PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A new park planned next to the Avenir community in Palm Beach Gardens has drawn concerns from residents over accessibility, security, and environmental impacts. The city held the first of three community meetings to hear those concerns before finalizing the plan.
WATCH: CONCERNS OVER PROPOSED NATURE PARK AND TRAIL
The Gardens Nature Park and Trail has been in the works since 2018 — before Avenir was even constructed — and has been approved for nearly a decade. The project is now entering its final planning phase before construction begins.
Residents reached out to our newsroom with concerns and invited us to attend the first community meeting with the city.
Pauline Mayer said the outreach was intentional.
"We called you to create public awareness," Mayer said.
Suzanne Kline, who was severely injured during the 2024 tornadoes, said she and others seeking ADA compliance have concerns about the distance between the park's amenities and its entrance, which she said could make the facility difficult for people with mobility issues to use. She also raised concerns about security and environmental impacts.
"I'm not there to fight. I'm there to say I'm concerned," Kline said.
Kline added that the community's connection to nature is not in question.
"We all are about nature. We want to have beautiful trails. I want to bring my grandkids here and feel safe," Kline said.
Dozens of residents attended the meeting with questions for the city. Charoltte Presensky Leisure Services administrator for the city of Palm Beach Gardens, said the feedback was heard.
"I think the people who are neighboring the park have the most concerns. We hear it about security. We have a very engaged police force. They were here tonight. They heard that, I think the location of the amenities and those things, so everything that we took in today, the team's going to look at and where we can modify the plan, we will," Presensky said.
After the meeting, some residents said they were satisfied with the city's responses, while others remained skeptical. The city said it plans to hold two more community meetings, rework the plan to address resident concerns, and begin construction in the coming months.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
