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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Manager's Office
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
TOWN HALL
COUNCIL CHAMBERS-SECOND FLOOR
360 SOUTH COUNTY ROAD
AGENDA
JANUARY 13, 2016
9:45 AM
Welcome!
For information regarding procedures for public participation at Town Council Meetings,
please refer to the end of this agenda.
I.
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Gail L. Coniglio
Michael J. Pucillo, President
Richard M. Kleid, President Pro Tem
Danielle H. Moore
Penelope D. Townsend
Robert N. Wildrick
II.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
III.
RECOGNITIONS
IV.
COMMENTS OF MAYOR GAIL L. CONIGLIO
V.
COMMENTS OF TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS AND TOWN MANAGER
VI.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS - 3 MINUTE LIMIT PLEASE
VII. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A.
Page 8
RESOLUTION NO. 04-2016 A Resolution of The Town Council Of The Town
of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Ratifying And Confirming The
Determination of The Landmarks Preservation Commission That The Property
Known As 122 Kings Road Meets The Criteria Set Forth In Ordinance No. 284, Also Known As Chapter 54, Article IV Of The Code of Ordinances of The
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Town Of Palm Beach; And Designating Said Property As A Town of Palm
Beach Landmark Pursuant To Ordinance No. 2-84, Also Known As Chapter
54, Article IV of The Code of Ordinances Of The Town of Palm Beach.
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
IX.
B.
RESOLUTION NO. 05-2016 A Resolution of The Town Council of The Town
of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Ratifying And Confirming The
Determination of The Landmarks Preservation Commission That The Property
Known As 123 Kings Road Meets The Criteria Set Forth In Ordinance No. 284, Also Known As Chapter 54, Article IV of The Code of Ordinances of The
Town of Palm Beach; And Designating Said Property As A Town of Palm
Beach Landmark Pursuant To Ordinance No. 2-84, Also Known As Chapter
54, Article IV of The Code of Ordinances of The Town of Palm Beach.
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
C.
APPLICATION TO RELOCATE PEDESTRIAN BEACH ACCESS
EASEMENT WITHIN THE REPLAT OF THE BLOSSOM ESTATE
SUBDIVISION The application of Blossom Way Holdings, LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company, by and through its counsel, Maura Ziska, at Kochman
& Ziska, PLC, owner of 20, 30, 40 and 50 Blossom Way, requesting the
abandonment of an existing pedestrian access easement located on the north
five feet of Lot 3, of REPLAT OF THE BLOSSOM ESTATE, commonly known
as 30 Blossom Way and simultaneously dedicating a new beach access
easement on north five feet of Lot 1, of REPLAT OF THE BLOSSOM
ESTATE, commonly known as 50 Blossom Way. The Town Staff is proposing
that said easement also provide access to the State of Florida and the Town of
Palm Beach for sand and turtle nesting monitoring. [Maura Ziska, Esq.]
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
D.
RESOLUTION NO. 06-2016 A Resolution of The Town Council of The Town
of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Providing For The Abandonment
of The Existing Pedestrian Access Easement On The North Five Feet of Lot 3,
And Dedicating A New Pedestrian Access Easement On The North Five Feet
Of Lot 1, Replat of The Blossom Estate As Recorded In Plat Book 54, Pages
127 And 128, Palm Beach, Florida, At The Request of Blossom Way Holdings,
LLC.
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Page 47
Page 85
DEVELOPMENT REVIEWS
A.
Variances, Special Exceptions, and Site Plan Reviews
1.
Old Business
a.
Consideration of a Construction Management Agreement for
Redevelopment of the Testa's site (Site Plan Review #13-2014 with
Special Exceptions and Variances (Modified), 221 & 231 Royal
Poinciana Way, 214 & 216 Sunset Avenue, all previously
approved) [Attorney: Francis X. J. Lynch]
Deferred from the June 10, 2015, July 15, 2015, August 11, 2015,
October 14, 2015, and December 9, 2015 Town Council Meetings
Request for Deferral to the February 10, 2016, Town Council
Meeting Per Letter Dated December 23, 2015, from Francis X.J.
Lynch
2
Page 137
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning, and Building
b.
SPECIAL EXCEPTION #31-2015 WITH SITE PLAN REVIEW The Page 139
application of The Breakers Palm Beach, Inc.; relative to property
commonly known as 1 South County Rd., described as lengthy
legal description on file; located in the PUD-A Zoning District. The
Applicant is requesting a Special Exception approval with site plan
review approval for the following projects at the Breakers: Front
Lawn Service Buildings: construction of two pavilions on the front
lawn west of the hotel and south of the main entrance. The north
pavilion (446 sq. ft. of air conditioned space) will house restrooms,
while the south pavilion (710 sq. ft. of air conditioned space) will be
used for the staging of food service for guests who are attending
weddings and similar events that occur on that lawn and may occur
on a more regular basis in the future. There will be no intensification
of use because The Breakers requested that indoor space be
reserved as back-up when outdoor space in in use in case of
inclement weather. Ponce Loading Dock Expansion: enclosure of
additional space between the Ponce Ballroom addition and the
South Tower of the hotel. This space will provide services for events
on the Ocean Lawn. It will include new food service equipment and a
unisex bathroom. This enclosure will add 1,261 sq. ft. of air
conditioned space. An awning will also be constructed over part of
the remaining open corridor. Mediterranean Courtyard Service
Elevator: addition of service elevator in the southeastern corner of
the Mediterranean Courtyard to facilitate direct access for food
service for events in the Courtyard. Currently, staff must negotiate
multiple levels to get tables, food, etc. in and out of this area.
Emergency generator: approval of a 900 KW generator in the new
engine room on the north side of the hotel in lieu of the 600 KW
generator which was approved in September of 2015. An
engineering re-evaluation resulted in a recommendation for a larger
generator. [Attorney: James M. Crowley, Esq.]
[Landmark Commission Recommendation: Deferred consideration of
the variances related to the two proposed pavilions on the front lawn,
west of the hotel and south of the main entrance, to the November
18th meeting. Carried 7-0]
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
Request for Withdrawal Per Letter Dated December 7, 2015,
from James M. Crowley, Esq.
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
c.
SITE PLAN REVIEW #8-2015 WITH VARIANCE The application of Page 142
201 Debra Lane, LLC (Juan M. Naveja Diebold, Manager); relative to
property commonly known as 201 Debra Ln., described as lengthy
legal description on file; located in the R-B Zoning Districts. The
Applicant seeks Site Plan approval to construct a 3,814 square foot
two story home on a platted lot that is 98.55 feet deep in lieu of the
100 foot minimum required and 91.61 foot wide in lieu of the 100 foot
minimum required. A variance is requested to permit installation of a
pool in the street side yard with a setback of 6.25 feet in lieu of the
15 foot minimum required. [Attorney: M. Timothy Hanlon]
[Architectural Commission Recommendation: Deferred the project to
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the requested deferral to the January 27th meeting. Carried 7-0]
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
Request for Deferral to the February 10, 2016, Town Council
Meeting Per Letter Dated January 4, 2016 from M. Timothy
Hanlon.
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
d.
2.
SPECIAL EXCEPTION #32-2015 WITH VARIANCE The application
of Café Via Flora; relative to property commonly known as 240, 250
Worth Ave. and 256 Worth Ave., described as lengthy legal
description on file; located in the C-WA Zoning District. The
Applicant is requesting a Special Exception approval to modify a
previously approved special exception for the restaurant by
expanding the restaurant outdoor seating into the Via to the west.
There are currently 36 outdoor seats of which only 24 are dedicated
to the restaurant and 12 are dedicated to the public. The restaurant
is requesting an additional 33 outdoor seats to be added into the Via
to the west of the restaurant for a total of 83 seats (of which 71
would be dedicated to the restaurant and 12 would be dedicated to
the public). A variance is being requested to have zero (0) off-street
parking spaces in lieu of the 11 off-street parking spaces that are
required for the 33 additional seats being requested. [Attorney:
Maura Ziska, Esq.]
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
New Business
a.
SITE PLAN REVIEW #1-2016 WITH SPECIAL EXCEPTION The
application of Cary Glickstein, Receiver; relative to property
commonly known as 160 Royal Palm Way, described as lengthy
legal description on file; located in the C-B Zoning District. The
Applicant is requesting Site Plan Review and Special Exception
approval for modification to hotel approved plans to comport with
previous approvals with exception of minor changes to improve
service areas and access to those areas via stairs and elevators.
The intent of the following proposed site plan changes is to address
and secure the Town's approval for certain improvements that (A)
are already partially constructed, (B) will improve the function of the
hotel, but (C) will not increase the intensity of the use of the Property
or require any additional variances of any nature: 1. Complete
construction of Function Room and pool area consistent with plans
previously approved by the Town. 2. Demolish partially constructed
bathrooms on west side of Function Room and complete
construction in area immediately adjacent to the southeast corner of
the Function Room per plans previously approved by the Town. 3.
Demolish partially constructed walkway, stairs and elevator in so far
as it provides access to roof above Function Room; 4. Demolish
approximately 1,140 square feet of office space in area previously
approved as service corridor and laundry space. 5. Demolish
partially constructed enclosures of portions of the basement garage
on both east and west side of the Property, to restore 5 required off
street parking spaces. 6. Completion of partially constructed stair
4
and elevator from basement to third floor on North side of the hotel
building and demolish partially constructed elevator extension to roof
top. 7. Restore guest room area on third floor which was converted
to private dining over-looking the second floor dining room. 8.
