West Palm Beach Downtown Master Plan Heads to the City Commission
West Palm Beach’s plan for how downtown grows is headed to the City Commission. At a City Hall workshop last week, residents made it clear they’re not done fighting over it.
The Downtown Master Plan hasn’t been updated since 2007. It controls what can be built downtown: how tall buildings can go, how dense projects can be, and what has to go on the ground floor. At the October 6 workshop, the city’s development services director put the city’s position plainly: “Development is coming. We don’t have a way to stop it.” The point of the plan, she said, is to steer that growth to the right places. Members of the resident group Save West Palm Beach weren’t convinced the workshop would change anything, and traffic and the pace of growth dominated the night.
The plan looks different than it did in the spring. The first version would have allowed towers up to 25 stories along Flagler Drive. The backlash was strong enough that Mayor Keith James paused the process in July, and a petition asking the city to slow down passed 3,000 signatures. By September, the waterfront towers were gone. Under the current version, most of the Flagler Waterfront District stays capped at five stories, as it is today. The area north of Banyan Boulevard keeps its existing eight-story limit, and city-owned parks along Flagler Drive stay protected.
Instead, the extra height moved inland. Between Tamarind and Sapodilla avenues, the plan sets a base height of 10 stories, and projects that meet extra requirements could go up to 25. Between Dixie Highway and Olive Avenue, the base is also 10 stories, with incentives up to 15. The update would replace the county’s roadway impact fee with a city mobility fee to pay for downtown transportation projects. It would also expand the plan’s boundaries to take in a car dealership site at Okeechobee Boulevard and South Dixie Highway.
Not everyone agrees on how fast downtown is actually growing. City officials say downtown added about 290 new homes a year between 2015 and 2025, and that growth has slowed recently. Resident groups want the city to study the combined effect of everything already approved before it allows more height. The firefighters union said taller buildings create emergency response challenges the plan doesn’t address.
The Planning Board unanimously recommended the plan in September, and city commissioners are expected to begin reviewing it later this month. Because the update changes the city’s comprehensive plan, a state agency also has to sign off before it comes back for final commission approval, which is expected in January.
My take
I’m not here to tell West Palm how tall to build. What I can tell you is what this means if you’re buying downtown.
If you’re buying on the water, the current plan works in your favor. Keeping most of Flagler Drive at five stories protects the views and the waterfront feel that people pay a premium for.
If you’re buying a few blocks west, look at the zoning map before you fall in love with the balcony view. The areas set for 10 to 25 stories are where the next wave of towers would go. That can bring more restaurants, shops and foot traffic, but also years of construction and a view that may not stay yours.
None of this is final until January. If you’re under contract downtown right now, ask what could be built on the lots around you, not just what’s there today.
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