2007 zyscovich downtown master plan (dmp) final

DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN UPDATE

FINAL

04.07

WEST PALM BEACH

100 N Biscayne Blvd . FL 27Miami . FL 33131. 2304

t 305 372 5222f 305 577 4521

e [email protected] www.zyscovich.comZYSCOVICH

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1 .00 I NTRO D U C TI O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 .00 G U I D I N G P R I N CI P L E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3 .00 E XI S TI N G CO N D ITI O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.01 Regional Importance.02 Historical Context.03 City Form and Development Patterns.04 Ownership.05 Land Use and Zoning.06 Regulatory Requirements.07 Cultural Resources.08 Employment

4 .00 AC TI O N ITEM S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

5 .00 D I S TR I C TS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.01 Description.02 Quadril le Business District.03 Government Center.04 Quadril le.05 Clematis Waterfront.06 Industrial Chic.07 Northwest Neighborhood.08 Loftin.09 Providencia Park.10 Brelsford.11 Transit Oriented Development.12 CityPlace

6 .00 ZO N I N G R ECO M M EN DATI O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

A P P EN D IX : P U B L I C I N VO LV EM ENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TA B L E O F CO N T E N T S

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATEI N T R O D U C T I O N

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INTRODUCTION

The Downtown Master Plan Update (DMP Update) for the City of West Palm Beach is a newly conceived vision for the Downtown based on lessons learned from the original 1994 Downtown Master Plan (1994 DMP) and the DMP Update from 2002 and 2004. It considers the goals and objectives of the previous plan and modifies them to reflect current development potentials and the community’s vision for the Downtown, promoting two themes--sustainability and quality of life.

PURPOSE: The DMP Update was initiated by the City Commission and Mayor because of their concern with the quality and massing of new development in the Downtown. Buildings were being designed with identical heights and styles, from curb to curb, and with no setbacks or variation in the facade. This lack of variety created a continuous wall of buildings and provided no place for pedestrians. It was the City Commission and Mayor’s belief that their form based code was promulgating these types of buildings and needed to be reconceived. Thus, the Commission’s ensuing request for proposals and scope of work was designed as a four part study:

Evaluating and updating the original 1994 DMP with consideration for the more than 40 active development projects in the DowntownReviewing and amending regulatory policies adopted subsequent to the 1994 DMPCreating a comprehensive master plan for the Downtown based on an updated Market AnalysisEliciting significant stakeholder input from the City, the community, and the Downtown Master Plan Update Advisory Board

INTENT: The resultant Plan combines the concepts of districts--which reinforce neighborhood character with architectural guidelines, and maximum building envelopes,--which allows architects to fit FAR in different ways to enable building variation. Both concepts will help Downtown West Palm Beach achieve sustainability and an enhanced quality of life by supporting a diverse urban fabric which consistently attracts people, activities, and investment. Downtown has the potential to achieve this diversity by building on the authentic character of its neighborhoods. This Plan suggests formalizing these neighborhoods as districts and requiring buildings and uses which support the neighborhood character. The Market Study confirmed that there is also an opportunity to introduce new uses into the districts including hospitality, cultural, and office which will be encouraged with development incentives. Over time, by encouraging varied uses and buildings, the Downtown will evolve into a sustainable place, with distinct and different neighborhoods.

The Plan encourages building variation through a combination of design strategies. First, building heights and

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EXAMPLES OF NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE DOWNTOWN

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massing differ depending on their location in the Downtown. The Plan provides regulations based on street type, in addition to the use requirements by district. The Plan divides the Downtown into three street types and provides characteristics for each type so that buildings will follow an overall logic depending on the street’s functionality. Second, buildings differ because of the building envelope requirements. The Plan provides the building envelope as a reference within which the architect may fit FAR, height, and building massing. However, the architect may never build up to the envelope. In this way, the architect has suffi cient design fl exibility to create a building which adds to the integrity and character of its district. The envelope also depends on the lot size. These design strategies will ensure that new buildings contribute to a more sustainable Downtown West Palm.

The Plan also suggests some larger, district-wide concepts to connect the districts and create a commonality among these neighborhoods:

Precipitate corridor-wide redevelopment by establishing characteristics and a rationale for new buildings based on street type and an overall street hierarchy for DowntownCreate a Quadrille Business District on the western edge of the FEC rail line to provide an urban core and an anchor between the two main retail centers in the study areaDevelop a linear park along the FEC and a new road parallel to the park to make the office core more viable for Class A office market and to provide a green spine throughout most of the Downtown

The Plan also identifies opportunities for new parks and open space, methods for incorporating attainable housing into the Downtown, and strategies for redeveloping the residential neighborhoods.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: This report is designed to be used as a guide for future development in Downtown West Palm Beach. It provides an overall vision for the Downtown and specific steps for achieving it.

Chapter 1, provides an overview of the Plan and the overall intent of the DMP Update. Chapter 2, “Guiding Principles”, identifies the overall vision for the plan as six defining principles. These principles provide the framework for the entire DMP Update. Chapter 3, “Existing Conditions” identifies elements of historic and current conditions which validate the guiding principals. Chapter 4, “Action Items” distills the guiding principals into a more thorough set of objectives and strategies for achieving the principles. Chapter 5, “Districts” sets forth specific requirements to sustain the special character of each district. Chapter 6, “Zoning Recommendations”, proposes a concise set of preliminary zoning changes.

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EXAMPLES OF POTENTIAL BUILD-OUT WITH 10-STORY BUILDING ENVELOPE


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More precise zoning regulations and design guidelines will be prepared as a companion to the plan, but are not part of this document.

1994 DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN

In 1994 the City published a master plan for its Downtown (DMP) which focused on converting the Downtown zoning code to a form-based code. The major thrust of the DMP was to simplify Downtown’s code to “…achieve predictability for all new buildings, to ensure security of investment for property owners and developers as well as an aesthetic experience for users…”. The DMP relied on the concept of “predictability” to foster Downtown’s future as a unique and special place with a broad spectrum of pedestrian uses. This was articulated by sub-dividing the Downtown into four zoning types each associated with a building typology form and a corresponding maximum height. The recommended typologies included yard buildings, low buildings (urban house, row house, and courtyard buildings), medium buildings, and tower buildings. The envelope of the building form provided the development cap instead of FAR, density, setbacks, and open space, which were not conceived as part of this simplified code. This well intended approach to zoning, however, failed to predict that the building typologies, designed for single or double lots, would be expanded for full and half blocks as a result of an intense, residential driven development boom. In this residential driven market, the latest development projects maximize the building envelope only, sometimes on an entire city block, with no measurable cap, resulting in buildings with large, repetitive, and unarticulated facades. By removing the conventional zoning caps from Downtown’s zoning code, the City gave up requirements for ground floor open space, building articulation, and building variation.

The City also gave up the opportunity to create special and distinct districts by accepting a vague definition for mixed uses. While the DMP recommended mixed uses throughout Downtown and identified locations for civic and ground floor retail, the “mix” could have been more clearly defined to reflect the intended building sizes, styles, and predominant uses for the 9 neighborhood districts identified in the Plan. This strategy might have been more evident had the DMP included a market study for all major uses, rather than for retail uses only. The market study would have defined future development potentials at specific locations for a more clear vision and direction for each of the 9 neighborhood districts. Instead, the DMP missed an opportunity to really augment the neighborhood districts with character enhancing buildings and uses in support of a more sustainable Downtown.

Finally, the 1994 plan did not fully address the low-density residential districts in the northern section of the Downtown and specific steps to enhance and improve these areas. Although Providencia Park and the Northwest

BUILDING TYPOLOGIES FROM 1994 MASTER PLAN


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neighborhoods are identified in the plan as opportunities for redevelopment and preservation, little attention was made to Brelsford Park and the neighborhoods along North Dixie Highway and Railroad Avenue. Since the DMP was completed, Brelsford, North Dixie Highway, and Railroad Avenue have become important neighborhoods with potential for alternative housing types, commercial, and office uses.

2002 AND 2004 UPDATE

In 2002 the City amended their Master Plan to attract housing downtown, increase open space, and preserve historic structures. The Amendment created two new incentive programs:

The Residential Incentive Program (RIP)The Transfer of Development Rights Program (TDR)

The residential incentive program was designed to compensate for market imbalance between residential and commercial development by providing three additional floors for residential projects, and to create public open space that encourages a pedestrian environment in the city’s downtown master plan area. The residential incentive program is further intended to assist the city with meeting the goals established in the transportation concurrency exception area (TCEA) contained in the Transportation Element by encouraging the development of residential units within the downtown.

The transfer of the development rights program (TDR program) is a tool to preserve historic buildings and create public open spaces. The TDR program allows the transfer of unused development rights from properties occupied by historic buildings or public open spaces to designated receiving areas to allow buildings heights to increase eight, ten or twenty stories. The TDR program provides an incentive for downtown property owners to comply with the city’s historic preservation and public open space initiatives.

The height bonuses for both programs do not impose any restrictions on the scale or size of additional stories. There are no setback requirements or limitation on building footprints. Since the housing market strengthened, many developers took advantage of both programs to maximize the total square footage of residential units. These programs have had a significant impact on the articulation and massing of new buildings in the Downtown and are the source of the criticism that new buildings have been designed from curb to curb and with no setbacks or variation in the facade.

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NEXT STEPS

This document has been formally adopted by the City Commission and is being incorporated into the City’s Comprehensive Plan. On April 9th, 2007, the final Comprehensive Plan Amendment will be presented to the City Commission. Once approved, the City will create new zoning regulations and design guidelines to reflect the Principles and Action Items described in this report. The regulations will provide specific guidelines related to height, building setbacks, uses, building facades, open space, and parking.


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2.0 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

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The Guiding Principles in this document provide the framework for the Master Plan Update. They establish overarching goals which have shaped the final vision and zoning recommendations for the Downtown. These include:

P R I N CI P L E 1: Create a sustainable Downtown with an enhanced quality of life for residents and tourists by promoting buildings and uses which are unique to each newly defined neighborhood district.

P R I N CI P L E 2 : Develop new zoning recommendations and architectural guidelines to reinforce the character of the districts.

P R I N CI P L E 3: Create a street classification system as a rationale for organizing building setbacks and street frontage require-ments.

P R I N CI P L E 4 : Use redevelopment to create an employment base.

P R I N CI P L E 5: Create a comprehensive strategy for parks and open space to strengthen the visual and physical connection be-tween the neighborhoods.

P R I N CI P L E 6 : Improve and enhance residential neighborhoods and provide opportunities for new residential uses and attainable housing.

P R I N CI P L E 7: Establish connectivity throughout the Downtown.

P R I N CI P L E 8: Develop a retail strategy for the Downtown.

P R I N CI P L E 9:Develop a cultural strategy for Downtown.

G U I D I N G P R I N C I P L E S

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P R I N CI P L E 1: Create a sustainable Downtown with an enhanced quality of life for residents and tourists by pro-moting buildings and uses which are unique to each newly defined neighborhood district.

Recent studies in tourism show that there is a shift in the tourism industry from monument type destinations to urban destinations. Tourists choose urban destinations to experience the city itself, rather than a specific museum or institution. Cities with successful urban tourism are composed of varied neighborhoods each with rich character and heritage. These neighborhoods or districts are distinct and unique from one another and contribute to the overall attractiveness of the urban area.

Applying this concept to Downtown West Palm Beach can help transform it into an exciting and vibrant center, with an enhanced quality of life for a more sustainable Downtown. The proposed districts formalize the existing Downtown neighborhoods and promote buildings and uses which are characteristic of these neighborhoods through zoning and architectural guidelines.

The districts can generally be divided into four categories: mixed-use districts, low scale residential districts, existing districts with minor changes, and existing districts with no proposed changes.


PROPOSED DISTRICTS

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The Mixed-use districts include the Quadrille Business District, Government Center, Quadrille, Loftin and Clema-tis Waterfront.

The concept of the Quadrille Business District district is to reinvigorate a vacant and desolate part of the Downtown, which straddles Clematis Street and CityPlace, by creating a high rise office district. The Quadrille district is intended to function as a transition zone between the Quadrille Business Dis-trict and the waterfront. The Government Center district is predominantly government related buildings. The Loftin district provides a transition between the residential and Government Center districts and serves as an auxiliary location for office and residential uses.The Clematis Waterfront district is a proposed conservation district to protect the scale and character of this historical retail corridor.

The Low-scale Residential districts are composed of the northern residential neighborhoods and include the Indus-trial Chic, the Northwest Neighborhood, Providencia Park, and Brelsford Park.

The Industrial Chic district is an alternative neighborhood which promotes less conventional housing types, live/work units, and large lofts in a gritty part of the City.The Northwest Neighborhood district is an important historic neighborhood which should be en-hanced and improved as described in the Stull and Lee Plan. The intention of the district is to protect the single family uses in the interior and to encourage commercial and multi-family on the perimeter streets.Providencia Park is a well preserved neighborhood with historic value, which should be maintained and protected.The Brelsford Park district provides an opportunity to reinvent a blighted neighborhood as an Arts District, create a more compatible neighborhood with the Industrial Chic district, and preserve the existing scale of the neighborhood.

The remaining districts—Lakefront, Flagler Waterfront and Cultural Arts are already built out and do not have any proposed changes. Additional changes are recommended for the TOD site and the City owned properties.

The TOD site is an underutilized area adjacent to the Tri-rail station which presents an exciting op-portunity for a new pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with a mix housing prices within close proximity to public transportation.The City owned properties include the Tent site and Triangle sites within the CityPlace district.

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The City currently uses a form based code for the Downtown. The code did not anticipate the large scale lot aggregation that has become so common recently. It was geared towards small scale developments on one or two lots; therefore it does not provide sufficient setbacks or limit the buildable area within the set form. This leads to a lack of building variation and character. As a result, the public realm suffers.

These problems could be addressed with a new zoning code with specific recommendations for each district depending on the lot size and street type. In addition, architectural guidelines enforced by a Design Review Board can further support the districts by addressing appropriate character and scale to encourage variation in building form; elevating the quality of the public realm and new projects.