Demolish partially constructed partial wall in the Function Room
kitchen. 9. Construction of new access stairs from the basement
kitchen area to the lobby dining room. 10. Construct new stairs,
elevator and dining area on the second floor dining room. 11.
Construct redesigned mezzanine dining room stairs. 12. Construct
opening on the east side of the Function Room wall identified as the
state. 13. No reduction of condo-hotel units. The condo-hotel units
remain at 79 units. 14. Remove infill framing at exterior walkways on
east elevation (installed subsequent to staff's identification of nonapproved construction). [Attorney: Jacqueline S. Miller, Esq.]
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
X.
b.
SPECIAL EXCEPTION #02-2016 WITH SITE PLAN REVIEW The
application of Maura Ziska, Esq., Attorney in Fact; relative to
property commonly known as 1021 No. Ocean Blvd., described as
lengthy legal description on file; located in the R-A Zoning District.
The Applicant is requesting a Special Exception with Site Plan
Review approval to allow the construction of a new two-story
residence consisting of a 8,202 sq. ft. non-habitable underground
basement/garage, 14,061 sq. ft. first and second floor habitable
space, and, 2,317 sq. ft. of outdoor covered areas for a total of
25,198 sq. ft. on a non-conforming lot which is 100 feet in width in
lieu of the 125 foot minimum width required in the R-A Zoning
District. The subject property is part of two platted lots. [Attorney:
Maura Ziska, Esq.]
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
c.
VARIANCE #01-2016 The application of David and Kathleen Moran;
relative to property commonly known as 265 Orange Grove Rd.,
described as lengthy legal description on file; located in the R-B
Zoning District. A variance request to allow the construction of a 59
sq. ft. one story addition on the west side of the residence for a
master bedroom bathroom with a west side yard setback of 6.1 feet
in lieu of the 12.5 foot minimum required. [Attorney: Maura Ziska,
Esq.]
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
d.
Page 211
VARIANCE #02-2016 The application of M. Timothy Hanlon, as
Trustee of the 240 Banyan Land Trust; relative to property commonly
known as 240 Banyan Rd., described as lengthy legal description
on file; located in the R-A Zoning District. The Applicant is requesting
a variance approval to allow the construction of a one-story Guest
House containing approximately 875 sq. ft. with a front yard setback
of 20 feet in lieu of the 35 feet minimum required. [Attorney: M.
Timothy Hanlon, Esq.]
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
Page 145
ORDINANCES
A.
First Reading
5
1.
XI.
Page 216
ORDINANCE NO. 31-2015 An Ordinance Of The Town Council Of The
Town Of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Amending The Town
Code Of Ordinances At Chapter 134, Zoning; Article I, In General;
Section 134-2, Definitions And Rules Of Construction, So As To Amend
The Definitions Of Sign Institutional, Sign Menu And Sign Official Traffic;
Further Amending Chapter 134, At Article XI, Signs, So As To Amend
And Restate Article XI In Its Entirety As Set Forth In Exhibit “A” Attached
Hereto; Providing For Severability; Providing For Repeal Of Ordinances
In Conflict; Providing For Codification; Providing An Effective Date.
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
John S Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
ANY OTHER MATTERS
A.
Chez L' Epicier Restaurant, 288 South County Road, Consideration of TownServing Documentation and Review of Valet Parking Operations, Exception
No. 22-2014
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
B.
SPECIAL EXCEPTION #01-2016 The application of Chez L'Epicier
(Veronique Deneault); relative to property commonly known as 288 So.
County Rd., described as lengthy legal description on file; located in the C-TS
Zoning District. In October 2014, the Town Council granted Chez L'Epicier
approval to operate a 4,454 square foot, 138 seat restaurant. The proposed
hours of operation were approved to be: Dinner Wednesday through Sunday 3
p.m. to midnight; Brunch and Dinner Saturday and Sunday 10:30 a.m. to
midnight; occasional special events may occur during the weekdays or on a
Monday or Tuesday night, not to last past midnight. The Applicant is
requesting a Special Exception approval to modify the Declaration of Use
Agreement to serve dinner Monday and Tuesday, in addition to the previously
approved hours. [Attorney: Maura Ziska, Esq.]
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
Page 236
XII. ADJOURNMENT
PLEASE TAKE NOTE:
Note 1:
No written materials received after 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday immediately prior to
a monthly Town Council meeting will be included in the back-up binders
distributed to the Mayor and Town Council in preparation for that meeting. Written
materials received after 5:00 p.m. on Thursday will be separately distributed to the
Mayor and Town Council; however, depending upon the length of the materials,
the time of submittal, and other circumstances, the Mayor and Town Council may
not be able to read and consider such late submittals prior to acting upon the
policy matter(s) which they address.
Note 2:
The progress of this meeting may be monitored by visiting the Town's website
(townofpalmbeach.com) and clicking on "Meeting Audio" in the left column. If you
have questions regarding that feature, please contact the Office of Information
Systems (561) 227-6315. The audio recording of the meeting will appear within 24
hours after the conclusion of the meeting.
Note 3:
If a person decides to appeal any decision made by this Council with respect to
any matter considered at this meeting or hearing, he/she will need a record of the
proceedings. For such purpose, he/she may need to ensure that a verbatim
record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and
6
evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.
Note 4:
Disabled persons who need an accommodation in order to participate in the Town
Council Meeting are requested to contact the Town Manager's Office at 838-5410
or through the Florida Relay Service by dialing 1-800-955-8770 for voice callers or
1-800-955-8771 for TDD callers, at least two (2) working days before this
meeting.
Note 5:
Items listed on the Consent Agenda will be approved by one motion of the Town
Council, unless the Mayor or an individual Council Member requests that any item
(s) be moved to the Regular Agenda and individually considered.
Note 6:
All back-up material for the items listed on the agenda are posted to the Town's
website and emailed to all Stay Informed subscribers onthe Friday before the
Town Council meeting. To access the back-up materials and/or subscribe to the
Stay Informed list, please visit the Town's website (townofpalmbeach.com).
PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Citizens desiring to address the Town Council should proceed toward the public microphones
when the applicable agenda item is being considered to enable the Town Council President
to acknowledge you.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Any citizen is entitled to be heard on an official agenda
item under the section entitled "Public Hearings,"
subject to the three minute limitation.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM
CITIZENS:
Any citizen is entitled to be heard concerning any
matter under the section entitled "Communications
from Citizens," subject to the three minute limitation.
The public also has the opportunity to speak to any
item listed on the agenda, including the consent
agenda, at the time the agenda item comes up for
discussion.
OTHER AGENDA ITEMS:
Any citizen is entitled to be heard on any official
agenda item when the Town Council calls for public
comments, subject to the three minute limitation.
Town Council Meetings are public business meetings and, as such, the Town Council retains
the right to limit discussion on any issue.
7
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Public Hearings
Agenda Title
RESOLUTION NO. 04-2016 A Resolution of The Town Council Of
The Town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Ratifying And
Confirming The Determination of The Landmarks Preservation
Commission That The Property Known As 122 Kings Road Meets The
Criteria Set Forth In Ordinance No. 2-84, Also Known As Chapter 54,
Article IV Of The Code of Ordinances of The Town Of Palm Beach; And
Designating Said Property As A Town of Palm Beach Landmark Pursuant
To Ordinance No. 2-84, Also Known As Chapter 54, Article IV of The
Code of Ordinances Of The Town of Palm Beach.
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Supporting Documents
Memorandum dated December 21, 2015 from John S. Page
Resolution No. 04-2016
122 Kings Road Designation Report
Landmarks Preservation Commission Minutes Dated December 16, 2015
Landmarks Designation Procedure
8
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Information for Town Council Meeting on: January 13, 2016
To:
Mayor and Town Council
Via:
Thomas G. Bradford, Town Manager
From:
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Re:
Landmark Designation of 122 Kings Road
Resolution No. 04–2016
Date:
December 21, 2015
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends ratification of the property known as 122 Kings Road as a Town landmark.
LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
At the Public Hearing for Designation held during the December 16, 2015 meeting of the
Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Commission voted (7-0) to recommend to the Town
Council that the above mentioned property be designated as a landmark. In accordance with
Section 54-164 (a) (11) of Chapter 54 of the Town of Palm Beach Code of Ordinances, the Town
Council shall hold a public hearing within ninety (90) days of the final decision of the
Landmarks Commission to consider ratification of the Commission’s recommendation.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The property meets the following criteria for designation as a landmark of the Town of Palm
Beach:
Sec. 54-161 (1) Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic or social
history of the nation, state, county or town; and,
Sec. 54-161 (3) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or is a
specimen inherently valuable for the study of a period, style, method of construction or
use of indigenous materials or craftsmen; and,
Sec. 54-161 (4) Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer or
architect whose individual ability has been recognized or who influenced his age.
9
OWNER CONSENT
Please be advised that no feedback (positive or negative) has been received from the property
owner(s) relative to designation. Proper notifications were completed.
TOWN ATTORNEY REVIEW
Please be advised that the Town Attorney has reviewed Resolution No. 04-2016 relating to 122
Kings Road, and has approved it as to legal form and sufficiency.
