tuesday evening, but the item is scheduled to go before another advisory board on Oct. 8 before heading to the Village Council.
Residents turned out in force to oppose the plan, raising concerns about traffic, density and the project's impact on the character of their neighborhood.
Michael Watson, who has lived in the area since 1999, said the scale of the project is simply out of step with the surrounding community.
"We don't want it, nobody in this neighborhood wants it," said Watson.
Urban Design Studio, is a West Palm Beach planning and landscape architecture firm, who submitted the annexation, land use, rezoning and site plan applications on the developer's behalf. Bradley Miller of Urban Design Studio told the board the project is designed at roughly 78% of the allowable density for the site.
"We think that this will be a good addition to the community for a property that’s basically sat unused for a long period of time,” Miller said.
Each of the 48 townhomes would include three bedrooms, a one-car garage and space for two additional vehicles in the driveway. A traffic study conducted as part of the review found the development would generate 324 average daily trips.
That figure did little to satisfy neighbors.
"You could put three houses on an acre, we can have nine or 10 houses here, period — with nine or 15 vehicles," Watson said. "They want to put 48 units and they're two stories, so we're just not interested."
The Palm Beach County School District has also weighed in, according to documents presented at the meeting. The district says the project could strain nearby schools and is requesting a $106,399 voluntary contribution before any building permits are issued.
Resident Carol Tognacci said the neighborhood's aging infrastructure cannot support the added density — pointing to gaps that have existed for years.
"Our neighborhood has pretty much stayed the same. Same with the infrastructure — we don't have sidewalks, we don't have street lights. We still are all on septic tanks, we don't have a sewer system either," Tognacci said.
"Our infrastructure will not handle that many more people," she added. "We have raccoons, we have all kinds of animals, and the neighbors — we're not happy with what this will do to the whole feel of our neighborhood."
The proposal now moves to another advisory board on Oct. 8, then to the Village Council for a final decision.