The code will include recommendations for:

Building envelopesFloor Area Ratio (FAR) the ratio of building area to lot sizeBuilding heightGround floor setbacks to accommodate adequate sidewalk widths and landscapingOpen space requirementsBuilding setbacks for taller buildings which relate to the street width

The zoning recommendations should also include incentives for specific uses based on the Market Study. It should also incorporate the Downtown’s current Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program to maintain incentives for historic preservation, open space, and attainable housing.

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P R I N CI P L E 2 : Develop new zoning recommendations and architectural guidelines to reinforce the character of the districts. Taking the following considerations into account:

Consideration 1: Guiding principles provide recommendations for maximum development potential, but not all sites will be able to maximize these potentials.

Consideration 2: The zoning recommendations expressed as FAR (Floor Area Ratio - the ratio of building floor area to the lot size) are equal to or exceed the current base development rights.

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATE G U I D I N G P R I N C I P L E S

EXISTING ZONING

Additional Height with Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs)

Additional Height with Residential Incentive Program (RIP)

Base Height

Open Space

PROPOSED ZONING

EXAMPLE OF THE PROPOSED CONVERSION OF THE CURRENT ZONING (TYPE III) TO AN FAR OF 2.5

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATEG U I D I N G P R I N C I P L E S

The proposed street hierarchy plan was designed in conjunction with the district plan to form the organizational structure for new building regulations. Each street within the Downtown limits has been designated as Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary depending on its functionality.

Primary streets will be tree lined boulevards which move both pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and have attractive window treatments and facades. Secondary streets are the main retail streets which are more conducive to strolling. Tertiary streets are heavily landscaped roadways with narrow sidewalks and wide drainage swales to foster significant planting areas and increase pervious surface area. Tertiary streets may either be residential or mixed-use.

By establishing a street hierarchy and characteristics for each street type, a rationale can be created for new buildings in terms of building frontage, setbacks, treatment of parking structures, and uses.

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P R I N CI P L E 3: Create a street classification system as a rationale for organizing building setbacks and street frontage requirements.

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PROPOSED STREET HIERARCHY

Primary Street

Secondary Street

Tertiary Street

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The following sections are recommendations. More specific guidelines for each street will be identified in the zoning regulations.


EXAMPLE OF A PRIMARY STREET

EXAMPLE OF A SECOND-ARY STREET

EXAMPLE OF A MIXED-USE TERTIARY STREET

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It is important for the Master Plan to promote office development within theQuadrille Business District to:

Establish this strategic area as a core destination for professional services firms (e.g., legal, investment/banking, and business advisory) that seek high profile addresses with supporting retail/commercial servicesBecome the catalyst that links the two primary retail nodes (CityPlace and Clematis Street)

According to the CRA’s Market Study, between 2006 and 2011 the Quadrille Business District can accommodate approximately 850,000 SF of office space. Projections also indicate that the office market will continue to grow, even long term, over the next 20 years. (Please refer to the Market Study.)

Class A office is recommended for the Quadrille Business District and is typical for new office developments in downtowns because of the high cost of land and the large corporate user who demands a higher quality office space. These users will provide the nexus to make the Quadrille Business District successful by supporting a variety of ground floor uses including retail, galleries, and personal service which will help connect CityPlace to Clematis Street and potentially extend

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P R I N CI P L E 4 : Use redevelopment to create an employment base.

PROPOSED CENTRAL BUSINESS CORE


Class A: Newer properties usually characterized by high quality design, the use of high-end building materials, state of the art technology for voice and data, on-site support service and maintenance, and often includes full service ancillary uses such as, but not limited to a bank, restaurant, coffee shop, health club, printing shop, etc. Typically offer larger floor plates (20,000 - 25,000 SF), accessed from a central interior lobby.

Class B: Typically smaller and older properties that have been renovated and are in prime locations. Newer Class B offices are not in prime locations.

Class C: Older properties that have not been renovated.

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P ROJ EC TED D EM A N D750,000 TO 800,000 sq. ft.

N E T N E W D EM A N D(net of 350,000 to 450,000 square feet of already planned office projects)

QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT SPACE405,000 to 510,000 sq. ft.

INDUSTRIAL CHIC , N. DIXIE HIGHWAY, TOD, LOFTIN, GOVERNMENT CENTER SPACE25,000 to 50,000 sq. ft

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ConservativeExpected

DEMAND FOR OFFICE SPACE (SQ. FT.) DOWNTOWN WEST PALM BEACH 2006-2011


north into other, more low scale and residential oriented retail. Class A buildings generally require high-profile corporate tenants as anchors, with one or two of these tenants occupying somewhere in the range of 30 percent of the building.To accommodate large users/anchors, larger floor plates are needed, typically 20,000+ square feet.In an effort to effectively promote and capture anchor tenants and, furthermore, cultivate the core office district, the City may need to provide incentives, in conjunction

with the Palm Beach County Business Development Board (BDB) to attract large office users.In addition to existing incentives offered in the City and County, the City may consider providing the following.

Targeted reduction in Transfer Development Rights (TDR) whereby developer’s may be granted increased density/height allowance without having to purchase TDRs from the City’s pool, or purchase the TDRs at a discounted price;Assistance in the development of parking structures, given the fact that this component to the building process often proves to be the obstacle to financial feasibility; andAssistance in the “finish” build-out for large anchor tenants, which ordinarily is the responsibility of the developer. In many cases, the tenant build-out may reach $40 to $50 per square foot.

5 to 10 percent of the net new demand (or roughly 25,000 to 50,000 square feet) may be accommodated in other areas of the downtown such as North Dixie Highway, the proposed TOD, Loftin, the Government Center, and the “industrial chic” district. These are assumed to include smaller services firms that are more price sensitive, and/or seek a less formal office environment. This type of space may be Class B in quality, and be less traditional (less formal) in terms of design as this space may be integrated into mixed use properties.

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P R I N CI P L E 5: Create a comprehensive strategy for parks and open space to make linear connections to neighborhoods.

Existing Parks

Proposed Parks and Open Space

While the Downtown has a linear system of beautiful parks along the Intercostal Waterway, there are very few additional open spaces in other parts of the District. There is also a significant lack of green streetscapes because most streets are too narrow to accommodate sufficient landscaping. This overall absence of green impacts the Downtown’s quality of life and has somewhat hindered its ability to attract new population and appeal to the current residents. Green and green spaces are critical components of successful urban places because they enhance a pedestrian’s outdoor experience and promote pedestrian mobility with additional shade, protection from the elements, and opportunities for community interaction and connections with nature.

John Nolen, the original town planner for West Palm Beach, recognized this important role of open space when he designed a central spine of vegetation along Clematis Street, anchored on either end by major green spaces.

Although his vision was only partially realized, the overall intent can still be achieved through a variety of larger green strategies:

EXISTING AND PROPOSED PARKS


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CREATE OPEN SPACES FOR PEOPLE

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Create a linear green park parallel to the FEC rail line.Identify locations for pocket parks especially in the residential districts.Activate existing open spaces. Develop new street sections based on a hierarchy of primary, secondary, and tertiary streets.Utilize City owned lands to create better gateways into the Downtown especially on the Tent and Triangle sites.Develop open space requirements for each new development.

These improvements will help to create a network of open spaces and landscaped streets which can both visually and physically connect the existing neighborhoods. The Downtown can then begin to articulate its street hierarchy using different streetscape treatments which correspond to building intensities and proposed districts characteristics.

Additional open space requirements for buildings may be found in Chapter 4.0, Action Items 1.5, 1.6, 3.1, and 5.1.

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6.ACTIVATE OPEN SPACES

CREATE POCKET PARKS

LINEAR GREEN PARK

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Residential uses are an integral element to any Downtown’s success. They provide a consistent population to support other uses which make places interesting and vibrant including a variety of retail and entertainment uses, food and beverage, parks, and cultural uses. Downtown West Palm Beach has a variety of housing types including single family, which is unusual to South Florida. While most of the lower density residential uses are concentrated in the northern portion of the Downtown and have sufficient density to make good neighborhoods, many, including Brelsford and Northwest, are in poor condition and do not enhance the quality of life in the Downtown or its future as a sustainable place. Lack of public and private investment has hindered the progress of the neighborhoods, but redevelopment initiatives related to the district and corridor enhancements and on-going housing demand will support mixed use and live-work districts to help broaden their economic base and create pockets of sustainable communities.

There are also opportunities to incorporate attainable housing into the lower density residential neighborhoods, as well as some of the higher end condominium projects. Recent residential development activity in Downtown West Palm Beach has

P R I N CI P L E 6 : Improve and enhance residential neighborhoods and provide op-portunities for new residential uses and attainable housing.

BRELSFORD

BRELSFORD

RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS

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played a major part of the area’s redevelopment and growth. While the high cost of land and construction continues to fuel the housing affordability issue, this relatively strong level of demand for housing in Downtown West Palm Beach creates opportunities for redevelopment within its neighborhoods and for attainable housing. This demand also supports the findings in the Market Study which recommend building a balanced inventory of for-sale and rental product.

The City is currently working with a Housing Consultant to identify strategies to utilize the Attainable Housing Trust Fund. The Fund is mainly generated from the sale of publicly owned Transferred Development Rights. The Phase 2 zoning regulations will evaluate how the City can use incentives and subsidies to encourage attainable housing. All planned private projects could be encouraged to provide a specified percentage of attainable units, either on-site or at a remote location. Other options include relying on the City to develop infill housing on publicly owned sites or vacant parcels which may be purchased. The consultant will also determine the mix of unit types including single family, semi-attached single family, mid-rise and high-rise, providing a range of unit sizes to accommodate a variety of household sizes.

NORTHWEST

PROVIDENCIA PARK

PROVIDENCIA PARK

INDUSTRIAL CHIC

NORTHWEST

BRELSFORD PARK


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Although compact in size, Downtown West Palm Beach lacks cohesion and connectivity. This condition is caused by physical and psychological barriers which segment the Downtown into isolated areas. Large pockets of underdeveloped or vacant land, groupings of disparate uses, and dividers such as major arterials and the FEC railroad tracks, have prevented the Downtown from realizing its full potential.

The most significant impediment to the Downtown’s resurgence is the disconnection between the two city centers, CityPlace and Clematis Street. While both CityPlace and Clematis Street at some point experienced success, they have eventually become two competing areas, and Clematis Street is not currently capturing its fair share of demand.

These activity centers are approximately 740 feet apart (the equivalent of two City blocks) and separated by Quadrille Boulevard and the FEC rail line, which is approximately 200 feet wide. Although less than a quarter mile apart, the route between the two is perceived to be much longer, unpleasant, and even unsafe. These blocks are mostly composed of undeveloped land, surface parking, or institutional buildings and since Quadrille Boulevard is geared towards vehicular traffic, it is difficult for pedestrians to traverse. These two districts should continue to serve as the anchors for new retail development.

Redefining a central business core to overcome the physical boundaries between the two retail centers will help to link them and will require a shift in the Downtown’s center of gravity from the waterfront to the west of Quadrille. This new business core will have the most intense development in the Downtown and create a true center between Clematis and CityPlace. This will help the Downtown transform into a more viable and lively urban environment.

P R I N CI P L E 7: Establish connectivity throughout city.

CLEMATIS STREET EAST

THE CURRENT CONDITIONS ALONG THE FEC MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS

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CLEMATIS STREET EAST

THOUGH ACTIVE WITH PEDESTRIANS, CITYPLACE IS SEGMENTED FROM THE MAIN PART OF THE DOWNTOWN

PROPOSED CONNECTION BETWEEN CLEMATIS AND CITYPLACE

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A successful downtown is one that offers a collection of retail and restaurants found nowhere else in the market, in a setting that satisfies shoppers’ enthusiasm for the downtown experience. Palm Beach County has little in the way of eclectic retail, and what it does have is not assembled in a single dominant district. Downtown West Palm Beach can take advantage of this void by pursuing unique and interesting operators which give the area a sense of character and eclecticism.

The Downtown district offers two clear retail and location “poles” with CityPlace and the waterfront. While CityPlace already has a strong retail following in the Downtown, the waterfront does not. Therefore, there is an opportunity to extend retail north from CityPlace to Clematis as more funky and edgy retail.

Major chains coupled with a significant collection of independent restaurateurs may be located close to the shoreline and virtually everywhere else along Clematis. West of Narcissus, Clematis must emphasize lifestyle retailing and food and beverage. The block of Clematis west of Quadrille is developing on its own into an eclectic, bohemian district. This should be nurtured.

P R I N CI P L E 8: Develop a retail strategy for the Downtown.

According to the Downtown Market Study, an estimated 21,000 office workers will support 185,494 square feet of retail by 2011. Approximately 267,028 square feet of retail will be supported by visitors by 2011, and 1,210,488 will be supported by residents. In total, the Downtown will be able to support 1.66 million square feet of retail by 2011.

POTENTIAL RETAILERS


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POTENTIAL RETAILERS

There is also a market for retail outside of these two anchors. Clematis may be the spine of the retail and entertainment district, but should not be the only street. Adjacent blocks can and should tie in as well.

Overall, the key is to foster the sense of eclecticism that sets Downtown in general –and Clematis in particular – apart.


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The cultural market area for downtown West Palm Beach is substantial and represents a significant subset of the overall Palm Beach County visitor and resident markets. Interviews with downtown West Palm Beach cultural or-ganizations indicate that Downtown West Palm Beach has the potential to serve as a cultural anchor for all of Palm Beach County. Four regions of Downtown present healthy opportunities for cultural development:

Cultural Arts District: The prime opportunity within the Cultural Arts District is an additional 1,000-1,500 seat performing arts venue adjacent to the Kravis Center and its parking structure. The focus for the Cultural Arts District should be to lever-age the existing success of the Kravis Center as a drive-to destination and to form a better physical pedestrian connection to CityPlace.

Quadrille Business District: The three blocks along Rosemary Avenue from Fern to Clematis forms the critical cultural tendon that could re-vitalize west Clematis and north CityPlace as daytime and evening retail and restaurant destinations. Arts spaces appropriate for this district are small galleries of 1,200 to 1,500 square feet and simple performance spaces of under 100 seats. In addition, a large anchor cultural organization would be a welcome addition to the key Rose-mary-Clematis intersection.