Attachments
cc:
John C. Randolph, Town Attorney
Susan A. Owens, Town Clerk
John Lindgren, AICP, Planning Administrator
pf
10
RESOLUTION NO. 04-2016
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PALM
BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, RATIFYING AND
CONFIRMING THE DETERMINATION OF THE LANDMARKS
PRESERVATION COMMISSION THAT THE PROPERTY KNOWN AS 122
KINGS ROAD MEETS THE CRITERIA SET FORTH IN ORDINANCE NO. 284, ALSO KNOWN AS CHAPTER 54, ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF PALM BEACH; AND DESIGNATING
SAID PROPERTY AS A TOWN OF PALM BEACH LANDMARK
PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 2-84, ALSO KNOWN AS CHAPTER 54,
ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF PALM
BEACH.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Ordinance No. 2-84, (Chapter 54, Article IV,
Code of Ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach) the Landmarks Preservation Commission of the
Town of Palm Beach held public hearings and recommended to the Town Council that certain
property described herein be designated as a landmark as described in said Ordinance and Code;
and
WHEREAS, after due notice to the property owner(s) affected, a public hearing was held
at which all parties interested were given an opportunity to be heard and express their views and
opinions with respect to the property and its designation as a landmark; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council does hereby find and determine that the property
described herein meets the criteria required by the Ordinance to designate a landmark, and shall
be designated as a landmark;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF PALM BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows:
Page 1 of 3
11
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are hereby ratified and confirmed.
Section 2. The recommendation and determination of the Landmarks Preservation
Commission as to the property hereinafter described in Section 3 of this Resolution, being
designated as a landmark is hereby ratified, approved and confirmed.
Section 3. The landmark herein designated, pursuant to the provisions of Ordinance No.
2-84, and the provisions of the Town Code described herein, is known as 122 Kings Road
Way and the property to be landmarked is legally described as follows:
LOT 17, BOULEVARD ESTATES, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF AS
RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 21, PAGE 96, PUBLIC RECORDS OF PALM BEACH
COUNTY, FLORIDA.
Section 4. The Town Clerk is hereby ordered to furnish the property owner of the
landmarked property a copy of this Resolution.
Section 5. Within thirty (30) days from the date of this Resolution, the Landmarks
Preservation Commission shall cause to be filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for
Palm Beach County, Florida, a certificate that the above-described property comprises a
landmark, as defined in and subject to the provisions of Ordinance No. 2-84 and the Code of
Ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach, Florida.
Resolution No. 04-2016
Page 2 of 3
12
PASSED AND ADOPTED in a regular adjourned session of Town Council of the Town
of Palm Beach this 13TH day of January, 2016.
________________________________
Gail L. Coniglio, Mayor
__________________________________________
Michael J. Pucillo, Town Council President
__________________________________________
Richard M. Kleid, Council President Pro Tem
__________________________________________
Danielle H. Moore, Town Council Member
ATTEST:
__________________________________________
Penelope D. Townsend, Town Council Member
________________________________
Susan A. Owens, MMC, Town Clerk
__________________________________________
Robert N. Wildrick, Town Council Member
Resolution No. 04-2016
Page 3 of 3
13
122 Kings Road
DESIGNATION REPORT
December 16, 2015
Landmark Preservation Commission
Palm Beach, Florida
14
DESIGNATION REPORT
122 Kings Road
Table of Contents
I.
GENERAL INFORMATION
2
LOCATION MAP
3
III.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
4
IV.
ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION
12
ARCHITECT’S BIOGRAPHY
17
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
21
CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION
21
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
23
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE FORM
25
II.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Report produced by Murphy Stillings, LLC
15
I.
General Information
Location:
122 Kings Road
Palm Beach, Florida
Date of Construction:
1927
Historic Name:
Cielito Lindo
First Owner:
John P. and Jessie Donahue
Architect:
Marion Sims Wyeth
Builder/Contractor:
William Watts, Jr.; Watts and Sinclair
Present Owner:
Austin and Stephen Smith
Present Use:
Residential
Present Zoning:
R-A
Palm Beach County
Tax Folio Number:
50-43-43-35-04-000-0170
Current Legal Description: Boulevard Estates Palm Beach Lot 17
16
II.
Location Map
122 Kings Road
17
III.
Historical Information
122 Kings Road is located on the south side of Kings Road just west of South
Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach’s Boulevard Estates Subdivision. The house
was originally part of Cielito Lindo, one of Palm Beach’s finest estates,
designed by Marion Sims Wyeth and constructed by Watt and Sinclair in
1927. Cielito Lindo, meaning “A Little Piece of Heaven,” was the 45,000
square-foot winter home of Jessie Woolworth Donahue and her husband
James P. Donahue. The $2-million mansion was originally constructed on a
vast 300-foot wide lake-to-ocean parcel between what is now Woodbridge
Road and Algoma Road.
By World War I, Henry Flagler had established Palm Beach as the winter
capital of American high society. Most came by rail and stayed for the early
January to February 22nd season at one of Flagler’s luxury hotels, the Royal
Poinciana or the Breakers. However, following World War I, this practice
shifted as the season became longer and many of the society’s wealthy built
grand mansions along the ocean and lake. The early architect of choice was
Addison Mizner who had come to Palm Beach with Paris Singer in 1918 and
designed Singer’s Mediterranean Revival-style Everglades Club in 19181919. The club not only became the new center of social life for Palm
Beach’s wealthiest and most socially prominent residents, but it also
introduced Mizner’s Mediterranean Revival style to the island. Society
leaders Eva and Edward Stotesbury were the first to commission Mizner to
design a grand Mediterranean Revival style estate for their winter residence.
The resulting El Mirasol, on a vast oceanfront property, provided a superb
setting for Eva Stotesbury’s extensive entertaining and “confirmed both Eva’s
status as society queen and Mizner’s status as a fashionable architect.” 1 With
El Mirasol setting the precedent, owning a fashionable Mediterranean
Revival-style estate became a symbol of prestige and a place to entertain for
Palm Beach’s and affluent winter residents.
1
Donald Curl, Palm Beach County: An Illustrated History. Windsor Publications Inc., 1986. Throughout the
1920s land boom, Mizner remained a highly sought after architect, designing mansions for many of the most
prominent winter residents. In addition to Paris Singer and the Stotesburys, some of Mizner’s Palm Beach
clients included Harold Vanderbilt (El Solano), Charles Munn (Amado), Gurnee Munn (Luawana), Anthony
Drexel Biddle (Villa del Sarmiento), Charles Winn (Kahlua), Dr. Willey Lyon Kingsley (La Bellucia),
George Mesker (La Fontana), Arthur Chaflin (Casa del Ensuenos), Edward Shearson (Villa Flora) Rodman
Wanamaker (La Guerida), Dr. Preston Satterhite (Casa Florencia), William Warden (Warden House), Henry
Phipps (Heamaw), John Phipps (Casa Bendita), Leonard Thomas (Casa de Leoni) William Wood (The
Towers), Joshua Cosden (Playa Riente), George Rasmussen (Casa Nana) and Major Barclay Warburton
(Villa Des Cygnes).
18
James P. Donahue and his wife Jessie Woolworth Donahue started spending
the winter season in Palm Beach in the early 1920s, arriving in their lavish
private railcar, Japauldon, and staying at the Everglades Club where they
entertained extensively. 2 Jessie Woolworth Donahue was the youngest of
three daughters of Franklin Winfield Woolworth, the five-and-dime store
magnate who was one of the wealthiest men in America at the time of his
death in 1919. When her mother, Jennie Creighton Woolworth, died in 1921,
Jessie and her sister Helena Woolworth McCann and her niece Barbara
Hutton, shared in the huge fortune. 3
The early 1920s was a period of tremendous growth in the Town of Palm
Beach. The Island had become the winter resort of America’s most
influential families and the building boom was radically changing the face of
the small community. Though Ocean Boulevard was complete by 1920 most
of the land west of the road was covered with jungles of rugged palms.
During the Land Boom, much of the land was transformed into grand Palm
Beach estates designed by architects to suit their wealthy clients’ extravagant
tastes and lavish lifestyles.
Majorie Merriweather Post had been vacationing in Palm Beach since the
early 1900’s, having stayed at the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers
with her first husband Edward Bennett Close.4 By 1920, she had inherited a
vast fortune from her cereal-tycoon father C.W. Post, married her second
husband, Edward Francis “E.F.” Hutton and was eager to build her own estate
where she could spend the winter season and entertain. While the Hutton’s
were looking for property on Golfview Road to build their estate, they met
Marion Sims Wyeth, a New York architect who had moved to Palm Beach
the previous year. According to reports from the time, “When the sun had set
on Golfview Road that day, the Huttons had hired Wyeth to build them a
home on a plot of land they had purchased that afternoon from Paris Singer’s
Ocean and Lake Realty Company, launching Wyeth into a lifelong career of
villa-building in the resort.” 5 By the 1921 winter season, the Huttons were
established in Hogarcito, their new Spanish-style house fronting the
2
Japauldon was named for James Paul Donahue.
Jessie’s sister Edna Woolworth (1883-1917) married Franklyn Laws Hutton, brother of E.F. Hutton and a
financial advisor to her father. They had one child, Barbara Hutton. Edna died in 1917 when Barbara was
just five years old. Jessie Woolworth Donahue was a sister-in-law of Majorie Merriweather Post, who had
been married to E.F. Hutton (1920-1935), and Barbara Hutton was a niece of both women.
