The Palm Beach Planning and Zoning Commission has endorsed a policy recommendation that would restrict loading operations for restaurants, bars, nightclubs and private clubs during weekday peak traffic hours.
But the town’s effort may be blocked if Gov. Ron DeSantis decides to sign off on a bill passed in the Legislature that would bar municipalities from passing “restrictive or burdensome” amendments to their Comprehensive Plan.
During its June 3 meeting, the commission unanimously agreed to forward that recommendation to the Town Council. The recommendation, part of the town’s yearlong effort to curb the development of new food and beverage establishments, was one of two policy proposals from The Corradino Group, the town’s traffic consultant.
However, commissioners had some reservations to the consultant’s more restrictive policy recommendation, which would see the town prohibit new establishments from operating before 5 p.m. and cap the amount of restaurant seats in the town’s Midtown and North End to what exist today.
The commission unanimously voted to defer its decision on that recommendation to its June 26 meeting, which is its final meeting before the Town Council reviews the board’s policy recommendations July 9.
As the Palm Beach Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed policies to curb the development of new food and beverage establishments, a bill passed by the Legislature could override that if it becomes law.
Commissioner Michael Vincent Spaziani said he supported The Corradino Group’s recommendation to cap the amount of restaurant seats and restrict the hours of operations for new restaurants.
He said the policy aligns with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which calls for the town to prevent and reduce the amount of high traffic-generating commercial projects. He argued the town has enough restaurants already.
Commissioner Jorge Sanchez concurred with Spaziani’s sentiment, but contended that a greater driver of traffic is the private service workers who enter and leave the town during morning and afternoon peak traffic hours. “I’m not in favor of more restaurants in town, but I still think we are still tackling this … incorrectly,” he said.
Joe Corradino, principal of The Corradino Group, said that while private service workers do contribute to traffic, the data on the origin of destination of traffic traveling to eateries did show that restaurants bring in a significant amount of out-of-town motorists. The data showed that in January and February, of the 45,200 out-of-town drivers coming to Palm Beach during the week, 11,010 of those traveled to food and beverage establishments.
However, to Sanchez’s point, Corradino said that multiple factors influence the town’s traffic issues, and while these policies will likely not reduce traffic, they will help ensure that the amount of traffic remains at current levels.
“This is one component of the entire palette of problems you’re going to have (in season),” he said.
Vice Chair Eric Christu expressed concern over the numerical cap on restaurant seats, noting that the town officials and staff question the veracity of the number of seats registered in these establishments’ business tax receipts.
Planning, Zoning and Building Director Wayne Bergman agreed, and said that town staff will work with the Corradino Group to draft a policy that would limit the development of new food and beverage establishments, without creating a restaurant seat threshold. “I would hate to have this adopted and put in an ordinance with specific numbers only to find out that we’re amending our ordinance constantly because these numbers are either incorrect or being changed,” he said.
Bergman said if the ordinance prohibits the creation of “new and expanded food and beverage establishments before 5 p.m.,” it could deliver the same results without having to place a restaurant seat threshold for the area.
Commissioners also asked that exceptions be made for weekend lunch services. Corradino said the group will work with town staff to incorporate the commission’s feedback into a new policy recommendation.
Florida bill threatens to block planning board’s policy recommendations
But the commission’s policy recommendations may be for naught, as Town Attorney Joanne O’Connor highlighted a state bill awaiting DeSantis’ signature that could block Palm Beach’s effort to curtail the development of new food and beverage establishments.
Senate Bill 180, which was passed by the Legislature in May, is meant to improve hurricane relief, response and recovery. But a subsection in the bill would bar municipalities that were affected by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, or Milton from proposing or adopting any amendments deemed “more restrictive or burdensome” to its Comprehensive Plan or land development regulations and procedures.
If DeSantis doesn’t veto the bill by June 30, it will go into effect, and apply retroactively from Aug. 1, 2024, through Oct. 1, 2027, O’Connor said.
“Keep doing what you are doing but just know that is something operating in the background and could affect our ability to adopt ordinances like the one we’re talking about today,” she said.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Planners want to curb loading hours, but pending law may block move