Clematis Waterfront: Arts organizations are hopeful that Clematis will revive into a thriving downtown but few are willing to risk the uncertainty surrounding the future character of the area. Clematis presents a good opportunity for short-term arts incubator spaces in the vacant lofts and storefronts. The sizable cultural market area for downtown West Palm Beach indicates support organizations and studios form a viable industry that would be able to encourage future retail and restaurant development on Clematis.

Quadrille: This district offers an alternative connection between east CityPlace and Clematis as well as CityPlace to the his-toric waterfront. The challenge present in the district, however, is that much of the interstitial space between these major organizations is developing in a manner incompatible with the character of a walkable arts district. In addi-tion, Quadrille itself poses a psychological and physical severance across the district and between downtown and CityPlace However, a major opportunity exists to support Quadrille as the cultural connection from the powerful draw of the Norton Museum of Art and Palm Beach Atlantic University to the core of downtown West Palm Beach. Accomplishing this connection would require purposeful planning and parking and pedestrian considerations.

P R I N CI P L E 9: Develop a cultural strategy for Downtown.

EXISTING CULTURAL USES : CLEMATIS WATERFRONT

EXISTING CULTURAL USES : KRA-VIS CENTER

QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT


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PROPOSED CULTURAL USES: DANCE

PROPOSED CULTURAL USES: THEATRE

PROPOSED CULTURAL USES: BROADWAY

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DISTRICTS WITH CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES


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3.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATEE X I S T I N G CO N D I T I O N S

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATE E X I S T I N G CO N D I T I O N S

REGIONAL IMPORTANCEOne of Downtown West Palm Beach’s assets is its close proximity to several significant regional attractions. These attractions should be cultivated to help the Downtown redevelop. For example, the West Palm Beach Airport’s proximity to Downtown is appealing to an office market that relies on airport travel to do business. New residents might be attracted to the Downtown’s adjacency to Palm Beach, the Intracoastal, and natural resources to the west of Downtown, while corporate owners in Palm Beach could be interested in opening a local Downtown office. The allure of Palm Beach itself is significant enough to draw local businesses and employers who might service the Palm Beach population. Each of these attractions should be considered when developing strategies to redevelop the Downtown.

REGIONAL ATTRACTIONS

Our analysis of Downtown West Palm Beach began with a thorough investigation of the Downtown’s existing is-sues, opportunities and assets to begin to address opportunities to make the Downtown a more sustainable place with an enhanced quality of life. After understanding the regional significance of Downtown West Palm Beach and its proximity to the airport, Palm Beach, and I-95 we began to look at its historical significance and the initial vision for Downtown. We evaluated the distribution of built and un-built space, land ownership, land uses and zoning, and discovered that a significant amount of land in the Downtown was owned and developed by govern-ment and other public agencies while most of the remaining vacant parcels were being developed as residential condominiums. We also discovered that although there is a strong desire to enhance Downtown as an employ-ment center, there are currently very few employers in the Downtown. In addition, the City is obligated to main-tain a particular ratio of residential to non-residential land uses as part of the concurrency requirements specified in the Downtown Transportation Concurrency Exception Area (TCEA) which impacts the amount of future non-residential development allowed in the Downtown. Finally, future parking demands will be met with private parking structures and additional transportation needs will be addressed with the recommended expansion of the existing trolley system in the Downtown.

WORTH AVENUE

WORTH AVENUE

NATURAL RESOURCES

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A new Vision for Downtown will expand on John Nolen’s original concept for the City’s center. Downtown WPB was founded by Henry Flagler in 1893, as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on Palm Beach. Unlike many cities in Florida, West Palm Beach is a master planned community, conceived by one of the great planners of his century, John Nolen. Nolen’s vision for West Palm Beach, and Downtown in particular, was of a green urban core, centered on Clematis Street connected to the Intracoastal waterway and Clear Lake by two public parks. City government was designed to sit across from two additional public parks on Clematis.

Although Nolen’s plan was not fully developed to match his vision, much of the original intent has been embedded in the urban fabric, particularly with Clematis Street as the central spine and the park terminus at the eastern end.

Most of the historic neighborhoods in the Downtown were developed from the 1890s to the 1920s. The Northwest neighborhood, settled in 1894, was recognized as an important historic district in 1992. Providencia Park was developed in 1919 and still has many significant historic structures. And Clematis was the main retail hub of the City. All of these neighborhoods have important characters which should be preserved and enhanced through the Master Plan Update process.

H I S TO R I C A L CO N T E X T

JOHN NOLEN’S 1923 PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN WEST PALM BEACH

E X I S T I N G CO N D I T I O N S

HISTORIC STRUCTURES AND MARKERS

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An exercise in illustrating built versus un-built space shows that only about 60 to 65% of the Downtown is built out. These large voids in the urban fabric become important for the Downtown’s redevelopment. Many of the voids have proposed development plans. There are approximately 47 proposed projects in the DMP area, in various stages of development.

Built Space within DMP Boundaries

Unbuilt Space within DMP Boundaries

UNBUILT AND BUILT SPACE


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C IT Y FO R M A N D D E V ELO PM ENT PAT TER N S

THE PRADO

LAKEVIEW BOULEVARD

HISTORIC CLEMATIS STREET

CITYPLACE

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P U B L I C OW N ER S H I P A little more than a quarter of the Downtown is owned by the public sector: West Palm Beach, the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Palm Beach County Public Schools, State of Florida, Florida Power and Light, and the Federal Government. This large volume of publicly owned land is rather atypical for a downtown and creates some challenges for redevelopment. For example, most public entities have limited budgets and, therefore, limited opportunity to improve their properties. However, often these entities are more amenable to working within the guidelines of a larger vision as is the case with Downtown West Palm Beach. In addition, the City may begin to shape the Downtown using their own land as an example.

PUBLICLY OWNED LAND 2006 CITY GIS DATABASE

City of West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach Lessor

West Palm Beach CRA

West Palm Beach CRA Lessor

Town of Palm Beach

Black Historical Preservation

Palm Beach County

State of Florida

Federal Government

FDOT

Schools


STATE BUILDING

COURTHOUSE

CITY HALL

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LARGE BLOCKS OF PRIVATELY OWNED LAND 2006 CITY GIS DATABASE

The remainder of the land is owned by numerous private sector entities. There are several patterns of land assembly and large or aggregated parcels with single ownership; especially in the neighborhood south of Clematis and East of Quadrille. These sites are particularly important for redevelopment. Some of these are illustrated in the accompanying diagram.

Possible Redevelopment - Large Assemblages of Privately Owned Parcels


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C IT Y FO R M A N D D E V ELO PM ENT PAT TER N S

ROSEMARY

SAPODILLA

ROSEMARY

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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The existing land use map shows that most of the current land in the Downtown zone is either residential or vacant. There is a tremendous amount of vacant land in the Downtown which presents a true opportunity for redevelopment. Although many of these properties are already planned for development, there are still opportunities to influence the building forms and uses.

The second highest group of existing land use is commercial and public/quasi public. Some of the public/quasi public land is ripe for redevelopment while the commercial uses show a pattern of development which has influenced the City’s ability to continue to grow. The two most dense concentrations of retail are located on Clematis and at CityPlace along Rosemary. Both areas compete for business, but CityPlace has been more successful. The Master Plan Update addresses strategies and techniques to improve the connection between the two centers and provides a retail strategy as part of the Market Study.

EXISTING LAND USE 2006 CITY SURVEY

L A N D U S E A N D ZO N I N G

Commercial

Residential

Offi ce

Civic

Light Industrial

Parking

Open Space

Vacant


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L A N D U S E A N D ZO N I N G

Type 1: 1 to 2 Stories

Type 2: 3 to 4 Stories

Type 3: 5 Stories

Type 4: 15 Stories

The existing zoning is organized by zone according to maximum building heights and building typologies. The area to the north is predominantly Type 1 which allows for single family building typologies. The smallest area is dedicated to Type 2 zones which include the area just north of CityPlace and two half blocks just south of Providencia Park. The majority of the Downtown is zoned Type 3, which allows 5 stories with no setback requirements. The major office districts along Australian Avenue and Okeechobee Boulevard are zoned Type 4 and allow the tallest buildings in the Downtown.

EXISTING ZONING 2004 MASTER PLAN


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TR A N S FER O F D E V ELO PM ENT R I G HTS

Additional height is permitted in specific zones through the purchase of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). The TDR program is a tool to preserve historic buildings and create public open spaces. It allows the transfer of unused development rights from properties occupied by historic buildings or public open spaces to designated Receiving Sites located within the downtown overlay zone (DOZ). It uses market forces to pay for preservation of historic buildings and for the creation of new public open spaces, while providing an incentive for downtown property owners to comply with these initiatives.

EXISTING TDR RECEIVING SITES 2006 CITY TDR DATABASE

Existing Receiving Sites 20 M

Up to 8 Stories

Up to 10 Stories

Up to 20 Stories


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TR A N S FER O F D E V ELO PM ENT R I G HTS

EXISTING TDR SENDING SITES 2006 CITY TDR DATABASE

Existing Sending Sites 3 M

According to the data provided by the City’s Planning Department, the current gap between Sending Sites and Receiving Sites is rather large. There are approximately 20 million square feet of sites which are eligible to receive TDRs, while there are only 3 million square feet of sites eligible for sending TDRs. This leaves a gap of 17 million square feet of receiving sites which cannot take advantage of the TDR program.

Existing Historic Structures

Eligible Historic Structures

Existing Open Spaces

Eligible Open Spaces


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533 CLEMATIS STREET

PAYNE AME CHAPEL

HARVEY BUILDING

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R EG U L ATO RY R EQ U I R EM ENTS

TCEAIn 1997, as part of the overall effort to promote urban redevelopment, a Transportation Concurrency Exception Area (TCEA) was established for Downtown West Palm Beach. Within the Downtown, motor vehicle concurrency requirements were lifted, and a transportation vision was established to provide a transportation system that achieves the economic, social and environmental goals of the City. Since then, the transportation and mobility needs within the Downtown are met through the implementation of policies such as the development of a Traffic Management System (TMS), the implementation of intermodal transportation linkages and others.

The TCEA also established a “Buildable Area Monitoring Table” as a projection of possible Downtown development through the year 2010. The table reflects the balance of land uses estimated to be essential in achieving the transportation goals. The Building Area Monitoring Table reflects the maximum capacity for nonresidential uses in Downtown and estimates the number of residential units suggested to maintain the proposed balance of uses1.

The proposed balance of uses shall be achieved by the implementation of the Downtown Master Plan and the proposed increase in the number of residential units in Downtown, the proposed increase in density and mix of land uses in Downtown and the increase in the ratio of residential to non-residential land uses2.

The built ratio of residential to non-residential land uses, based on the Buildable Area Monitoring Table, was estimated as 0.33 for 1995. The DMP projects development to reach a built ratio of 0.46 by the year 2010. The City shall achieve the 0.46 built ratio by the year 2010 in order to continue development. From that date the built ratio can be higher but not lower than the required 0.46 ratio.

The Downtown Master Plan update maintains the maximum development capacity established by the TCEA and continues to promote the balance of uses needed to achieve its transportation goals.

1 Residential development is currently exempt from the Palm Beach County Traffic Performance Standards through the Coastal Exception provisions.2 Built ratio is the total number of built residential dwelling units divided by the total amount of built nonresidential development (1,000sf) in the Downtown.


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The Downtown has significant arts and cultural resources. However, a disconnect among these different uses reduces the impact of these resources on the quality of life in the Downtown. The Kravis Center, Convention Center, and School of the Arts—all located within the boundaries of the Downtown Master Plan (DMP)—serve as local attractions for the community, but are separated by a major thoroughfare. The Norton Museum and Flagler Museum are also significant cultural resources within very close proximity to the DMP boundaries, although not within walking distance. With enhanced connections, these establishments can support ancillary cultural uses which can further help to draw new development including an office center. These uses might include artist’s studio districts, small theater and performance art productions, and magnet schools with cultural programs.

C U LT U R A L R E SO U RCE S

Cultural Uses

CULTURAL USES 2006 CITY GIS DATABASE


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KRAVIS CENTER

LOCAL THEATER ON CLEMATIS

PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVER-SITY

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EM P LOYM ENT The potential to expand the Downtown West Palm Beach office market is a very important component to the overall master plan. The Market Study showed that employment growth is a major driver of demand for real estate. The opportunity to grow the office sector within the Downtown core serves to strengthen the broader area through job growth, enhanced consumer expenditure and retail demand, and primary housing demand. Presently, there are few major corporations in the vicinity of the Downtown to support a significant employment base. While the employment sector in the area is relatively low and dominated by public employees, the Market Analysis demonstrates that there is a potential for private office development. If the Downtown is to redevelop as a true urban center, the City of WPB will need to create programs to attract office and establish a much stronger office market than currently exists.

According to CoStar Market Report, the West Palm Beach submarket comprises a total of 10.2 million square feet of office space. This includes Downtown West Palm Beach, which is generally regarded as the County’s primary Quadrille Business District (CBD). The CBD has approximately 4.7 million square feet of office space, representing slightly less than 20 percent of the County’s total inventory. However, based upon an analysis of historical office development utilizing the CoStar database, it is evident that Downtown West Palm Beach’s capture of the County’s overall office inventory is decreasing.

The Downtown West Palm Beach office market is heavily dominated by small office tenants. Furthermore, with a marginal amount of new office space (roughly 250,000 square feet) having been introduced to the market during the past 15 years, most buildings are representative of a Class B to Class C quality given overall condition and functionality.


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LAMBERT ADVISORY MARKET STUDY

Offi ce Inventory

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PA R K I N G A N A LYS I SIn August 2005 the City completed a Parking Supply and Demand Study which subdivided the downtown area into four regions, “A” through “D” and counted both on-street and off -street parking. Overall, approximately 14,623 spaces are available in the downtown area.