4 Marjorie Merriweather Post divorced Edward Bennett Close in 1919 and married E.F. Hutton in 1920.
5 Shirley Johnson, Palm Beach Houses. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991; p. 290.
3
19
Everglades Club golf course. 6 However, even after a large addition by Wyeth
in 1923, the house was too small for the Marjorie’s entertaining, so she called
upon Wyeth again to design a palatial estate further south on an ocean to lake
property that four years later would become Mar-a-Lago.7
The South Florida Land and Building Boom reached its height in late 1925,
but by 1926, the “Boom Times” were ending as speculation had pushed prices
so high that speculators and developers could no longer find buyers and many
banks in the state failed. However, while much of South Florida suffered from
this real estate bust, the Palm Beach winter colonists and real estate on the
island was not dramatically affected. A February 27, 1927 Palm Beach Times
article titled, “Much Activity Indicated in New Projects: Several Homes to be
Built at Resort” addressed this issue:
“Every indication that there will be plenty of activity in the building trades in
Palm Beach during the coming summer is evidenced in the announcement of a
number of private homes and apartments to be constructed in the winter colony.
The announcement of increased building activity comes as encouraging to
many tradesmen who feared that with the completion of the Bath and Tennis
Club, the Sunrise Theatre building, the Oasis Club and other places there would
be a big cessation in building and that many men would be jobless. The
Donahue house along Ocean Boulevard will be the largest to be built during the
coming year.” 8
As Mar-a-Lago was being completed, James and Jessie Donahue hired Wyeth
to design a grand estate for them on a sprawling ocean-to-lake lot they had
purchased a few years earlier just one block north of Mar-a-Lago. A January
19, 1927, Palm Beach Post article titled, “Work Started On New Oceanfront
Palm Beach Home; Strip Near Hutton’s is Site of New Residence; Contractor
“Hogarcito, Palm Beach – Historic Home for Sale.” Palm Beach Daily News 11 September 2009.
According to historian Donald Curl, “Hogarcito was the first house to be built on Golfview Road. Many
of the other houses were built because Marjorie Merriweather Post (at that time Mrs. E.F. Hutton)
wanted to populate the street with what she called, ‘young marrieds,’ which is how she saw herself.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles McCann (Helena Woolworth) were one of the ‘young marrieds’ who bought a
Wyeth house on Golfview Road.”
7
Marion Sims Wyeth drew the basic plans for Mar-a-Lago but Marjorie Merriweather Post wanted
something more grand and extravagant so she hired Austrian architect Joseph Urban to create a dramatic
115-room villa.
8
“Permits Nearly Two Million in Colony.” Palm Beach Post, 1 January 1928. While West Palm Beach and
Palm Beach during the year of 1927 were absorbing the great number of hotels, apartment and public
buildings which shot up in the proceeding years, in Palm Beach a number of winter residents have been busy
constructing new homes or adding to their estates. As a result of this activity, building permit totals for Palm
Beach have kept pace with those of 1926. For 1927, the permits totaled $1,691,699 and in 1926 $1,888,200.
6
20
Brings Huge Crew from North to Construct Mansion Here,” describes the
beginning of Cielito Lindo:
“Ground was broken and work started yesterday on the foundations of the new
James P. Donahue home, which is to be located on a 300-foot wide strip of
land between the lake and the ocean, just north of the Charles W. Copp estate,
near the new Bath and Tennis Club and the Edward F. Hutton mansion (Mar-aLago). The Donahue home, which is to be the permanent winter abode of Mr.
and Mrs. Donahue, regular Palm Beach residents, will be one of the most
interesting additions to the Ocean boulevard residences and is to be located
along one of the loveliest stretches of beach. Watts and Sinclair, contractors,
who have been in charge of construction work for Mr. Donahue in the north,
arrived in Palm Beach with a large crew and began work yesterday on the
foundations. Mr. and Mrs. Donahue are to arrive Monday for the final
consultation with Marion Sims Wyeth, Palm Beach architect who is designing
the house. They visited Palm Beach early in December to confer with Mr.
Wyeth and are arriving now to occupy their apartment at the Everglades Club
and superintend the early stages of the building.
Like most Palm Beach houses built by Mr. Wyeth, the architecture is
decidedly Spanish in feeling and influence and the dominant feature will be the
patio facing west and overlooking the lake with a glass terrace above it. The
house will have the usual features of Palm Beach villas with a large 30x50
living room, a library, a 22’ x 35’dining room opening into a conservatory,
breakfast room, six master bedroom suites and sleeping porches. The usual
kitchen and servant’s rooms are in the rear together with a garage and a
chauffeur’s house. The house is to be complete with every small detail that
affords comfort and luxury.
The beach opposite the Donahue property is one of the best along the shore
and for two years they have maintained a private bathhouse there with kitchen,
shelter and conveniences for the serving of beach luncheons. During their
recent visit here they entertained at several beach luncheons and have allowed
friends to use the beach and its facilities during their absence. The proximity
to the Bath and Tennis Club makes this location all the more desirable, with
the beautiful homes on the south ocean front as near neighbors. Mr. Wyeth
adds this home to his already notable list of Palm Beach houses.”
The Donahues wished to occupy their house for the 1927-1928 winter season,
so Watts and Sinclair, Inc. brought a “small army of workmen” to construct
the house. 9 Just eleven months after the foundation was laid, Cielito Lindo
9
“Donahue House on Boulevard Nearly Ready: Mr. and Mrs. Donahue, with Two Sons, Expected to Arrive
December 22 for the Christmas Holidays.” Palm Beach Daily News, 16 December 1927.
The palatial Palm Beach home on South Ocean Boulevard of James P. Donahue of No. 6 East 80th Street,
New York City, will be complete and ready for occupancy on December 22, according to the announcement
21
was ready for occupancy. Jessie and her two sons, James Jr. “Jimmy” and
Woolworth “Woolie” arrived by train to spend Christmas in Palm Beach.
Newspaper articles bestowed accolades upon Cielito Lindo, describing it as
“the magnificent new home that has taken its place among the show places of
Palm Beach.” 10
In addition to the house, the elaborate estate grounds received extensive
praise in newspaper and magazine articles. Designed by Lewis & Valentine
of Long Island, the grounds included many lush gardens with magnificent
plantings and rare flowers creating a “wonderland of tropical beauty.” 11 In
addition to the exquisite gardens and stunning landscaping, the grounds
included a multi-car garage, a chauffeur’s and gardener’s house, a tennis
court, a boathouse, an orchid house, orange groves, a tea pavilion, a lily pond
and numerous stone fountains and benches, all overseen by the estate’s
gardener and superintendent E.E. Sheldon.12
James and Jessie Donahue returned to Palm Beach in January 1928 to spend
the winter season. Like the other grand Palm Beach estates, Cielito Lindo
was designed for entertaining. Not long after moving in, the Donahue’s
christened Cielito Lindo with a party. According to a February 21, 1928
article in the New York Evening Post,
“One of the largest parties of the season was given at Cielito Lindo last
evening by Mr. and Mrs. James P. Donahue, to which were bidden
practically all of the winter colony. The affair was in the nature of a
house warming of their new home. The mansion takes its place among
the four or five of Palm Beach’s most notable homes.” 13
Jessie’s inheritance from the Woolworth fortune allowed the Donahues to
lead lavish lifestyles. Even after the untimely death of her husband James in
yesterday of Marion Sims Wyeth, architect in charge and designer of the Spanish type residence. With the
last of the building work, supervised by Watt and Sinclair, Inc., New York contractors, drawing near, the
small army of workmen who were employed on the grounds when the contract was let last February has now
dwindled to about 50 men.
10
Palm Beach Daily News 16 December 1927.
11 “Donahue Estate a Wonderland of Beauty; Gardens Replete With Rarest Flowers.” Palm Beach Post 13
January 1929. According to Dr. W.S. Aldridge, president of the Lake Worth Garden Club in the 1920s-1930,
“Cielito Lindo’s grounds were an outstanding example of the art of landscape gardener. The division and
layout of the gardens are as beautiful as the rare plants and decorative carved stonework they contain.”
12
Three separate building permits were taken out April 11, 1927 for some of the outbuildings; #668 for the
Gardner and Chauffeur House $18,000; #669 Garage and Service Building $35,000 and #670 for the Boat
House $10,000.
13 J.P. Donahues Open New House at Palm Beach: Cielito Lindo Scene of Resort’s Largest Party – Geraldine
Farrar in Concert.” New York Evening Post, 21 February 1928.
22
1931, Jessie continued to host grand parties at Cielito Lindo, often
accompanied by her sons. 14 Jimmy Donahue had a notorious friendship with
the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and they were frequent guests at Cielito
Lindo and aboard Jessie’s yacht Freedom which she began bringing to Palm
Beach in the 1930s. 15 Woolie Donahue, who had married Gretchen Wilson
Hearst, also wintered in Palm Beach in houses on owned on Via Bellaria and
South Ocean Boulevard.16 Barbara Hutton, the only daughter of Jessie’s late
sister Edna, was also a frequent guest at Cielito Lindo and in the early years
the tower room was known as Jimmy and Barbara’s playroom. 17 Other Palm
Beach winter colonists associated with the Woolworth fortune included
Jessie’s sister Mrs. Charles E.F. McCann (Helena) who commissioned Wyeth
to design a house on Golfview Road just after he completed Hogarcito and
Woolworth Company executive, Earle Perry Charlton, who hired Wyeth to
design his Jungle Road oceanfront estate Qui-Si-Sana in 1924.
