Almost 38 acres of additional green space, currently owned by the Palmetto Bay Village Center, will soon be turned over to the Village of Palmetto Bay; 22 of which were saved from potential private development and will instead become the latest park addition to the Village of Parks. Council action came following a public hearing for the second reading of an ordinance that provided for the transfer of the owner's existing development rights of 85 units on the 22 vacant acres along Old Cutler Road to the interior area of the Palmetto Bay Village Center.
The area highlighted in blue below is the full donation site (+- 38 acres) of green space.
The area highlighted in blue below shows where the development rights from the 22 acres shown above were transferred to.
Village Council has been diligently working to reduce the developmental impact of this property since the courts granted 1,465 residential units in the late 1970s.
In addition to the land conveyance, the Village will also have interim use of one building on the site, which provides for 32,000 square feet of space. This facility will nicely accommodate recreational activities and classes that benefit our senior population and may also be used for educational purposes.
We're also pleased to say that a formal traffic analysis shows that the agreement has a neutral effect on traffic conditions from what was already approved for development at the site. In other words, the ordinance will not make traffic any worse than what was already approved by the Council in 2008.
There has been some confusion regarding the impact of the transfer on the site. Council's action on Monday actually decreases the intensity of the development that could otherwise go on the site. For example, development rights for the 22-acres ranged from 85 units to more than 200. The Village and the owner agreed on the 85 and then shifted the development to the interior area of the site to keep it off the 22 currently vacant acres. Additionally, development rights for the property included 400 residential units plus a hotel. With the shift of the 85 units, overall density, inclusive of the hotel units (not in addition to) was capped at 485 units. Following Monday night's vote, each and every hotel room will now be included toward the overall 485-unit count. The bottom line is the agreement limits development by reducing the overall density of the site.