CURRENT CONDITIONSThe Parking Supply and Demand Study revealed patterns of occupancy typical to cities of similar size. Parking demand was highest during the middle of the day (11am to 1pm) during the week, and lowest during non-event weeknights. System-wide occupancy during peak hours averaged about 85% with a large surplus of on-street parking and a small surplus of off -street parking during peak hours. Despite these system-wide characteristics, conditions within the four identifi ed regions varied widely. Overall, there is a parking surplus in the downtown area, though many of these spaces are not co-located with employment centers and public facilities.

FUTURE DEMANDNew development will reduce the excess capacity currently present in the parking system. Large public facilities will be responsible for overcoming the actual defi cits created by many of these projects. At the same time, development patterns will continue to refl ect current surpluses and defi ciencies in quadrant area parking counts. Actual parking locations will continue to be an issue within the downtown area.


PARKING STUDY AREAS DESMAN PARKING STUDY 2005

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P U B L I C TR A N S P O RTATIO N A N A LYS I S

In 2004, the City of West Palm Beach applied for grant funding from the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Palm Beach County. These funds, which were successfully obtained, were identified to support the development of public transportation in underserved areas. The approved Community Transit grant funding provides $120,000 annually for three years.

The City’s intention is to expand the current downtown trolley route and new routes which connect neighborhoods immediately north and south of the city core. The proposed trolley routes are intended to better integrate the employment centers and amenities of the downtown area with adjacent residential neighborhoods. Several elements were reviewed to identify the actual needs regarding this transportation element. Many of the City’s neighborhood associations provided written support of route expansions into their areas. Additionally, the service needs are target populations regarding trolley rider-ship were analyzed. Two age cohorts were identified within the downtown area, including those Over 65 and those Under 18. The location of major activity centers was another key factor in route determination. Areas of high employment, including the Okeechobee Corridor and south Dixie Highway were identified as important destinations. Cultural and tourist attractions, including the Norton Museum of Art, the Convention Center, and CityPlace also were identified.

Existing travel patterns and transportation systems were incorporated, revealing areas with high destination and origination counts. At the same time, a hierarchy of transportation scales reveals a variety of user types. A the greatest scale, Long Distance Users are serviced by Tri-Rail, Amtrak, and Greyhound through the train station. Moderate Distance Users typically travel from within the county on Palm Tram, connecting at the major Quadrille Boulevard transfer stations and the rail station. The TOD site has been identified as a future site for the relocation of the downtown transfer stations. Finally, Short Distance Users are wholly served by the current trolley systems. The trolley is currently funded and managed by the Downtown Development Authority.

Based upon the review of these important factors, two new trolley routes and the expansion of the existing route were proposed. The North End Trolley Route, with a roundtrip distance of 3.8 miles, is proposed to utilize Flagler, Dixie, and Olive in a trip which would include Northwood, Pleasant City, and Currie Park. The South End Trolley Route, with a roundtrip distance of 3.6 miles, is proposed to connect Palm Beach Atlantic University, the Norton Museum of Art, Howard Park, and other southern neighborhoods. Finally, the existing trolley route is proposed to be expanded to include the Clearlake business district and the convention center. With all new routes, an additional eight (8) trolleys will be necessary.

In 2003, the Palm Beach County MPO conducted a transit study for West Palm Beach. This study reviews existing conditions and future opportunities for community transit services within West Palm Beach.


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Key transit projects are outlined within the 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan for the Palm Beach MPO. These include:

The restructuring of Palm Tran routes and increased investment in stops, stations, and pedestrian crossings, especially along US-1.The development of the West Palm Beach Intermodal Center at the TOD site.The creation of an express bus service from Wellington using Okeechobee Road connecting to the Intermodal Center.The creation of water taxi service along the Intracoastal Waterway. The City of West Palm Beach has proposed three taxi sites.

The report suggests the development of three community transit routes. These could be services by smaller shuttles to reduce capital costs.

Route A – Proposed to serve the north side of the city, the route would generally loop up to 45th Street and back to the Intermodal Center downtown. Route B - This route would generally serve southern parts of the city, traveling to Forest Hill Drive and back to the Intermodal Center downtown. Route C – This route would also service southern residential neighborhoods, generally between Dixie and I-95.

Finally, the transit study supports the continued use of downtown circulator service, such as the trolley system. No specific recommendations are made regarding the trolley system, but it is noted that such routes need short headways to be truly effective.

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.

2.

3.

P U B L I C TR A N S P O RTATIO N A N A LYS I S CO NT.

Tri-Rail

FEC

Local Trolley

Local Trolley

Local Trolley

EXISTING TRANSIT 2006 CITY GIS DATABASE


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4.0 ACTION ITEMS

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The foundation of this Master Plan Update is articulated as Action Items described in the following chapter. While the district-wide objectives describe the general intent of the Plan, the district objectives describe the specific zoning and redevelopment steps for the 14 neighborhoods which compose the Downtown.

District-wide objectives provide overall recommendations to improve and enhance future development in the Downtown including changing the format of the present zoning code from a form based code to a capacity driven code, responding to current regulatory requirements related to the TDR program and TCEA, creating strategies to incorporate parks and open space into the Downtown, developing a hierarchy of streets in relation to zoning regulations, identifying strategies to create a corporate center, providing methods for incorporating attainable housing into the Downtown, and identifying vacant sites for future public uses.

AC TIO N ITEM 1.1:Create fourteen (14) districts based on building character and proposed uses.

AC TIO N ITEM 1. 2 : Utilize the Market Study to recommend building intensities.

AC TIO N ITEM 1.3 :Change height requirements depending on the district.

AC TIO N ITEM 1.4 :Floor Area Ratio or FAR will be used as a tool to reduce building bulk and massing for new structures.

AC TIO N ITEM 1.5:Develop recommendations for building setbacks to preserve views and allow sunlight and air flow throughout the Downtown.

AC TIO N ITEM 1.6 :Develop maximum frontage requirements, maximum building length, and open space requirements.

AC TIO N ITEM 1.7:Develop maximum building footprints depending on the parcel size for ground floor, podium, and tower plates.

D OW N TOW N : AC T I O N I T E M S

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AC TIO N ITEM 2.1:Reduce the amount of area dedicated to parking by adjusting the parking requirements.

AC TIO N ITEM 2. 2 :Create an Architectural Review Board and a very specific set of architectural guidelines for new, large scale projects.

AC TIO N ITEM 2.3 :Develop diff erent requirements for parking podiums depending on the uses as a tool to maintain the pedestrian scale.

AC TIO N ITEM 2.4 :Adopt the Conference of Mayor’s statement on green design for new buildings and streetscape.

AC TIO N ITEM 2.5:Identify additional historic structures and districts for inclusion as Sending Sites.

AC TIO N ITEM 2.6:Based on the Market Study’s recommendations for use intensities and the vision for the districts, create new overlay districts for Receiving Sites.

AC TIO N ITEM 2.7:Provide an FAR to correspond with the allowable heights in each TDR zone.

AC TIO N ITEM 2.8:Confirm and maintain the overall FAR in the Downtown as established in the DMP.

AC TIO N ITEM 3.1:Designate primary, secondary, and tertiary streets according to existing conditions.

AC TIO N ITEM 3. 2 :Require liner units or architectural treatments for parking structures.


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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATE D OW N TOW N : AC T I O N I T E M S

AC TIO N ITEM 4.1:Develop incentives to attract new office development and create an employment base.

AC TIO N ITEM 5.1:Create more open spaces and landscape in the Downtown with pocket parks, larger open spaces, and streetscapes.

AC TIO N ITEM 5. 2:Protect specific sites for non-market driven uses: schools, parks, etc.

AC TIO N ITEM 6.1:Develop tools for providing attainable housing.

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INTENT Develop recommendations for buildings and uses which correspond to the specific character of smaller districts within the DMP boundaries.

R ATIONALE By creating these districts, the Downtown can begin to develop distinct neighborhoods with different building scales and uses similar to other successful cities. Once these neighborhoods are established, Downtown can evolve into a more significant entity, with a diverse character and a rich variety of uses to attract a more broad population.


PROPOSED DISTRICTS

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PR I NCI PLE 1: Create a sustainable Downtown with an enhanced quality of life for residents and tourists by promoting buildings and uses which are unique to each newly defined neighborhood district.

AC TI O N ITEM 1.1:Create fourteen (14) districts based on building character and proposed uses.

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATE D OW N TOW N : AC T I O N I T E M S

AC TI O N ITEM 1. 2 : Utilize the Market Study to recommend building intensities.

INTENT Base district recommendations on the Market Study, which has identified a specific development program for the Downtown relating to office, retail, cultural arts, residential and hotel. A projected absorption rate for each use has been incorporated into the plan recommendations for each district.

R ATIONALE To create a more realistic vision and concept, the recommendations for uses should be developed from the market research.

Real Estate Net New DemandRetail 465,895 sq. ft.

Residential

For Sale 500 to 700 UnitsRental 300 to 400 Units

Total 800 to 1,100 Units

Office

Class A- CBD 300,000 to 400,000 sq. ft.

Class A, B- Other 25,000 to 50,000 sq. ft.

Total 325,000 to 450,000 sq. ft.

Hotel

Full Service 250 to 300 Rooms

Limited Service 150 to 175 RoomsTotal 400 to 500 Rooms

Cultural

Performing Arts Venue 1,000 to 1,500 seatsGallery Spaces (multiple) 1,200 to 1,500 sq. ft.

Performance Spaces (multiple) <100 seatsAnchor Cultural Arts Organizations

Note: Estimates above are net of selected developments currently under construction and/or in planning as noted in document.

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INTENT Each district has a designated height depending on the overall intent of the area. Height is defined by stories, but should also be limited by a maximum number of feet.

R ATIONALE Height restrictions correlate to building uses, densities, and scale so that more intense commercial districts will have taller buildings, and lower density residential districts will have smaller structures.

In addition, buildings and blocks with historic significance will be designated as historic or conservation districts. While historic buildings cannot be torn down, buildings in conservation zones may be replaced with new buildings of similar scale. Buildings adjacent to both types of zones will have a transition height.

AC TI O N ITEM 1. 3 :Change height requirements depending on the district.

PROPOSED BASE HEIGHTS

Up to 25 Stories

Up to 10 Stories

Up to 5 Stories

Up to 4 Stories

Up to 2 Stories

Up to 2 Stories no FAR

Conservation District

Height Restrictions


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Base Height FAR

1 - 2 Stories or 32’ Single family

1 - 2 Stories or 32’ 1.00

3 - 4 Stories or 56’ 1.75

5 Stories or 65’ 2.00

10 Stories or 128’ 2.75

25 Stories or 308’ 5.00

AC TI O N ITEM 1.4 :Floor Area Ratio or FAR will be used as a tool to reduce building bulk and massing for new structures.

INTENT Translate the current allowable building envelope for each zone (Types I - IV) into an FAR to correspond with the proposed heights for each district. Use the equivalent FAR for new and proposed projects to support the recommended FAR.

R ATIONALE When combined with maximum building heights and setback requirements, FAR can encourage more variation in building design. FAR provides a total cap on the allowable square footage which builds flexibility into the building design, compared to the current code which provides no cap on the total allowable square footage and forces developers to sacrifice building variation for bulkier structures which maximize total square footage.


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INTENT Require setbacks on the ground floor to allow for wider sidewalks and landscaping. Additional setbacks will be required for the floors above the podium and again for the tower. By creating a series of setbacks, taller buildings will not overwhelm the narrow Downtown streets. (See Chapter 4.0: Implementation and Zoning Recommendations)

R ATIONALE The DMP code does not currently require building setbacks so all new buildings, many of which are 8 stories tall, are built on a single plane. Because most of the streets are less than 80 feet wide, this single plane creates an imposing and unwelcoming character to the street. There is also minimal space to create plantings so the streets are rather barren.

AC TI O N ITEM 1.5:Develop recommendations for building setbacks to preserve views and allow sunlight and air flow throughout the Downtown.

CURRENT CODE REQUIREMENTS PROPOSED OPEN SPACE AND SETBACKS

HOW SETBACKS CREATE BUILDING ARTICULATION


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AC TI O N ITEM 1.6 :Develop maximum frontage requirements, maximum building length, and open space requirements.

INTENT Require a minimum percentage of open space based on the buildable area to include a designated public plaza and building articulation. All public spaces should be open to the sky and adjacent to active uses such as entrances, lobbies, and liners. Open space should also relate to open spaces in adjacent properties to reinforce a cohesive urban fabric. There should also be an open space requirement for podium decks.

In addition, implement a maximum building façade length relative to the building typologies for each district and allow setbacks above the podium to encroach for a certain percentage so that tower elements may start at the ground floor.

R ATIONALE Based on public input, new buildings designed under the current code are considered monotonous and sometimes relentless walls. Requiring building articulation and breaks will interrupt these walls and create more of a human scale, especially at the ground floor.

COURTYARD VARIATIONCORNER NICHES WALK THROUGHCOURTYARDEXAMPLES OF OPEN SPACE


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INTENT Create parameters for 3 different ranges of lot sizes based on the largest and smallest blocks, and subsequent requirements for building footprints as a percentage of the lot area for varying stories. Since larger lots can accommodate taller buildings, these will have more footprint requirements. Smaller lots will require fewer footprint variations.

R ATIONALE By imposing building footprints, new structures will have a scale which is in proportion to their parcel size and their surroundings. This requirement will also help to break down the building massing, in accordance with the FAR and setback requirements, creating more variation in building facades.

AC TI O N ITEM 1.7:Develop maximum building footprints depending on the parcel size for ground floor, podium, and tower plates.


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INTENT Implement the following parking adjustments:

Parking requirements for office, residential and retail should not change from the current standards, however, parking which exceeds the maximum requirements shall count towards FAR. Industrial Chic zone, the Northwest Neighborhood, and Brelsford:

Parking requirements for live/work uses in the should be adjusted to 1.3 spaces per unit. Off site parking should be permitted for structures within 500’ of projects.

3. Clematis Street conservation district:Parking for the portion of existing and new buildings located within the conservation district should be grandfathered in.

4. Requests for off-site parking should be case specific and should require long-term contract to ensure parking permits.