The 1929 stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression had little effect
on the Woolworth fortune. Jessie Donahue continued to spend the winter
season in Palm Beach, and New York and Palm Beach newspapers covered
her grand parties and family’s extravagant lifestyle. Though she had the
means to run a large estate, there were several years during the 1930s and
early1940s Jessie chose to spend the season at Whitehall, the Everglades Club
or aboard her yacht, and open Cielito Lindo only for her large celebrated
parties. When Cielito Lindo was not open, Jessie did not want for a place to
entertain, as she was a member of all of the fashionable clubs in Palm Beach
and also frequently entertained at her beach house.18
James P. Donahue, Sr., committed suicide in April of 1931 in their New York home.
Jimmy Donahue became friends with the Windsor’s while sailing to Europe in the 1930s. The Duke
of Windsor had been King Edward VIII before abdicating the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, who was
a twice-divorced American. Jimmy and Jessie Donahue enjoyed being in the company of the Duke and
Duchess and Jessie spent large sums of money entertaining them in the United States and abroad.
16 Woolworth Donahue married three times. His third wife Mary Donahue, the former Mary Hartline of
Super Circus fame, outlived Woolie (1973), Jessie (1971), and Jimmy (1966), thus inheriting a
substantial sum of money and numerous houses, yachts and cars. One of the houses was Casa Nana at
708 South Ocean Boulevard.
17 Barbara Woolworth Hutton was dubbed the “Poor Little Rich Girl” first when she was given a lavish
debutante ball in 1930 amid the Great Depression, and later due to a notoriously troubled private life.
By the time of her 21st birthday, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world. She married seven
times, once to Cary Grant, all ending in divorce. When she was younger she spent time with her
cousins at Cielito Lindo and Mar-a-Lago (cousin to Nedenia Hutton aka Dina Merrill) and was known to
be a close confidant to Jimmy Donahue.
18
Jessie Woolworth Donahue belonged to the Everglades Club, Bath and Tennis Club, Seminole Club, and
the Gulf Stream Club,
14
15
23
At the end of World War II, Jessie Donahue was ready to downsize her Palm
Beach winter residence and consequently put Cielito Lindo up for sale. In
1946, she sold the house and property to developers for $101,000. 19 At that
time, many owners saw their large estates as anachronisms, too large to aircondition, too expensive to maintain, and too hard to staff. Within a few
years, many of Palm Beach’s great estates including Playa Riente, El Mirasol,
Casa Bendita, The Towers, Casa Florencia, Casa Joseto and La Fontana were
demolished, making way for housing developments and high-rise
condominiums. 20 Most in Palm Beach assumed that Cielito Lindo would meet
the same fate. However, architect Byron Simonson, who had been a
draftsman and designer for Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio, devised a plan
to subdivide the property into the nineteen-lot Ocean Boulevard Estates
subdivision and then subdivide the Cielito Lindo estate into five residences.
The January 11, 1949 article in Palm Beach Life describes this achievement:
How a very large mansion in Palm Beach was snatched from the jaws of
house wrecking machinery a few years ago and divided into five villas,
creating what is known today as the Ocean Boulevard Estates, is an
architectural feat worthy of notice. The very large mansion partitioned into
five smaller ones this past year was once the home of Mrs. James P.
Donahue. Erected in the twenties, it was known in Palm Beach and New
York society columns as “Cielito Lindo,” the scene of sumptuous social
affairs and one of the most charming villas of Palm Beach’s Ocean
Boulevard.
The three-day sale of household goods was believed to mark Cielito Lindo’s
swan song with the large acreage being divided into 19 lots with a road
running through the mansions 60-foot living room. Instead, through an
outstanding venture in preservation and the architectural ingenuity of Byron
F. Simonson of Simonson and Holley, a proposal to erect five graceful
dwellings by partitioning the house and auxiliary buildings, was accepted
and work begun last year. Dining halls became living rooms in the
partitioning, servant’s quarters were converted to bedrooms, and even an
incinerator flu became a fireplace large enough to burn 12-foot logs.
Bedrooms were fashioned from loggias and entire kitchens from the laundry
of the large house. In every instance something old becoming something
new in the skillful partition of a mansion.
19
At the time of the sale and subdivision of Cielito Lindo, the Donahue family retained the oceanfront lots
east of Ocean Boulevard with its luxurious beach house and kept a corner of the property on the southwest
corner of Ocean Boulevard and Woodbridge Road as a site for a guesthouse. Jessie Donahue took an
Everglades Club apartment for her winter residence. There were plans drawn for a guesthouse but it was not
constructed.
20
Donald W. Curl. Mizner’s Florida: American Resort Architecture.” New York: Architectural History
Foundation, 1984; page 203.
24
Now stands on the site of the great Spanish-Moorish castle five smaller
ones. All Cielito Lindo thus divided into five parts produced charming and
intimate smaller villas, picturesquely dotting a broad expanse stretching
from ocean to lake along Kings Road on in the new Ocean Boulevard
Estates. 21
The largest and most evocative house of the original Cielito Lindo mansion is
122 Kings Road. This house features the original tower, grand entrance hall,
master bedroom, guest bedrooms and several balconies, loggias and much of
the exterior Moorish detailing. Additionally, when the house was first
subdivided, much of the original landscaping surrounding 122 Kings Road
was retained.
Contractors Smith, Yetter & Griffin, completed the partitioning of Cielito
Lindo and subsequent renovations to 122 Kings Road in 1947. In c. 1949,
Mrs. Beatrice Cooke Paul purchased 122 Kings Road, which took on the
historic Cielito Lindo name. Priced at $135,000 in 1948, it was the most
expensive of the five residences portioned from Cielito Lindo. Mrs. Paul’s
ownership was short lived as she moved to Miami in 1951 and in January
1952, Mrs. Horace Irvine of St. Paul purchased the house.
Mrs. Irvine, the former Clotilde McCollough, was a well-known member of
the Palm Beach cottage colony for several decades. She was well known for
her interest in civic, charitable and cultural activities in Palm Beach. The late
Horace Hills Irvine had been president of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company
and Irvine Lumber Company in St. Paul. Prior to purchasing 122 Kings
Road, Mrs. Irvine and her family spent many seasons at the Royal Poinciana
and Breakers hotels. Newspaper articles from the 1950s and early 1960s
reported on Mrs. Irvine’s parties and the guests she entertained at Cielito
Lindo. Mrs. Irvine passed away in 1964 and Cielito Lindo was sold to Mr.
and Mrs. Max Pray. 22
21
The five houses are located at 122, 123, 127, 137 and 145 Kings Road. 122 Kings Road, lot 17, includes
the original tower, entrance hall and bedrooms ($135,000). 123 Kings Road, lot 3, was the dining room and
breakfast room ($80,000). 127 Kings Road, lot 4, was the entire culinary department of the original mansion
and the huge fireplace was once the incinerator flu ($75,000). 137 Kings Road, lot 5, was originally the fivecar garage and laundry building ($75,000). 145 Kings Road, lot 6, was converted from the chauffeur’s house
($75,000).
22 At the same time, the Irvine family house in St. Paul was donated to the State of Minnesota and became
the Minnesota Governor’s Residence.
25
Mr. and Mrs. Max Pray of Chicago were well-known philanthropists and
prominent in oil circles. They had been wintering in Palm Beach since the
1920s. The May 1965 issue of Palm Beach Life featured an article about the
Peggy and Max Pray’s life at Cielito Lindo and how well the house was
adapted for their modern lifestyle while maintaining the historic character. 23
The current owners, Stephen C. Smith and his wife Austin Smith, purchased
the house in November 2010.
IV. Architectural Information
At a time when many of the extravagant oceanfront estates in Palm Beach
were being torn down due to changing desires in the size and styles of
residences, an important architectural and preservation achievement took
place at the notable Cielito Lindo estate of James and Jessie Donahue.
Designed by Marion Sims Wyeth and constructed in 1927 by the firm of Watt
& Sinclair, Cielito Lindo was a Mediterranean Revival style masterpiece with
Spanish and Moorish influences. In 1946, Jessie Woolworth Donahue sold
the massive 45,000 square foot, 125 room estate and architect Byron
Simonson devised a plan to subdivide the property into nineteen lots and
divide the stately home into five separate residences. One of the residences
created from this preservation effort was 122 Kings Road.
Cielito Lindo’s West Facade
23
Andre, Amy. “When is a House a Home.” Palm Beach Illustrated 4 February 1968.
26
Cielito Lindo, as designed by Wyeth, was an excellent example of the
Mediterranean Revival style of architecture that was popular in Palm Beach
during the Land Boom of the 1920s. The Mediterranean Revival style is an
eclectic style incorporating architectural elements derived from the area
around the Mediterranean Sea including Spanish, Italian and Moorish
elements. The style is found most frequently in states that have a Spanish
Colonial heritage, but its use gained national popularity after the PanAmerican Exhibition held in San Diego in 1915. In Palm Beach, the style
was first popularized in 1919 by Addison Mizner’s design for the Everglades
Club. The popularity of the style soared in the 1920s for both commercial and
residential buildings. The style remained a pervasive influence on building
design until World War II. Buildings of this style are often decorated with
ornate cast-stone columns, pilasters and window surrounds.
Arched
openings, balconies, asymmetrical massing and windows of varying sizes and
shapes are also common features. In addition, stone or stucco facades,
decorative wrought ironwork, tile floors, pecky cypress ceilings and clay
barrel tile roofs are typical features of Mediterranean Revival style buildings.
North
The subdivision of the Cielito Lindo estate in 1947 included creating five
separate residences with Kings Road running thru the middle of the original
residence. 122 Kings Road, which retained the name Cielito Lindo, was the
27
tower wing at the southern end of the residence. This southern portion of the
original estate featured the original tower, entrance hall, master bedroom, and
guest bedrooms. The residence retained many of the estate’s significant
features including balconies, loggias and the original exterior Moorish details.
Cielito Lindo was constructed of hollow clay tile and brick surfaced with
stucco with barrel tile surfaced hip roofs with exposed rafters. The
residence’s most significant exterior features include the Moorish influenced
brick railings, bands, and arches, geometric interlaced wood details, and the
three-story tower.
East Façade, Looking Southwest
Kings Road Located on the Right
When the residence was divided the main entrance of the residence was
relocated from the south façade, facing the carriage court, to the north façade
facing the newly built Kings Road. The new entrance had been recessed and
has since been brought forward flush with the exterior wall. It is located
within a surround with four pilasters. The pilasters have decorative capitals
and bases. Centered in the surround is a glass door with decorative
metalwork. Glass panels with decorative metalwork are located on each side
28
of the door between the pilasters. Arched transom windows are located above
with the door’s transom having a pointed arch.
Main Entrance on Kings Road
The original entrance on the south façade had been an ornate feature of the
grand estate with a pair of wood doors located in a large, ornately tiled, door
surround with a curved metal grille centered over the doorway. While the
original doors and surround were replaced with glass doors looking out to the
pool and gardens, the Moorish designed sleeping porch on the second floor,
situated above the location of the original entrance, remains and is a
significant feature of the residence.
Original Entrance
South Facade
South Façade, Looking Northeast
29
The residence’s three-story tower allows for views of the ocean to the east,
lake to the west and Mar-a-Lago to the south. The view from the tower room
is thru pairs of windows with brick arches supported by columns. In 1936
Treanor and Fatio designed alterations to the Tower Room, including the
addition of a bathroom and closet and the installation of windows in the open
arches of the tower. The balconies and terraces of the residence are also
significant features of the original design. There are semi-circular balconies
with metal railings, a large terrace that extends from the west façade
highlighted by elaborately decorated brick railings and a smaller terrace
above, accessed from the tower room, with decorative wood railings. An
original fountain with “Cielito Lindo” inscribed in it serves as a focal point of
the pool and garden area. It is located on the southern property line directly
across from the location of the original main entrance.
Southwest Corner, Looking Northeast
A two-story, two-car attached garage was constructed on the west façade of
the residence. While the date of the garage is unknown, it was likely done
when Cielito Lindo was divided in 1947. The garage addition faces Kings
Road and its massing is broken up with the second floor recessed behind the
face of the garage. It is surfaced with stucco, has a barrel-tile gable roof, and
casement windows. According to the Town of Palm Beach’s building
permits, alterations to the house since the 1947 separation have been few.
30
They include the pool installation, landscape and hardscape changes, reroofing, interior renovations, installation of air-conditioning, and ordinary
repair and maintenance. 24
Northwest Corner with Garage, Looking Southeast
V. Architect’s Biography
Marion Sims Wyeth
Marion Sims Wyeth was as one of Palm Beach’s foremost architects in a
career that spanned over fifty years. Wyeth was noted for his "quiet, subdued
and rational" interpretations of both the Spanish and Italian styles. With
Addison Mizner, Maurice Fatio, Joseph Urban and John Volk, he is credited
with creating the "Palm Beach Style".
Wyeth was born in 1889 in New York, a son of Florence Nightingale Sims
and Dr. John Allan Wyeth. Dr. Wyeth was a Civil War poet, surgical pioneer,
and founder of New York's Polyclinic Hospital, the first postgraduate medical
school in the United States. Marion’s grandfather, Dr. James Marion Sims,
founded the field of gynecology and the first woman’s hospital in history.
Marion Sims Wyeth began his architectural studies at Princeton University
and completed his classic training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in
24
Town of Palm Beach Building permits from 1927-2015.
31
1914. At the time, the École was considered the one of the finest schools in
the world. It was a style of education based on studying the classics, mostly
Roman architecture. After completing school, Wyeth served as secretary to
the U.S. Ambassador in Rome. Upon his return to New York, Wyeth became
associated with the architectural offices of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and
later with Carrere and Hastings, the firm that designed Whitehall for Henry
Flagler.
Arriving in Palm Beach at the age of 30, Wyeth met with immediate success.
From 1920, Wyeth shared a New York office with Frederic Rhinelander
King, a friend from his student days in Paris, until 1934 when they formalized
the relationship with the Wyeth and King partnership. William Royster
Johnson joined Wyeth’s Palm Beach office as a draftsman in 1924. In 1944
he became a partner and the firm name changed to Wyeth, King and Johnson.
Over the years, the firm designed buildings ranging from Mediterranean
Revival to classical Georgian, French, and Colonial styles.
The socially popular Wyeth was a prolific craftsman and more than 100 of his
designs have graced the Island, including eight built on El Brillo Way. Some
of his well-known Palm Beach designs include Qui Si Sana, Casa Juanita,
Hogarcito, Casa de Los Arcos, Vita Serena, Southwood and the Betheseda by
the Sea rectory. His largest and most impressive project was Cielito Lindo, a
45,000-square-foot Spanish Moorish-Revival-style mansion built for James
Donohue and Jessie Woolworth Donohue in 1927. And while Joseph Urban is
credited with Mar-a-Lago, Wyeth's association with the project was essential
for its original design and completion. Wyeth also had an impressive list of
prominent works outside of Palm Beach. Some of these include Good
Samaritan Hospital and the Norton Gallery of Art in West Palm Beach, the
Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee, and Doris Duke’s Shangri La in
Honolulu.
Wyeth served as a trustee of the Society of the Four Arts (1936-1969) and as
its president (1956-1961). He became the first Palm Beach architect to be
elected a fellow of the American Institute of Architecture in 1954, and
received the Test of Time Award from its Palm Beach Chapter in 1981.
Marion Sims Wyeth passed away in 1982 at the age of 93.
32
Byron Frederick Simonson
Byron Simonson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 9, 1902.
He attended Milwaukee State Teachers College from 1920 – 1923. He then
attended the Chicago Institute of Fine and Applied Arts and the Ray School of
Design for a year. Simonson moved to Palm Beach and served as chief
draftsman for Addison Mizner from 1924-1925 and again from 1930-1933.
He also was a designer for York & Sawyer in New York. From 1933-1942,
Simonson was the chief designer for Treanor and Fatio. On April 28, 1944,
Simonson applied to the State of Florida for licensure as an architect, which
was granted with certificate #AR0001418 on January 11, 1945. Upon
receiving his Florida architectural license, Byron Simonson formed a
partnership with Maurice E. Holley, which thrived until they dissolved the
partnership in 1949, at which time Simonson began to practice under his own
name. He acquired a N.C.A.R.B. certification and was active in the Palm
Beach Chapter of the A.I.A. 25
Byron Simonson’s most prominent work in Palm Beach is the Colony Hotel
he designed in 1946-1947. In the 1950’s he “renounced the arches and
columns of classical styles” for Mid-Century Modernism. The former La
Coquille Club in Manalapan was considered a modernist masterpiece popular
with the jet set and for a time put Simonson in the top tier of Palm Beach’s
society architects. 26 Built in 1952 for Spelman Prentice, John D.
Rockefeller’s grandson, “the club’s flat-roofed buildings were so stunningly
avant-garde that the year after it opened, awed Florida AIA members held
their meeting at the club and high society loved its minimalist elegance.”27
Simonson became one of the areas most prominent modern architects in the
post-war building boom of the 1950s but unfortunately most of his Palm
Beach houses were torn down after modernism fell out of favor locally in the
1980s.
Byron and Frances Simonson had two children, Dawn and Byron Douglas.
The Simonson family summered at their Tioga Coach House in Sapphire
Valley, North Carolina where Byron also designed a number of houses.
Byron Simonson passed away in 1972.
N.C.A.R.B is the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
The La Coquille Club was demolished in 1985 to make room for the Ritz Hotel (now Eau Palm
Beach).
27 Augustus Mayhew, New York Social Diary.
25
26
33
Builders Biography
William Watt, Jr.
William Watt, Jr. was a winter resident of Palm Beach since 1928. Mr. Watt
was the founder of Watt & Sinclair of New York, a construction firm that
built many buildings in Manhattan as well as numerous houses in Oyster Bay
(NY), Red Bank (NJ) and Palm Beach.
William Watt first came to Palm Beach at the request of Jessie Woolworth
Donahue in 1927 to supervise the construction of her Palm Beach villa,
Cielito Lindo, designed by Marion Sims Wyeth. Watt was the builder for the
Woolworth Building in New York City that Jessie’s father F.W. Woolworth
commissioned in 1913. Cass Gilbert was the architect for the terra-cotta
building that was dubbed “The Cathedral of Commerce” and at 792 feet was
the tallest building in the world until 1930.
In 1929, the firm of Watt and Sinclair moved to Palm Beach and the Watt
family became permanent winter residents of Palm Beach. Their house on
Jungle Road was designed by Palm Beach architect William Johnson.
Associated with leading architects of the area, Mr. Watt’s firm planned and
built many residences in Palm Beach. One of Mr. Watt’s closest associates
was Maurice Fatio, and together they designed and built a number of
residential and commercial buildings.