R ATIONALE High parking requirements can make development of smaller parcels and lower scale buildings financially challenging. In contrast, developments on larger parcels often exceed the parking requirements to meet the perceived parking demand of buyers, resulting in taller and more bulky parking podiums. Liberating the parking requirements on the smaller parcels and developing a maximum number of allowable parking spaces will both control the size of parking podiums for larger projects and make redevelopment more feasible for smaller parcels.

1.

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PRI NCI PLE 2: Develop new zoning recommendations and architectural guidelines to reinforce the character of the districts.

AC TI O N ITEM 2.1:Reduce the amount of area dedicated to parking by adjusting the parking requirements.


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AC TI O N ITEM 2. 2 :Create an Architectural Review Board and a very specific set of architectural guidelines for new, large scale projects.

INTENT Create a true Architectural Review Board composed of at least 60% design or planning professionals to review large scale projects or developments adjacent to historic structures or in conservation zones and small projects which do not meet the architectural standards. In lieu of an Architectural Review Board, develop architectural design guidelines which provide specific requirements at a minimum for building facades, storefronts, fenestration, openings, articulation, building materials, signage, lighting, rooftops, and building variation.

The City should define large scale projects based on a specific number of parking spaces. This should be further investigated once the Design Guidelines are adopted.

The Architectural Review Board could be a newly formed board separate from the Downtown Action Committee (DAC) or an expansion of the current DAC membership.

R ATIONALE Large buildings, which will have a more significant impact on the urban fabric, should be held to certain design standards either through a review board, or through enforceable and specific architectural design guidelines.

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INTENT The chart below illustrates the podium height limitations. All floors should comply with setback and floorplate recommendations. (See Chapter 4.0: Implementation and Zoning Recommendations)

R ATIONALE Parking podiums can negatively impact the pedestrian character of a street, but because different uses have different parking needs, the City should limit the podium height based on the predominant building use.

Building Type Lot Size Base Height

Low-rise (4-10 Stories) Lots greater than 80,000 sf 3 Story or 45’

Lots 50,000 to 80,000 sf 3 Story or 45’

Lots less than 50,000 sf 5 Story or 70’

Mid-rise (11-15 Stories) Lots greater than 80,000 sf 3 Story or 45’

Lots 50,000 to 80,000 sf 3 Story or 45’

Lots less than 50,000 sf 5 Story or 70’

High-rise (16-25 Stories) Lots greater than 80,000 sf 5 Story 70’

Lots 50,000 to 80,000 sf 5 Story 70’

Lots less than 50,000 sf 5 Story 70’

AC TI O N ITEM 2. 3 :Develop different requirements for parking podiums depending on the uses as a tool to maintain the pedestrian scale.


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INTENT Enhance the public realm and promote healthy buildings by including guidelines for green design and LEED certification in the architectural guidelines and streetscape recommendations for both public and private developments.

R ATIONALE There is a strong interest in supporting the Conference of Mayors’ green agenda and improving Downtown West Palm Beach through these initiatives.

AC TI O N ITEM 2.4 :Adopt the Conference of Mayor’s statement on green design for new buildings and streetscape.


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AC TI O N ITEM 2.5:Identify additional historic structures and districts for inclusion as Sending Sites.

INTENT Designate additional sites in the TDR map as Sending Sites including:

Specific historic sites on Evernia Street.City owned Triangle and Tent sites.The Clematis Street conservation district, where new buildings should match the character and scale of existing adjacent structures. Various building styles are encouraged in this area.

Additional Sending Sites should be added as proposed and reviewed by the City’s Preservation Department.

R ATIONALE While it is important to limit the supply of TDRs as a strategy for maintaining demand, the current gap is too great to have a significant impact on the Downtown’s urban form. Therefore, new Sending Sites will be proposed to reduce the gap and to preserve additional structures and districts.

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Existing Historic Structures

Eligible Historic Structures

Proposed Historic Structures

Sold TDRs PROPOSED TDR SENDING SITES


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Eligible Open Spaces

Proposed Open Spaces

Proposed Height Limitation

Proposed Conservation Districts

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INTENT Designate additional sites in the TDR map as Receiving Sites including:

The Quadrille Business District, in which TDR purchases uses are limited to office and hotel uses only.Properties in the TOD district, which should comply with the recommendations for the new thru streets, pedestrian paths,* and public open spaces in order to qualify for TDR purchase.

* Should the ownership and use of the TOD property south of Banyan Street change, the proposed pedestrian path should be converted into a street to match the adjacent blocks.

R ATIONALE Use TDRs as a strategy for increasing building intensities and specific uses in more intense districts.

•

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AC TI O N ITEM 2.6 :Based on the Market Study’s recommendations for use intensities and the vision for the districts, create new overlay districts for Receiving Sites.

12 Story Receiving Sites



Setbacks for TowersPROPOSED TDR RECEIVING SITES


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AC TI O N ITEM 2.7:Provide an FAR to correspond with the allowable heights in each TDR zone.

INTENT Develop an FAR to correlate with TDR receiving areas.

R ATIONALE Translating the area of receiving TDRs into an FAR, will provide another layer of criteria for building form by establishing a cap for total square footage, where additional height is required. This cap will work in conjunction with established recommendations for building footprints.

HeightTDR Receiving Base Height FAR

Additional to Base

12 or 152’ Base of 10 0.50

15 or 188’

Base of 10 1.00(Office uses in Quadrille Business District 230’)

25 or 308’

Base of 10 2.75(Office uses in Quadrille Business District 380’)


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INTENT Maintain the TCEA ratio requirement of 0.46 for residential and commercial uses to maintain consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

R ATIONALE The City established specific ratios for residential and commercial development based on recommendations from the Department of Community Affairs as part of the Downtown Master Plan. This ratio was confirmed in 2003 and should be maintained based on the direction of the City staff and Commission.

AC TI O N ITEM 2.8:Confirm and maintain the overall FAR in the Downtown as established in the DMP.


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INTENT Determine characteristics for primary, secondary, and tertiary streets to develop criteria for new buildings.

Primary streets will be tree lined boulevards which move traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, and have attractive window treatments and facades. Secondary streets are the main retail streets which are more conducive to strolling. Tertiary streets are heavily landscaped roadways with narrow sidewalks and wide drainage swales to foster significant planting areas and increase pervious surface area.

R ATIONALE By establishing a street hierarchy and characteristics, a rationale can be created for new buildings in terms of ground floor setbacks and liners for parking garages.

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PRI NCI PLE 3: Create a street classification system as a rationale for organizing building setbacks and street frontage requirements.

AC TI O N ITEM 3.1:Designate primary, secondary, and tertiary streets according to existing conditions.

PROPOSED STREET HIERARCHY

Primary Streets

Secondary Streets

Tertiary Streets


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Primary streets should:

Provide 80% active uses on the ground floor and parking podium. Accommodate the tallest buildings because they are the widest streets.

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EXAMPLE OF PRIMARY STREETS


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Secondary streets should:

Provide 65% active uses on the ground floor and parking podium; with the exception of Clematis Street and Rosemary Avenue, which should provide 100% active uses on the ground floor.Provide the appropriate building setbacks to allow light to filter through to wide sidewalks.House services, garage entrances, loading zones, etc. when there is no access to a tertiary street front. All services should be internalized.

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EXAMPLE OF A SECONDARY STREETS

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Mixed-use Tertiary streets should:

Provide shade with large trees within the planting setback. Use architectural treatments to conceal parking garages.Provide 100% active liner uses on garages facing residential districts. Extend ground floor uses from the street corners for a small portion of the block face. Have very slow moving traffic which enables pedestrians uses; therefore walk-up residential units are encouraged.House services, garage entrances, loading zones, etc. All services should be internalized.

Additional recommendations will be made for Residential Tertiary streets in the zoning regulations.

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EXAMPLE OF A MIXED-USE TERTIARY STREET

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AC TI O N ITEM 3. 2 :Require liner units or architectural treatments for parking structures.

INTENT Based on the street hierarchy diagram, require active liner uses on primary and secondary streets, and architectural treatments on tertiary streets. In addition, all garages facing residential single family should be lined. Active liner uses should be designed next to open space as a strategy to reinforce the open space. In addition the City should create guidelines for architectural treatments.

R ATIONALE Parking garages, referred to as parking podiums, are an inherent part of high-rise and mid-rise buildings. The need for internal parking will always exist until the region develops a more functional transportation system. Therefore, recognizing that this is a necessary form which provides little if any character to the street, designers have developed the concept of garage liners and architectural treatments to mitigate the negative impacts of these forms.

GROUND FLOOR RETAILBUILDING VARIATIONSARCHITECTURAL TREATMENT

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ARCHITECTURAL TREATMENTSPARTIAL LINERSPARKING GARAGE DRIVEWAYS

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GROUND FLOOR RETAILCREATIVE TREATMENT OF BLANK WALLS WITH GLASS

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INTENT Use various incentives in conjunction with those established by the Palm Beach County Business Development Board (BDB) to attract new office development, particularly large office anchors, to the Quadrille Business District.

Current County Business Development Board incentives include:Job Growth IncentiveAttraction Incentive GrantsDevelopment Regions Incentive GrantsEconomic Development Set-Asides

Proposed incentives could include:Additional HeightAdditional FAR through TDRsTargeted Reduction in TDR CostsParking (“the last space”)

Tenant Improvement/Build-out Cost Incentives

R ATIONALE There is a short term development potential of up to 800,000 square feet of office uses in the Downtown which would help to create a more secure employment base.

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PRI NCI PLE 4 : Use redevelopment to create an employment base.

AC TI O N ITEM 4.1:Develop incentives to attract new office development and create an employment base.


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INTENT Create a scheme which supports the City’s current open space plan and incorporates the recommendations from the Stull and Lee Report for parks in the Northwest Neighborhood. Further enhance greenways with streetscape improvements, as specified in the recommendations for street hierarchy. Identify additional opportunities for open space in the proposed Quadrille Business District district, the Quadrille district. Dedicate a portion of Tent and Triangle sites to public plazas.

R ATIONALE There is a significant lack of street trees, public plazas, and parks in the Downtown which has a detrimental impact on the overall quality of life. Increasing the total percentage of green space will create a more habitable urban environment.

PRI NCI PLE 5: Create a comprehensive strategy for parks and open space to strengthen the visual and physical connection between the neighborhoods.

AC TI O N ITEM 5.1:Create more open spaces and landscape in the Downtown with pocket parks, larger open spaces, and streetscapes.

PROPOSED OPEN SPACES

Existing Parks

Proposed Parks and Open Space

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AC TI O N ITEM 5. 2 :Protect specific sites for non-market driven uses: schools, parks, etc.

INTENT The City should identify specific properties under private or public ownership and develop strategies for securing these site for public uses. Special sites may have different zoning than is recommended in the Master Plan Update. These sites may be incorporated into the TDR Sending Sites plan as is the recommendation for the Tent and Triangle sites.

R ATIONALE By anticipating the need for future public uses which are not market driven, the City can begin to set aside land for these uses.


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PRI NCI PLE 6: Improve and enhance residential neighborhoods and provide opportunities for new residential uses and attainable housing.

AC TI O N ITEM 6.1:Develop tools for providing attainable housing.

INTENT The City of West Palm Beach has made a commitment to its residents to encourage and legislate the development of Affordable and Workforce Housing. For this purpose, the City is currently working with a Housing Consultant on identifying strategies to utilize the Attainable Housing Trust Fund. The Fund is mainly generated from the sale of publicly owned Transfer Development Rights.

In addition to this fund the city might consider using developer incentives to encourage all planned private projects to provide a specified percentage of attainable units, either on-site or at a remote location. Other options include relying on the City to develop infill housing on publicly owned sites or vacant parcels which may be purchased. The consultant will also determine the mix of unit types including single family, semi-attached single family, mid-rise and high-rise, providing a range of unit sizes to accommodate a variety of household sizes.

R ATIONALE By prioritizing the Downtown’s need for Affordable and Workforce Housing, the City can begin to incorporate Attainable Housing policies and incentives into the new zoning code.


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5.0 DISTRICTS

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATED I S T R I C T S

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P R I N CI P L E 7: Establish connectivity throughout city.

This chapter provides a more specific ap-proach to improving the Downtown by developing specific recommendations for the 14 districts. These recommendations reflect their distinct characteristics in con-sideration of building scale, proportion, and use. The districts can generally be di-vided into four categories: mixed-use dis-tricts, low scale residential districts, exist-ing districts with new building potentials, and existing districts with no proposed changes.

D I S TR I C TS The districts are divided into four categories:

Mixed-use districts including the Quadrille Business District, Quadrille, Government Center, Loftin, and Clematis WaterfrontLow scale residential and live/work including Northwest, Brelsford, Industrial Chic and Providencia ParkExisting districts with new building potentials including the TOD site and the City owned properties within the CityPlace district. Existing districts with no proposed changes including the Cultural Arts District, Lakefront, and the Flagler Waterfront.

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D I S T R I C T S

PROPOSED DISTRICTS

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The Mixed-use districts include the Quadrille Business District, Government Center, Quadrille, Loftin and Clema-tis Waterfront.

The Quadrille Business District is the key element of the entire Master Plan because it will address the two most significant issues in the Downtown:1. The disconnect between the two main retail centers: Clematis Street and CityPlace, 2. The need for a significant corporate center to make the Downtown a viable urban center.

The concept of the Quadrille Business District district is to reinvigorate a vacant and desolate part of the Downtown, which straddles Clematis Street and CityPlace, by creating a high rise office district. With this district, the City can begin to compete as a regional employment center and the Downtown can expand its uses to support this district with a balance of retail and residential uses.

The Quadrille district is intended to function as a transition zone between the Quadrille Business District and the waterfront. Buildings will step up towards the Quadrille Business District and will support ad-ditional office and office related uses. The Quadrille district also supports new and planned residential developments with modifications to the building envelope.

The Government Center district is predominantly government related buildings. The intent of this district is to recognize these uses and provide thoughtful recommendations for potential new development of similar uses.

The Loftin district sits in between Providencia Park and the Industrial Chic residential districts as a transi-tion between the residential and Government Center districts and serves as an auxiliary location for office and residential uses.

The Clematis Waterfront district is a proposed conservation district to protect the scale and character of this historical retail corridor. It ensures that new buildings are compatible with the existing scale and do not interfere with views to the water.

The Low-scale Residential districts are composed of the northern residential neighborhoods and include the Indus-trial Chic, the Northwest Neighborhood, Providencia Park, and Brelsford Park.

PROPOSED ENTRANCE TO QUA-DRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT

QUADRILLE

D I S T R I C T S

PROPOSED DISTRICTS

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The Industrial Chic district is the central spine of the northern residential neighborhoods and is an alter-native neighborhood which promotes less conventional housing types, live/work units, and large lofts in a gritty part of the City.

The Northwest Neighborhood district is an important historic neighborhood which should be enhanced and improved as described in the Stull and Lee Plan. The intention of the district is to protect the single family uses in the interior and to encourage commercial and multi-family on the perimeter streets.

Providencia Park is a well preserved, historic, neighborhood which should be maintained and protected.

The Brelsford Park district provides an opportunity to reinvent a blighted neighborhood as an Arts District, create a more compatible neighborhood with the Industrial Chic district, and preserve the existing scale of the neighborhood.

The remaining districts—Lakefront, Flagler Waterfront and Cultural Arts are already built out and do not have any proposed changes. Minor changes are recommended for the TOD site and the City owned properties along Okeechobee in the CityPlace district.

D I S T R I C T S

PROPOSED DISTRICTS

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EXISTING OFFICE BUILDINGS ON OKEECHOBEE BOULEVARD

EXISTING SITE OF PROPOSED QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT

D I S T R I C T S

POTENTIAL BUILD-OUT QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT

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INTENT The Quadrille Business District is intended to increase the Downtown employment and attract office by creating a designated office district with development incentives. These incentives would allow tall, signature, office towers with significant building densities. The following section provides a more detailed description of how these concepts might be implemented:

1. USE TDRS TO PERMIT ADDITIONAL HEIGHTAllow height bonuses up to 25 stories to be purchased through the City’s TDR program for office and hotel uses only. Residential uses will be allowed within the Central Business Core, but will not be eligible to purchase TDRs.

2. DEVELOP ADDITIONAL CONTROLS FOR BULK AND MASSING Encourage variations in buildings by creating recommendations for maximum building footprints, setbacks, building frontages, and open space requirements in combination with the base FAR of 2.75 and the base height of 10 stories.

3. ALLOW GREATER FLOOR HEIGHTS FOR OFFICE USESAs an additional incentive for office uses in the Quadrille Business District, allow floor to floor heights of 15’.

QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

POTENTIAL QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT CHARACTER

D I S T R I C T S

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FRONTAGE ROAD CONCEPT FROM BANYAN DISTRICT

Offi ce Uses

Residential Uses

Proposed FEC Parks

FRONTAGE ROAD CONCEPT WITH FULL LOT DEVELOPMENT

EXISTING CONDITION OF QUADRILLE AND THE FEC

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QUADRILLE BUSINESS DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

4. CREATE TR ANSITION ZONES ADJACENT TO HISTORIC STRUCTURES Ensure building compatibility with historic structures, in terms of height and scale, by creating transition zones to control the height of buildings which either face or abut historic properties or conservation districts. Tower elements in these buildings should be set back from the historic and conservation districts.

5. EVALUATE HISTORIC STRUCTURES ON EVERNIA Buildings with historic value on Evernia Street, between Sapodilla and Rosemary Avenues, should be evaluated for structural soundness. If they can be preserved, the buildings should be renovated, adapted for different uses, and designated as TDR Sending Sites.

6. ENHANCE QUADRILLE BOULEVARDCreate a 65’ building setback, to accommodate a frontage road along the FEC property and a linear park. The road should have slow moving traffic to facilitate vehicular and pedestrian accessibility to new office buildings and the park should gently slope up towards the tracks, in order to conceal the tracks from the adjacent streets. Funding and coordination for this project should be determined by the City and the CRA.

PROPOSED CHARACTER OF THE FEC PARK PROPOSED CHARACTER OF THE FEC PARK

D I S T R I C T S

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EXISTING BUILDINGS IN THE GOV-ERNMENT CENTER

D I S T R I C T S

POTENTIAL BUILD-OUT GOVERNMENT CENTER

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INTENT Formalize the Government Center as a district with specific zoning recommendations. The Government Center should have similar characteristics to the Quadrille Business District, as a public office district, though the building heights will be less intense.

1. ALLOW TDRS The entire Government Center district will be a 15 story TDR Receiving Site. Internal TDR transactions for single owners is encouraged.

2. ESTABLISH A BASE HEIGHT Establish a base height of 10 and an FAR of 2.75.

3. CREATE A LIST OF ALLOWABLE USESThis district will be predominantly public and private office uses with supporting retail uses. However, residential may be permitted in this district, as well.

HISTORIC COURTHOUSE BUILDING IN THE GOVERNMENT CEN-TER WOULD BE ELIGIBLE AS A TDR SENDING SITE

D I S T R I C T S

GOVERNMENT CENTER

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POTENTIAL BUILD-OUT QUADRILLE

EXISTING BUILDING IN THE PRO-POSED QUADRILLE DISTRICT

BUILDINGS ALONG THE FEC RAIL LINE COULD BE TALLER

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATE D I S T R I C T S

QUADRILLE

INTENT Encourage taller buildings on Quadrille Boulevard to help create a better proportion of building to roadway.

1. PROVIDE A MA XIMUM HEIGHT AND FARThe base height will be 10 stories with an FAR of 2.75. Additional controls for building footprints, setbacks, building frontages, and open space requirements will be used.

2. ALLOW TDRS FOR TOWERS FRONTING QUADRILLE AND THE FEC R AIL LINECreate an outdoor space or “room” on Quadrille by allowing towers fronting the street to reach 15 stories using the TDR program and provide setbacks to protect the scale of Dixie Highway.

3. CREATE A TR ANSITION ZONE FOR BUILDINGS ABUTTING HISTORIC AND CONSERVATION ZONESEnsure that new construction is compatible with historic and conservation districts by creating transition zones which control the height and scale of buildings facing or abutting these districts. By doing this, views from the street are not obstructed or impacted by adjacent, taller buildings. Tower elements in these buildings should be set back from the historic and conservation areas.

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EXISTING ZONING ON CLEMATIS STREET ALLOWS VIEWS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION TO ENCROACH ONTO CLEMATIS STREET

THE PROPOSED ZONING WOULD PRESERVE VIEWS ON CLEMATIS STREET

D I S T R I C T S

CLEMATIS WATERFRONT

EXISTING CONDITIONS ON CLEMATIS

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INTENT Create a conservation district to preserve the existing character and scale of Clematis Street from Quadrille Boulevard to Flagler Drive.

1. CREATE A CONSERVATION DISTRICT New construction will be permitted on Clematis Street in accordance with specific guidelines which should be developed to preserve the scale of the buildings being replaced, as well as site lines. The entire conservation district, which includes designated and eligible historic properties, should be designated as a TDR Sending Site.

2. DEVELOP SPECIAL PARKING REQUIREMENTS Parking for the portion of existing and new buildings located within the conservation district should be grandfathered in.

3. PRESERVE VIEWS TO THE WATERPreserve view corridors to the water as a tool for maintaining visual connections to the water. By establishing a conservation district for Clematis Street and a transition zone to the north and south of Clematis Street, the City can ensure that future buildings can never block views to the water.

4. DEVELOP A STR ATEGY FOR ALLOWABLE USESEnhance Clematis Street as a retail corridor by implementing the DDA’s proposed retail strategy. Clematis Street experienced some setbacks when CityPlace opened several years ago. Since then, Clematis Street has been evolving into a higher end restaurant corridor and high end home stores. The proposed retail strategy will help expand and strengthen this effort for long term sustainability.

D I S T R I C T S

CLEMATIS WATERFRONT

EXISTING RETAIL ON CLEMATIS

EXISTING VIEW TO THE WATER

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MAXIMUM BUILDING LENGTH POTENTIAL BUILD-OUT

EXISTING WAREHOUSES

EXISTING LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USE

VACANT LAND

D I S T R I C T S

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ART GALLERIES

WAREHOUSE SPACE

LOFTSLOFT RETAIL

INTENT The Industrial Chic district is an alternative neighborhood which promotes less conventional housing types, live/work units, and large lofts in a gritty part of the City. Comparable to a warehouse district, this area will appeal to emerging artists, individuals seeking atypical housing choices, and small start-up businesses.

1. BASE FAR AND HEIGHT The base height will be 5 stories with an FAR of 2.00 for lofts and live/work uses.

2. IMPOSE A MA XIMUM BUILDING LENGTHBuildings may be 300’ in length if the following ratio is met: 60% of the frontage at 3 stories tall and 40% at 5 stories. However, if 100% of the structure is 5 stories, the building should be broken every 110’. A break is defined as two independent buildings. Breaks should be of at least 50’.

3. DEVELOP A LIST OF PERMITTED USESLimit uses to those which support the character of the district including:

Lofts (1000sf minimum)Live/work unitsGalleriesNeighborhood office for creative uses, such as architectural and product design studios (max square footage to be determined).

4. DEVELOP OPEN SPACE REQUIREMENTSBlocks which exceed 300’ in length should provide at least 15% open space.

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D I S T R I C T S

INDUSTRIAL CHIC

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PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND CONNECTIONS ON BANYAN TO THE NORTHWEST NEIGHBORHOOD

EXISTING CONDITIONS: ROSE-MARY STREET

VACANT JAZZ CLUB

EXISTING RETAIL

EXISTING HOUSING STOCK

D I S T R I C T S

Offi ce Uses

Residential Uses

Cultural Uses

Parking

Proposed FEC Parks

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EXAMPLE OF ADAPTIVE REUSE OF MULTI-FAMILY

PROPOSED STREET CHARACTER

EXAMPLE OF AN ADAPTATION OF SINGLE FAMILY HOME FOR RETAIL SPACE

INTENT The Northwest neighborhood is a historic African American neighborhood with many examples of Florida vernacular architecture. As one of the few intact single family residential neighborhoods within the boundaries of the DMP, the Northwest neighborhood should be protected and enhanced for its current and future residents.

1. PRESERVE CURRENT HEIGHT LIMITSThe entire neighborhood will maintain its 2 story height limit.

2. DEVELOP USES FOR INTERIOR AND PERIMETER LOTSInterior lots will be restricted to single family homes. Retail, multi-family, mixed-use and adaptive reuse of single family and multi-family homes for retail and office spaces will be permitted on the following perimeter streets: 2nd Street, Tamarind Avenue, Rosemary Avenue, and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

3. FAR FOR MIXED-USES ON PERIMETER STREETSThe FAR for perimeter streets will accommodate more dense uses. Additional recommendations will be made for lot aggregation.

4. STREET CONNECTIONS Connect the Northwest Neighborhood to the Downtown by making Banyan Street a main entrance. Bring Douglas and Division Avenues through to Banyan to enhance access to the neighborhood and make Banyan a gateway to the Northwest neighborhood by allowing additional height and mixed-use development facing the Quadrille Business District.

5. DEVELOP PARKS AND CULTURAL USES PER THE STULL & LEE PLAN Support recommendations for parks and cultural resources as identified in the Stull and Lee Plan (2002). Implement recommendations for additional parks, cultural resources on Division Street, and the proposed history walk which recently received funding.

NORTHWEST

D I S T R I C T S

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INTENT Create a new district to promote auxiliary office and residential.

1. DEVELOP A LIST OF ALLOWABLE USESThe Loftin district will provide secondary locations for smaller scale office and residential projects. Retail uses are permitted as secondary uses, with office and residential as the primary uses.

2. BASE FAR AND HEIGHTThe base height in Loftin varies depending on the proximity to Quadrille and Providencia Park. Parcels fronting Quadrille should remain low to preserve views towards the water. Parcels abutting Providencia Park should also maintain a low scale. However, height is permitted on specific parcels in the center of the district. The FAR correlates to these heights.

3. USING TDRSTDRs are permitted one block north of Quadrille to increase heights to 12 stories, and support more dense development.

EXISTING CONDITION: OLIVE AVENUE

PROPOSED CHARACTER FOR LOFTIN

D I S T R I C T S

LOFTIN

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INTENT Preserve the existing single family homes in Providencia Park along South Olive Avenue to Flagler Drive, between Eucalyptus Street and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

1. CREATE LIST OF ALLOWABLE USESThe historic quality of the existing housing stock in this waterfront neighborhood, and the level of historic renovations is unique to Downtown. Adaptive reuse of historic homes for offices, and the continued use of these structure as residences, should be supported and encouraged.

2. CREATE A CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO PROMOTE BUILDING PRESERVATION Convert this unofficial historic district into an official historic district to protect it from future development pressures.

EXISTING CONDITION: OFFICE DISTRICT EXISTING CONDITION: RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

PROVIDENCIA PARK

D I S T R I C T S

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INTENT Improve the quality of this neighborhood by promoting its potential character as an Arts Village between the Industrial Chic and Providencia Park districts.

1. DEVELOP A LIST OF ALLOWABLE USESArtist studiosBed and breakfastNeighborhood retail (only on Dixie Highway)ResidentialLimited office

2. ADAPT HISTORIC STRUCTURES FOR NEW USES Improve the character of Brelsford Park by identifying potential historic structures for renovation. Encourage adaptive reuse of existing buildings to maintain the current scale of the neighborhood.

3. OPEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS Develop an open space requirement as a percentage of the total lot to maintain the existing neighborhood character and the ratio of open space to built space.

4. MA XIMUM LOT AGGREGATIONDetermine maximum lot aggregation for interior lots to limit the potential size of new development.

5. FAR AND HEIGHT LIMITMaintain the 2 story maximum height limit and existing FAR.

6. DEVELOP A PARKING STR ATEGY FOR DIXIE HIGHWAY Improve the viability of existing commercial businesses on Dixie Highway by developing surface parking behind the buildings, as well as scattered surface parking on Dixie Highway as temporary use.