Mr. Watt planned and supervised the building of the Morrison Field to serve
as West Palm Beach’s Airport. When World War II was declared, he
expanded the field to buildings for what was to become the ferrying base for
the Air Transport Command. As a military base, Morrison Field became a
port of embankments for Army Air Force bomber crews headed for North
Africa and England.
Mr. Watt was a successful developer and social member of the winter
colonists with memberships to both the Everglades Club and the Bath and
Tennis Club.
34
VI. Statement of Significance
122 Kings Road is significant as an evocative remaining part of the grand
Cielito Lindo estate. Its Mediterranean Revival architecture with Moorish
detailing is an excellent example of the style and a notable work of Marion
Sims Wyeth. It is also significant as one of the first acts of historic
preservation in Palm Beach where a great estate was divided and adaptively
reused rather than demolished.
VII. Criteria For Designation
Section 54-161 of the Town of Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation
Ordinance outlines the criteria for designation of a landmark or landmark site
and suggests that at least one criterion must be met to justify the designation.
Listed below are the criteria which relate to this property and justification for
designation:
(1) “Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic or
social history of the nation, state, county or town.”
122 Kings Road reflects the broad cultural, economic and social history of the
Town of Palm Beach. Cielito Lindo was built at a time when many of the
wealthiest people in America came to Palm Beach for the warm winter season
and built palatial estates to live in opulence and entertain guests with
magnificent parties. Jessie Woolworth Donahue was one of the wealthiest
women in the United States when she commissioned Cielito Lindo and she did
not spare any expense in the design of the house and grounds or in the parties
she hosted.
122 Kings Road also reflects the post World War II era when numerous
owners of Palm Beach’s grand estates sold their properties to developers who
subsequently demolished the estates that had become too costly to maintain.
Fortunately, Cielito Lindo was a novel project where the estate was portioned
rather than demolished making 122 Kings Road a fine example of adaptive
reuse.
(3) “Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or is
a specimen inherently valuable for the study of a period, style, method of
construction or use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship.”
35
122 Kings Road is an excellent example of the Mediterranean Revival style
architecture popularized in Palm Beach during the Land Boom of the 1920s
and still recognized as the “Palm Beach Style.” The Moorish influences that
Marion Sims Wyeth incorporated into the design enhance the exotic nature of
the style. Furthermore, the partitioning of the Donahue’s grand estate Cielito
Lindo into five separate residences is an example of a method of construction
that is valuable for study.
(4) “Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer
or architect whose individual ability has been recognized or who
influenced his age.”
Marion Sims Wyeth was as one of Palm Beach’s foremost architects in a
career that spanned over fifty years. More than 100 of his designs have graced
the Island and many consider Cielito Lindo to be Wyeth’s most impressive
work of his career. Though 122 Kings Road is just a portion of the original
estate, it is still evocative of the original design and a notable representation
of Wyeth’s work.
Byron F. Simonson was a Palm Beach architect who had worked for both
Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio before designing the Colony Hotel, his
largest Palm Beach commission. It was Simonson’s architectural ingenuity to
partition Cielito Lindo into five houses and create the Ocean Boulevard
Estates subdivision with Kings Road running through the middle.
36
VIII. Selected Bibliography
Curl, Donald W. Mizner’s Florida: American Resort Architecture. New
York: The Architectural History Foundation, 1984.
--- Palm Beach County: An Illustrated History. Northridge, California:
Windsor Publications, Inc., 1987.
Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Archives and PBC History Online.
Files and Photographs with information on Cielito Lindo and the Woolworth
and Donahue families.
Hoffstott, Barbara D. Landmark Architecture of Palm Beach (Third Edition).
Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 1991.
Johnston, Shirley. Palm Beach Houses. New York: Rizzoli International
Publications, 1991.
Knott, James R. Palm Beach Revisited: Historical Vignettes of Palm Beach
County. Palm Beach Post: The Best of the Brown Wrappers I, 1987.
Marconi, Richard and Debi Murray with the Historical Society of Palm Beach
County. Images of America: Palm Beach. Charleston, SC: Arcadia
Publishing, 2009.
Marconi, Richard A. and the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Palm
Beach: Then & Now. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2013.
The Palm Beach Daily News and The Palm Beach Post. Archived Articles
1913 – 1989.
Palm Beach Life, 1949.
Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. Building Files and Architect
Information
Roberts, Mary Fanton. “Cielito Lindo” Arts & Decoration Magazine,
Volume XXIX, Number 3, July 1928.
37
Sanborn Insurance Map of Palm Beach. New York: Sanborn Map Co., 1919
and 1924 updated to 1946
Town of Palm Beach. Building Permits and Microfiche Records 1919– 2015.
Thuma, Cynthia. Images of America: Palm Beach Vintage Postcards.
Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2001.
West Palm Beach City Directories. Palm Beach Section, 1916-1975.
38
IX. Florida Master Site File Form
39
40
41
42
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Palm Beach, Florida, Code of Ordinances » PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES » Chapter 54 HISTORICAL PRESERVATION » ARTICLE IV. - DESIGNATION PROCEDURE »
ARTICLE IV. - DESIGNATION PROCEDURE
Sec. 54-1 61. - Criteria for landmarks and landmark sites.
Sec. 54-1 62 - Creation of historic djstrjcts.
Sec. 54-163. - Commission oowers wrth respect to landmarks. landmark sites and historic districts.
Sec 54-1 64. - Landmark. landmark site and historic district desjgnation and undesignation procedures.
Sec. 54-1 65. - Voluntary restrictive covenants.
Secs. 54- 16&-54-195. - Reserved.
Sec. 54-161. - Criteria for landmarks and landmark sites.
A landmark or landmark site shall meet at least one of the following criteria :
(1)
Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural , political, economic or social history of the
nation , state, county or town .
(2)
Is identified with historic personages or with important events in national , state or local
history.
(3)
Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or is a specimen
inherently valuable for the study of a period , style, method of construction or use of
indigenous materials or craftsmanship.
(4)
Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer or architect whose
individual ability has been recognized or who influenced his age .
(Code 1982, § 16-38)
Sec. 54-162. - Creation of historic districts.
(a)
(b)
Authorized. For preservation purposes, the commission shall identify geographically defined
areas within the town to be designated as historic districts and shall cite the guideline criteria
upon which such designation shall be made. An historic district may be designated for any
geographic area of particular historic, architectural or cultural significance to the town that:
(1)
Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural , political, economic or social history of the
nation , state, county or town .
(2)
Is identified with historic personages or with important events in national, state or local
history.
(3)
Embodies distinguishing characteristics of one or more architectural types, or contains
specimens inherently valuable for the study of a period, style or methods of
construction or use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship .
(4)
Is representative of the notable works of one or more master builders, designers or
architects whose individual ability has been recognized to have influenced their age.
(5)
Constitutes a unique area of architecture, landscaping and planning.
Petition for special historic district category. Following the designation of each landmark or
landmark site, the commission may petition the town council for the categorizing of such
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property as special district H. Following the designation of each historic district, the
commission may petition the town council for the categorizing of each property in such
district to special district HD.
(Code 1982, §§ 16-38.1, 16-39)
Sec. 54-163. - Commission powers with respect to landmarks, landmark sites and
historic districts.
The commission has the power to:
(1)
Designate a building , together with its accessory buildings and its lot of record, or a
vacant site or a district as historic and worthy of preservation as a landmark, landmark
site or historic district, as the case may be, within the jurisdiction of the commission,
provided such designation is ratified by the town council.
(2)
Recommend appropriate legislation for the preservation of any building, site or district
which it has so designated.
(3)
Make application for public and private funds when appropriate and available for the
purposes set forth in this article subject to the approval of the town council.
(4)
Review applications proposing erection , alteration, restoration or moving of any
building it has so designated or any building located in a district it has so designated,
and to issue or deny certificates of appropriateness accordingly .
(5)
Review applications for demolition permits proposing demolition of all or part of any
landmark or any building located in an historic district, and to issue certificates of
appropriateness or to deny them for one year.
(6)
Cooperate with the owner of a landmark or a property located in an historic district
throughout the year following a refusal to issue a certificate of appropriateness
pursuant to an application for a demolition permit, and to seek alternative economic
uses for such landmark or property.
(7)
Review its denial of a certificate of appropriateness for demolition of such landmark or
property annually, during a public hearing at which time the owner of the affected
landmark or property shall be afforded an opportunity to appear with counsel and to
present testimony .
(8)
Prohibit the issuance of building , exterior remodeling or demolition permits affecting
any property under consideration for landmark designation without a certificate of
appropriateness . this prohibition to remain in effect for the length of time required by
the commission and the town council for final action on the proposed designation. The
commission shall accomplish such prohibition by furnishing the building official a list of
all property under consideration for landmark designation.
(Code 1982, § 16-42)
Sec. 54-164. - Landmark, landmark site and historic district designation and
undesignation procedures.
(a)
The following procedure shall be adhered to by the commission in designating any building ,
building site or district that is worthy of preservation :
(1)
The commission shall consider for landmark designation any property proposed by
the owner of record or by a member of the commission.
(2)
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Notice of a proposed designation shall be sent by certified mail to the owner of record
of property proposed for designation as a landmark or landmark site and to each
owner of record of property in a district proposed for designation as an historic district,
describing the property proposed and announcing a public hearing by the commission
to consider such a designation to be held not less than 30 days after the mailing of
such notice.
(3)
The commission shall also cause notice of each such proposed designation to be
posted at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the bulletin board in the lobby of
the town hall , and in addition the commission shall cause such notice to be published
in a newspaper having general circulation in the town .