7. ALLEYS MAY NOT BE VACATEDPreserving the alleys will ensure that the scale of new development is compatible with the current neighborhood scale.

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BRELSFORD PARK

TYPICAL HOME IN BRELSFORD

EXISTING VACANT RESIDENTIAL TYPICAL TO BRELSFORD PARK

PROPOSED CHARACTER FOR BRELS-FORD PARK

D I S T R I C T S

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INTENT The West Palm Beach CRA, in conjunction with Palm Beach County, are negotiating with the public and private owners of this district to create a transit-oriented development (TOD) oriented by the Tri-rail station. Recommendations for this district are being developed separately from the Master Plan Update.

1. MAKE ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THE BLOCK LENGTHThe TOD should share some consistencies with the surrounding districts specifically relating to block length and building length. The current blocks in this district are 900’ and are far too long to sustain any viable pedestrian activity. Block lengths should be reduced to 400’.

2. ENHANCE CONNECTIONS BY CREATING NEW STREETSCreate new streets between Tamarind and Sapodilla to break the length of the block, enhance accessibility throughout the district, and establish new connectors for pedestrians and vehicles.

3. REQUIRE NEW STREETS AND SHORTER BLOCKS WITH INCENTIVESProvide a height bonus of up to 15 stories for properties facing Banyan and Tamarind between Tamarind and Sapodilla, Banyan and Fern using TDRs for buildings along the 900’ long blocks when a new street is constructed which either aligns with Division or Douglas or both (depending on the length of the development).

TOD

PROPOSED TOD CHARACTER

D I S T R I C T S

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EXAMPLE OF HOW THE TENT SITE COULD BE DEVELOPED WITH OPEN SPACE

CITYPLACE

CITYPLACE

TENT SITE

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CITYPLACE

ICONIC BUILDING IN LONDON

INTENT Redevelop the City owned sites on Okeechobee Boulevard to enhance this entrance to the Downtown and provide a public amenity.

1. DEVELOP THE TENT SITE AS A SIGNATURE OFFICE BUILDINGThe Tent site should be developed with an iconic building to strengthen West Palm Beach’s image as an office center. TDRs may be used on the property.

2. DEVELOP THE TRIANGLE SITE AS A PUBLIC AMENITYDevelop the Triangle site as an open space with a low-scale civic use.

D I S T R I C T S

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6.0 IMPLEMENTATION: ZONING RECOMMENDATIONS

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ZONING ASSUMPTIONS

The zoning assumptions summarize the overall intent of the Master Plan Update and the Objectives.

FA R : FAR will include all enclosed, climate controlled areas excluding mechanical (service) and parking. Internal circulation and common areas* are included as part of the FAR as does parking which exceeds the maximum parking ratio.Base FAR ratios are as follows: 1.00 for 1-2 Stories (Commercial uses only) 1.75 for 3-4 Stories 2.00 for 5 Stories 2.75 for 10 Stories 5.00 for 25 StoriesSingle family zones do not have FAR.*Common recreation areas located in mezzanines and/or sky lobbies will not count towards FAR in a 25 story high-rise.

T D R S : TDRs (Transfer of Development Rights) may be used in designated Receiving Sites as an FAR bonus.

Quadrille Business District: Blocks fronting Quadrille are eligible to purchase TDRs for up to 25 stories, for office and hotel uses only. TOD: Blocks between Tamarind and Rosemary which exceed 900’ are eligible to purchase TDRs if the property owner builds the proposed thru streets to align with Division and Douglas Avenues to the north and comply with the recommendations for public open space. In all other Receiving Sites TDRs may be purchased for any use. (Refer to recommendations related to Allowable Height for Parking Podiums.)

B U I L D -TO L I N E S : Establish a build-to line to result in a minimum sidewalk width. All setbacks will be calculated from the established setback line and shall comply with the maximum building footprint chart on the following pages. Sidewalk widths shall be mandated as follows:

Primary streets: 16’ sidewalkSecondary streets: 12’ sidewalkMixed-use Tertiary streets: 5’ sidewalk

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I M P L E M E N TAT I O N : ZO N I N G R E CO M M E N DAT I O N S

Consideration 1: Guiding principles provide recommendations for maximum development potential, but not all sites will be able to maximize these potentials.

Consideration 2: The zoning recommendations expressed as FAR (Floor Area Ratio - the ratio of building floor area to the lot size) are equal to or exceed the current base development rights.

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B U I L D I N G VA R I ATI O N : Encourage building variation by providing a flexible envelope, requiring buildings to meet the build-to line for 40% to 60% of the linear frontage and requiring 8% open space on the ground floor for lots greater than 50,000 square feet.

M A XI M U M FOOTP R I NTS : Establish maximum footprint requirements depending on height, lot size, and use.

P RO H I B ITED U S E S : Verify list of uses prohibited in the downtown:

Prohibited use means, for downtown master plan purposes, uses which are not permitted on primary streets such as automatic food and drink machines and any commercial use which encourages patrons to remain in their automobiles while receiving goods or services, except service stations and banking facilities. Uses which are not permitted anywhere within the downtown master plan area are chemical manufacturing, storage or distribution as a primary use, enameling, painting or plating, except artist’s studios, outdoor advertising or billboard as a principal use, carting, moving or hauling terminal or yard, except delivery of goods to businesses, prisons, detention centers or disposal of hazardous waste materials, scrap yards, mobile homes, sand, gravel, or other mineral extraction, kennels, except as ancillary use to veterinary offices, courthouses or police stations and adult entertainment uses.

S TR EE T H I ER A RCH Y: Develop a rationale for zoning recommendations through a street type hierarchy. By establishing street types and characteristics for each type, criteria for buildings will follow an overall logic which relates to the functionality of the street grid and the Downtown.Primary streets:

Provide 80% active uses on the ground floor and parking podium. Accommodate the tallest buildings because they are the widest streets.

Secondary streets: Provide 65% active uses on the ground floor and parking podium; with the exception of Clematis Street and Rosemary Avenue, which should provide 100% active uses on the ground floor.Provide the appropriate building setbacks to allow light to filter through to wide sidewalks.House services, garage entrances, loading zones, etc. All services should be internalized.

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Mixed-use Tertiary streets: Provide shade with large trees within the planting setback. Use architectural treatments to conceal parking garages.Provide 100% active liner uses on garages facing residential districts. Extend ground floor uses from the street corners for a small portion of the block face. Have very slow moving traffic which enables pedestrians uses; therefore walk-up residential units are encouraged.

Create recommendations for Residential Tertiary Streets.

TR E ATM ENT O F PA R K I N G S TR U C T U R E S : Create a pedestrian character on the street by treating parking garages with active liner uses and architectural treatments for a certain percentage of the building face. Garages facing single family homes should be lined for 100% of the building length. Minimum depth for liner uses is as follows:

Ground floor liners for primary and secondary streets should be at least 30’ deep.Non-ground floor commercial retail liners and office liners should be at least 30’ deep with a corridor.Residential liners should be at least 20’ to 25’ deep with a corridor. Liners on streets which do not require a retail frontage should be at least 20’ deep with no corridor.

AC TI V E L I N ER U S E:In mixed-use districts, active uses are the interior space of a building that fronts a street and contains a use that provides for a significant level of pedestrian activity. Such uses shall be accessible by the general public and shall provide a public entrance from the street. Such uses could include retail, service commercial, restaurants, coffee shops, libraries, educational facilities, post offices, common space or lobbies.

In residential districts, active uses include residential units. A L LOWA B L E H EI G HT FO R PA R K I N G P O D I U M S : To reduce the impact of parking podiums on the street, podiums will be limited by overall building height, lot size, and use. Refer to Parking Podium Height Chart. Stand alone parking structures are permitted in Residential Districts to serve as off-site parking within 500’ of a project site, but should be lined with active liner uses.

M A XI M U M FLOO R H EI G HTS : Maximum floor to floor heights are determined by the use and shall be as follows:• 20’ for ground floor uses

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• 15’ for office uses• 10’ for first two levels of parking structures

12’ for all other usesMezzanines are limited to the first floor only, should be limited by a percentage as described in the current City zoning code, and will count towards FAR.

M A X I M U M B U I L D I N G L EN G T H : To avoid long monotonous buildings, the maximum building length will be limited, as follows:• Industrial Chic: Buildings may be 300’ in length if the following ratio is met: 60% of the frontage at 3 stories

tall and 40% at 5 stories. However, if 100% of the structure is 5 stories, the building should be broken every 110’. A break is defined as two independent buildings. Breaks should be of at least 50’.

• All other districts: Towers should be no longer than 250’ in length. The distance between two towers should be at least 50’.

M A XI M U M A L LOWA B L E FLOO R P L ATE S : Floorplate recommendations have been established to influence the size of towers in conjunction with the maximum building footprint requirement.Office: up to 25,000 sfResidential: up to 18,000 sf

PA R K I N G R EQ U I R EM ENTS : Reduce the amount of area dedicated to parking by adjusting the parking requirements, as follows:

Parking requirements for office, residential and retail should not change from the current standards, however, parking which exceeds the maximum requirements shall count towards FAR. Industrial Chic zone, the Northwest Neighborhood, and Brelsford:

Parking requirements for live/work uses in the should be adjusted to 1.3 spaces per unit. Off site parking should be permitted for structures within 500’ of projects.

3. Clematis Street conservation district:Parking for the portion of existing and new buildings located within the conservation district should be grandfathered in.

4. Requests for off-site parking should be case specific and should require long-term contract to ensure parking permits.

For structured parking, parking spaces should be a minimum of 18’ in length. 24’ should be allotted for drive lanes.

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VAC ATI N G A L L E YS : Alleys may be vacated in all commercial districts as identified in the Setback chart. Alleys may not be vacated in the residential districts including Industrial Chic, Brelsford, Northwest, and Providencia Park.

B U I L D I N G S E TB ACK S : Establish additional setback requirements to help create better building articulation.

L I V E/ WO R K : Live/work provides the opportunity for living and working within a single self-contained unit and can include uses such as artist studios; small scale product manufacturing, processing and assembly, personal and professional services; testing, servicing and repairing goods which engages not more than 3 people and at least 1 person residing in the dwelling unit where the specified use is carried on.


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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATEI M P L E M E N TAT I O N : ZO N I N G R E CO M M E N DAT I O N S

Existing Tall Buildings

Existing Urban Fabric

EXISTING BUILDING HEIGHTS AND MASSING

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The following image illustrates the existing building massing and height for the DMP study area.

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PROPOSED HEIGHT AND MASSING

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Existing Tall Buildings

Existing Urban Fabric

Massing with Proposed Zoning

Proposed TDRs


The following image illustrates the proposed maximum development potential in terms of massing and height.

APPENDIX: PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

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WEST PALM BEACH M A S TER PL A N U PDATEP U B L I C I N VO LV E M E N T

Public involvement has been an important component of the Downtown Master Plan Update process. This has included various meetings and workshops with private developers, business owners and residents from various neighborhoods in Downtown. The following pages summarize the comments from these public meetings.

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RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP MEETING #1DOWNTOWN 03.28.06:

It is important to maintain the churches in the Northwest neighborhoods.Land costs are already high and historic designation has created too many barriers for buyers and sellers.Local residents to do not have a plan.The area is not truly single family. There are several existing multi-family buildings even the multi-family is currently not permitted under the existing zoning. This does not make sense.

ZYSCOVICH RESPONSE:

We aren’t trying to memorialize substandard housing, but there may be some homes which should be preserved because they tell a story about the neighborhood.We don’t want to increase density for multi-family and have the land values increase. The Northwest neighborhood is all about land costs because construction cost are the same for any development.Without incentives, we cannot create opportunities for affordable redevelopment.

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S TA K EH O L D ERM EE TI N G S

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BUSINESS AND DEVELOPER GROUP MEETING #103.28.06:

How will the widening of Quadrille Boulevard improve connectivity to the western block of Clematis?Banyan was the main connector to the City.How does the plan mesh with the City’s plan for open space?Can you explain the Industrial Chic area?A new street on the FEC would take away some development rights. Could we make a multi-modal path on the FEC to reduce the developer setback requirements?Are there ways to abate noise and the impacts of the FEC on new developments along the corridor?

ZYSCOVICH RESPONSE:

Quadrille Boulevard: Widening Quadrille will allow for new building orientation by creating a frontage façade towards the new road and Quadrille Blvd. The frontage road will help change the character of the FEC and potentially create a new grid structure to improve access to Quadrille.

We can abate noise on the FEC through streetscape or sound barriers around the train wheels. We don’t want to upset the balance of the street crossings on the FEC and we do not want to close off any streets to accommodate the FEC.

Parks: We are supportive of the waterfront park district and see it as an opportunity to connect to Clematis Street.Industrial Chic: This District will be one block east and several blocks west of the rail road tracks. It would include flex space for alternative lifestyle housing.

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S TA K EH O L D ER S CO NT.BUSINESS AND DEVELOPER GROUP MEETING #205.25.06:

Shift the downtown core to the west to connect to the taller office buildingsWhat are we doing for the County Courthouse District?How can we create variations and openings in buildings? Through incentives?Can we get Rinker to move out of the downtown?What are we proposing for Brelsford?What do we think about the Fern Overlay?How will we have offices with sufficient parking?

We need at least 4 spaces/1000sfConsider shared parking. Consider hospitality uses.

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RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP MEETING #2NORTHWEST, BRELSFORD, AND PROVIDENCIA PARK 05.25.06:

We need to preserve more historic structures.Potential for adaptive reuse of historic structures, especially in the northwest for social or community serving facilities such as library, community centers, etc.Concerned about rising land values and gentrification.People prefer single family, detached, not duplexes or quads. Instead, could subdivide the lot to accommodate two single family homes.Re-create the historic development pattern.Would like active parks and ball fields within walking distance.Could encourage owners to redevelop vacant sites with single family in combination with private, infill development of single family by development companies.Should have another workshop to meet with key property owners.Look at the Pleasant City Plan.What types of employment will the plan target?- hospitality, restaurant, service sectorWould like an educational and job training facility. Consider incubator type uses since they are more stable.

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RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP MEETING #3NORTHWEST FOCUS GROUP FOLLOW UP MEETING07.10.06:

Only one resident attended this meeting. The comments which applied to our study area are as follows:Rosemary was the historic commercial street.It’s difficult to rent properties in the neighborhood right now so new, multi-family housing on vacant lots may not make sense. Parks, with better police surveillance would be a nice alternative as long as loitering and drug sales are curtailed.There are also many vacant storefronts so it’s not enough to zone something commercial and expect it to lease.Consider opportunities for after school care centers.Most businesses are locally ownedThe proposed police substation surveillance boundaries should extend north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.Group homes are not sufficiently regulated in the Northwest neighborhood.

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A DV I SO RY B OA R D M EE TI N G S

ADVISORY BOARD MEETING #103.09.06:

The Advisory Board was created as a vehicle for providing targeted public input from select group of technical professionals. The first of four meetings elicited very general comments and was more of an opportunity to intro-duce the overall scope of work and the Design Team’s initial ideas.

Is the Downtown Core also going to be mixed-use?750,000 sf office potential in the next 5 years. 300,000 sf is already committed to City Place’s office proj-ect. Therefore, it would have to be mixed-use. This is only a 5-year time frame.How will we create a new street on Quadrille?

Office and retail developers are more interested in the long term viability of a project. They will invest in setting back for a new street if they can get additional height.

Street connections in the NW neighborhood make a lot of sense.How much flexibility will be incorporated into the code?

The new code should be more flexible to avoid PD zoning.TDR concept is to create a bank. All of the TDRs would be transferred through the City. How does the City finance this? The City shouldn’t sell public property for revenue. Public property should remain public. Instead, the City is artificially creating currency by selling TDRs on public sites.

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A DV I SO RY B OA R D CO NT.

ADVISORY BOARD MEETING #205.11.06:

During the second Advisory Board meeting, the Board provided more specific input and comments and suggest-ed that the next meeting use a workshop format so that more time can be dedicated to a group discussion.

Create transitions between historic zones and taller zones. Use TDRs to protect parksUse 10’ liners instead of 30’ liners. This encourages small delivery services which are more viable than larger scale retail.Use a hierarchy of streets to determine appropriate sidewalk widths.Can we set aside a tract of land for an arena for a professional sports team like other major cities?We need to maintain the densities set forth in the Comprehensive PlanThe 5-story height limit east of Olive needs to be re-examined per referendumGive height bonus for workforce housingSupport the idea of designating Clematis as a sending site because of its architectural valueRecommend selling TDRs for the Tent site rather than developing the site with tall buildings.Support the FAR based code, rather than the height limit code.Would we want to prevent individuals from purchasing TDRs for the purpose of banking them for future sales? Should they be required to have a valid project?Need to be careful about targeting receiving sites which are in valuable locations. Should limit TDRs that can be purchased.Shift business district to include east side of Quadrille.Hospitality uses should be on the waterfront and need to have some height to be viable. Need compatibility.

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ADVISORY BOARD WORKSHOP #107.10.06:

There was a very good response to this first Advisory Board workshop. The comments were as follows:Why are we trying to preserve Evernia? How do we determine which character is worth preserving?Can we transfer development rights internally?It would be helpful to see Type I, II, and III zoning overlaid with the new, proposed heights.7 stories may not be enough height difference from 5 stories. We also may need to consider parking and how that will impact the FAR versus height.Look at the existing buildings and building heights on the waterfront and show this in a height diagram.Why not let the CBD have unlimited height?Maybe 20 stories is not enough height for the CBD. Could we expand the TDR overlay boundaries to include the entire CBD? This would dilute the pool of tall buildings and reduce concerns about one building absorbing all of the offi ce uses.Clematis should be made a historic street, but the structures should not be considered historic. New buildings should be permitted as long as the character and scale of the buildings are preserved.What kind of guideline will encourage specifi c art uses? What kinds of incentives would the economist recommend?What is the depth of the TDR area on Quadrille?Why couldn’t we allow 18’ floor to floor ceiling heights? Could we allow for mezzanines on each floor, rather than on the first floor only?We need to think about job creation an putting the infrastructure and amenities in place like the arts and cultural uses.Why not increase allowable height if FAR is the cap?Height is very political once projects go through the approval process.How will we incorporate open spaces into the Master Plan?

Through open space requirements.Through FAR requirements on smaller parcels.

We need to define what FAR includes.We need more variation in building height from 5 to 7, to 5 to 10.Office buildings can step back.Residential buildings should have one setback on the ground floor and fewer setbacks on the higher floors. It’s more difficult to setback residential buildings.Could we allow a certain percentage of variances for setbacks or height to allow more building variation.

No. We should define the potential issues to avoid the need for variances. If you allow these variances, developers will always maximize this percentage.

We can create a Design Review or, very good Design Guidelines. This would be an additional service.The South side of Clematis should be included as part of the historic district. In addition, the block should have special guidelines.

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ADVISORY BOARD WORKSHOP #208.07.06:

The final workshop with the Advisory Board elicited a very productive discussion of the Draft Report. The follow-ing provides a summary of the comments.

PA R K I N GWhy does additional parking count against the FAR?We should reconsider restricting parking.Make a note that parking below grade should not count towards FAR.Office and Commercial uses should have 3 parking spaces per 1000sf.Look at the current parking requirements in the Downtown.Reduce the parking requirements for workforce housing.We need better transit before reducing the parking requirements.Off-site parking should be allowed City-wide.

FLOO R P L ATE SThe residential floorplates seem small.Please identify that it is possible to increase the amount of residential by building more than tower in the same project.

L I N ER U S E SThe zoning is too restrictive with the liner dimensions given the footprint limitations.Could we get City Place to do something with their garage to connect to Quadrille? If they build above the garage they could clad the podium and remove a bay of parking.Consider non-architectural and non-habitable architecture.The liners are too deep as recommended. Let developers decide if they want to increase the depth and pro-vide a minimum depth requirement.Consider fenestration requirements. Should they be changed?

H EI G HTSThe heights seem to be diluted and it’s difficult to envision the CBD as the centerpiece of the City with tall buildings which slope down towards the intracoastal.Would we consider 12’ floor to floor heights for residential uses instead of 10’?

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What should the maximum podium height be?Many of the members were concerned about capping the office at 20 stories if the City is serious about cre-ating a true corporate environment. Office and hotel should be increased from 20 stories to 25.Zyscovich should show the 3d of proposed heights and massing.

S TR EE T H I ER A RCH YSecondary streets should have some access to garages when projects do not face Tertiary Streets.How should we treat blocks with all primary streets, for example, the Tent site?

S E TB ACK SShould note that sidewalks and setbacks, which create wider sidewalks, should allow for café seating and pedestrian activity.The setbacks in the industrial Chic should be 5’, not 10’.

O P EN S PACEThe open space requirement could be combined or consolidated on blocks with the same ownership to pro-vide larger, public spaces.Could we provide FAR bonuses for additional open space?

S U B D I S T R I C TSThe TOD site should be shown as a separate sub-district.

WO R K FO RCE H O U S I N GNeed to create some language to include workforce housingCould we provide FAR bonuses for workforce housing?

T D R SThe TDR program reduces the available planning tools to accomplish many of the public policy goals.Maybe we need to create the TDR Bank to allow the City to use this money to incentivize affordable hous-ing, open space, office uses in the CBD, housing in the Industrial Chic, etc.The Board will make this as a formal recommendation.

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D E S I G N R E V I E W B OA R DIf we recommend DRB, it should function within a reasonable time frame.There is support for design guidelines and a DRB.

I M P L EM ENTATI O NCan the City have a zoning in progress? How will the zoning be implemented?The City cannot increase the total density in the downtown beyond the restrictions of the TCEA.The Board will recommend creating a TDR Bank to help fund incentives for public policy goals.Designate land for an arena in the City (not necessarily the Downtown).

N E X T S TEP SMost of the comments should be reviewed in the next draft. The Advisory Board should be present in the final presentation to the Commission to provide additional comments.

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COMMISSION WORKSHOP WITH ADVISORY BOARD08.21.06:

The Advisory Board provided additional comments at the final presentation of the Master Plan Update to the City Commission. The following is a summary of their comments:

FA RAre we staying with the recommendation for 2.5 FAR or are we changing it to 3.0?Need to be careful about defining FAR.

O FFI CE U S E SAre we providing any incentives for office market uses?Are there any potential job incentive programs?

WO R K FO RCE H O U S I N GCan we identify locations for rental properties? There is a potential to expand to the north and south.

TENT S ITEAny kind of public or private use will be a nightmare in terms of traffic on either the Triangle site or the Tent site.The Tent site should remain completely open, If possible, because of traffic issues. If the site will be pro-grammed, access should be from underground.Like the idea of the Tent site as open, or as a signature building.Need a signature building on the Tent site and a civic use on the Triangle site.

E V ER N I A S TR EE TConcerned about Evernia Street preservation district because the buildings have no structural integrity.

PA R K I N GThe plan should state that below ground parking should not count towards FAR even if it exceeds the maximum number of spaces.Can we partially submerge some parking as part of the 20’ first floor maximum height?Change the parking ratio for office from 2.5/1000sf to 3.0/1000sfThere are some concerns about the 3-story podium height limit. This may be too low.

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Some government uses have asked for 4 parking spaces/1000sf. We will require 3 spaces and allow these users to make a special request to exceed this ratio.

--Could develop incentives for underground parking

S E TB ACK SCan café seating occur in the setbacks? This should be specified in the code.

T D RNeed a TDR analysis of how to distribute the TDRs. Recommend hiring a consultant.Is there sufficient demand for TDRs?

O P EN S PACEMay need a stronger open space strategy in addition to relying on developers to provide open space on large sites.Is the open space sufficient?

R EFER EN D U M A R E AWhat is the Master Plan recommending for the 5 Story referendum area?

CO M P R EH EN S I V E P L A NConsider potential Comp Plan issues with the DCA.

A RCH ITEC T U R A L G U I D EL I N E SPleased with architectural guideline recommendations as well as the approach to zoning.This is a good idea to address a range of project sizes: full block, half, and less than half.

N E X T S TEP SWhat role will the Advisory Board have after tonight?

--Will continue to work with staff as the zoning is codifiedWhere are we going from here? What is the interim plan?How will the Design Review process work?

--The DRB will only be utilized when the guidelines haven’t been met. Also, we would like more input from the Advisory Board in time for the zoning in progress.

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CIT Y CO M M I SS I O N P R E S ENTATI O N S

In addition to having individual meetings with each of the Commissioners and the Mayor, Zyscovich has made two public presentations to the Commission. The first presentation was given on April 3rd. There were very few comments and the Commission was very supportive of our initial concepts. The second workshop was held on June 12.

COMMISSION WORKSHOP #1 04.03.06:

How can we attract new tenants to the new office market?Will we be making proposal for the Tent and Triangle sites?Have we examined the approval process? Most projects go to the DAC, rather than the Commission?Stull and Lee report recommended building significant structures on Banyan Corridor. This is a good opportunity for relocating displaced residents in the Northwest neighborhood.How will we revitalize the NW neighborhood core? What are the strategies for attracting families back?

Rosemary, Banyan, Tamarind could have multifamily housing.The Core area should remain single family.

Tamarind will become a major connection to Okeechobee. Consider the potential of this connections.

* There were no public comments except for one comment about creating a safer environment for bicyclists.

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CIT Y CO M M I SS I O N CO NT.

COMMISSION WORKSHOP #206.12.06:

The purpose of this interim presentation was to provide the Commission with an update of work in progress.

Where is the employment office market expected to come from?Is it possible for the City to capture the leases of some of the properties to influence the type of tenant that would occupy the space?

-- Could we develop a retail strategy to attract retailers to downtown?-- Perhaps there is a compromise.

Look at Houston’s historic neighborhoods when considering the Northwest neighborhood. We don’t want to inhibit redevelopment and additional historic designations will hurt the neighborhood more than help it.We should make sure that our stakeholder outreach to residents is all inclusive with adequate notification.Are we going to have to change the Comprehensive Plan as part of this study? We need to be consistent with the TCEA total square footage numbers.Can we provide examples of our concept for office buildings to support the 3-d massing images?Is there a way to break down the building blocks with open space or by other means? How can we break down the building massing?How can we ensure that adjacent buildings relate well to each other

-- With a maximum floor plate and maximum building footprint.For North Dixie Highway, consider “parking parks”.The 7th Street crossing is not going to happen. The FEC is not open to providing additional railroad crossings.Both Douglas and Division can connect through to Banyan. Sapodilla and Henrietta already connect. These streets are also part of the historic trails initiative which recently received funding.On Tamarind, we could build new structures or renovate structures for adaptive reuse similar to Magazine Street in New Orleans.If we develop the Tent site as a tall structure, this would impact the potential development west of City Plaza I. We need to look at both sides of Okeechobee Boulevard for building potential.Tamarind will become a major transportation route from Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. This should be included in our “gateway” slide.The Tent site should be a signature building in coordination with the Triangle site. This could be an opportunity for a corporate relocation.

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Can we incorporate LEED requirements into the code for density bonuses?Use the US conference of Mayors recommendations for LEED.All of the Commissioners support this.We should include a hospitality analysis as part of the economic consultant’s contract.

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COMMISSION WORKSHOP #308.21.06:

The Final presentation on August 21st was presented to both the City Commission and the Advisory Board. While the Commission did have some comments during the presentation, they deferred most of the comments to the Advisory Board. The following is a summary of the Commissioner comments.

Can we narrow the streets to get wider sidewalks?Likes the Northwest neighborhood concept.Does not agree with preserving Evernia Street. The buildings are too damaged to repair.TIF money should be designated for workforce housing, not private development. This is especially true for the TOD and the Northwest neighborhoods.Workforce won’t work in market rate condos.Would like to maintain physical and visual access to the waterfront.Needs to be some flexibility in the zoning to allow for good projects in locations where they may not be des-ignated.

* There were no public comments except for one comment from TOD Advisors about there plan being coordi-nated with the County and State.

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2007 zyscovich downtown master plan (dmp) final

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