(4)
The commission may reta in or solicit expert testimony regard ing the historic and
architectural importance of the buildings and districts under consideration for
designation .
(5)
The commission may present testimony or documentary evidence of its own to
establish a record regarding the historic and architectural importance of the proposed
landmark, landmark site or historic district.
(6)
The commission shall afford the owner of each affected property reasonable
opportunity to present testimony or documentary evidence regarding the historic and
architectural importance of such property.
(7)
The owner of each affected property shall be afforded a right of representation by
counsel and reasonable opportunity to cross examine witnesses presented by the
commission .
(8)
Any interested party may present testimony or documentary evidence regarding the
designation of a proposed landmark, landmark site or historic district at the public
hearing and may submit to the commission documentary evidence within three days
after the hearing.
(9)
With in not more than 30 days after a public hearing , the commission shall render a
final decision regard ing the proposed designation and give written notice of its
decision to each owner of property affected by the designation, setting forth the
reasons for the decision.
(10)
The commission shall maintain a record of testimony and documentary evidence
submitted to it for consideration of the designation of a proposed or previously
designated landmark, landmark site or historic district.
(11)
In accordance with section 54-163(1), the town council shall, within 90 days of the
commission's final decision, hold a public hearing to consider ratification of the
determination of the commission prior to the designation of a property as a landmark
or landmark site or of a district as an historic district becoming effective. Absent
ratification by the town council, the commission's determination shall be ineffective.
(12)
(b)
Within 30 days of the date on which the town council ratifies the commission 's
designation of a landmark, landmark site or historic district, the commission shall
cause to be filed in the office of the county recorder of deeds a certificate of
notification that such property is designated a landmark or landmark site or is located
within a district designated an historic district; and the certificate of notification shall be
maintained on the public record until such time as such designation may be withdrawn
by the commission and the town council.
Designation and undesignation hearings before the commission shall be held only during the
months of November, December, January, February, March and April.
(c)
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Designation of a landmark, landmark site or a historic district may be withdrawn by following
the same procedure as listed above.
(Code 1982, § 16-43)
Sec. 54-165. - Voluntary restrictive covenants.
The owner of any landmark or landmark site may, at any time following the designation of his
property, enter into a restrictive covenant on the property after negotiation with the commission . The
commission may assist the owner in preparing such a covenant in the interest of preserving the
landmark or the landmark site. The owner shall record such covenant in the office of the county
recorder of deeds and shall notify the town clerk, building official and town council and may notify
the office of the county property appraiser of such covenant and the conditions thereof.
(Code 1982, § 16-48)
Secs. 54-166-54-195. - Reserved.
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Public Hearings
Agenda Title
RESOLUTION NO. 05-2016 A Resolution of The Town Council of The
Town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Ratifying And
Confirming The Determination of The Landmarks Preservation
Commission That The Property Known As 123 Kings Road Meets The
Criteria Set Forth In Ordinance No. 2-84, Also Known As Chapter 54,
Article IV of The Code of Ordinances of The Town of Palm Beach; And
Designating Said Property As A Town of Palm Beach Landmark Pursuant
To Ordinance No. 2-84, Also Known As Chapter 54, Article IV of The
Code of Ordinances of The Town of Palm Beach.
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Supporting Documents
Memorandum dated December 21, 2015 from John S. Page
Resolution No. 05-2016
Designation Report
Excerpt from Landmarks Preservation Commission Meeting of Decedmber 15, 2015
Landmarks Designation Procedure
47
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Information for Town Council Meeting on: January 13, 2016
To:
Mayor and Town Council
Via:
Thomas G. Bradford, Town Manager
From:
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Re:
Landmark Designation of 123 Kings Road
Resolution No. 05–2016
Date:
December 21, 2015
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends ratification of the property known as 123 Kings Road as a Town landmark.
LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
At the Public Hearing for Designation held during the December 16, 2015 meeting of the
Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Commission voted (7-0) to recommend to the Town
Council that the above mentioned property be designated as a landmark. In accordance with
Section 54-164 (a) (11) of Chapter 54 of the Town of Palm Beach Code of Ordinances, the Town
Council shall hold a public hearing within ninety (90) days of the final decision of the
Landmarks Commission to consider ratification of the Commission’s recommendation.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The property meets the following criteria for designation as a landmark of the Town of Palm
Beach:
Sec. 54-161 (1) Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic or social
history of the nation, state, county or town; and,
Sec. 54-161 (3) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or is a
specimen inherently valuable for the study of a period, style, method of construction or
use of indigenous materials or craftsmen; and,
Sec. 54-161 (4) Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer or
architect whose individual ability has been recognized or who influenced his age.
48
OWNER CONSENT
Please be advised that owners Robert and Carolyn Jackson concur with landmarking. Mr.
Jackson appeared at the December 16 Commission meeting and complimented the Town’s
efforts to preserve local history.
TOWN ATTORNEY REVIEW
Please be advised that the Town Attorney has reviewed Resolution No. 05-2016 relating to 123
Kings Road, and has approved it as to legal form and sufficiency.
Attachments
cc:
John C. Randolph, Town Attorney
Susan A. Owens, Town Clerk
John Lindgren, AICP, Planning Administrator
pf
49
RESOLUTION NO. 05-2016
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PALM
BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, RATIFYING AND
CONFIRMING THE DETERMINATION OF THE LANDMARKS
PRESERVATION COMMISSION THAT THE PROPERTY KNOWN AS 123
KINGS ROAD MEETS THE CRITERIA SET FORTH IN ORDINANCE NO. 284, ALSO KNOWN AS CHAPTER 54, ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF PALM BEACH; AND DESIGNATING
SAID PROPERTY AS A TOWN OF PALM BEACH LANDMARK
PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 2-84, ALSO KNOWN AS CHAPTER 54,
ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF PALM
BEACH.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Ordinance No. 2-84, (Chapter 54, Article IV,
Code of Ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach) the Landmarks Preservation Commission of the
Town of Palm Beach held public hearings and recommended to the Town Council that certain
property described herein be designated as a landmark as described in said Ordinance and Code;
and
WHEREAS, after due notice to the property owner(s) affected, a public hearing was held
at which all parties interested were given an opportunity to be heard and express their views and
opinions with respect to the property and its designation as a landmark; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council does hereby find and determine that the property
described herein meets the criteria required by the Ordinance to designate a landmark, and shall
be designated as a landmark;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF PALM BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows:
Page 1 of 3
50
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are hereby ratified and confirmed.
Section 2. The recommendation and determination of the Landmarks Preservation
Commission as to the property hereinafter described in Section 3 of this Resolution, being
designated as a landmark is hereby ratified, approved and confirmed.
Section 3. The landmark herein designated, pursuant to the provisions of Ordinance No.
2-84, and the provisions of the Town Code described herein, is known as 123 Kings Road
Way and the property to be landmarked is legally described as follows:
LOT 3, BOULEVARD ESTATES, AS IN PLAT BOOK 21, PAGE 96, PUBLIC
RECORDS IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA.
Section 4. The Town Clerk is hereby ordered to furnish the property owner of the
landmarked property a copy of this Resolution.
Section 5. Within thirty (30) days from the date of this Resolution, the Landmarks
Preservation Commission shall cause to be filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for
Palm Beach County, Florida, a certificate that the above-described property comprises a
landmark, as defined in and subject to the provisions of Ordinance No. 2-84 and the Code of
Ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach, Florida.
Resolution No. 05-2016
Page 2 of 3
51
PASSED AND ADOPTED in a regular adjourned session of Town Council of the Town
of Palm Beach this 13TH day of January, 2016.
________________________________
Gail L. Coniglio, Mayor
__________________________________________
Michael J. Pucillo, Town Council President
__________________________________________
Richard M. Kleid, Council President Pro Tem
__________________________________________
Danielle H. Moore, Town Council Member
ATTEST:
__________________________________________
Penelope D. Townsend, Town Council Member
________________________________
Susan A. Owens, MMC, Town Clerk
__________________________________________
Robert N. Wildrick, Town Council Member
Resolution No. 05-2016
Page 3 of 3
52
123 Kings Road
DESIGNATION REPORT
December 16, 2015
Landmark Preservation Commission
Palm Beach, Florida
53
DESIGNATION REPORT
123 Kings Road
Table of Contents
I.
GENERAL INFORMATION
2
LOCATION MAP
3
III.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
4
IV.
ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION
12
ARCHITECT’S BIOGRAPHY
17
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
19
CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION
19
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
21
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE FORM
23
II.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Report produced by Murphy Stillings, LLC
54
I.
General Information
Location:
123 Kings Road
Palm Beach, Florida
Date of Construction:
1927
Historic Name:
Cielito Lindo
First Owner:
John P. and Jessie Donahue
Architect:
Marion Sims Wyeth
Builder/Contractor:
William Watts, Jr.; Watts and Sinclair
Present Owner:
Robert and Carolyn Jackson
Present Use:
Residential
Present Zoning:
R-A
Palm Beach County
Tax Folio Number:
50-43-43-35-04-000-0030
Current Legal Description: Boulevard Estates Palm Beach Lot 3
55
II.
Location Map
123 Kings Road
56
III. Historical Information
123 Kings Road is located on the north side of Kings Road just west of South
Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach’s Boulevard Estates Subdivision. The house
was originally part of Cielito Lindo, one of Palm Beach’s finest estates,
designed by Marion Sims Wyeth and constructed by Watt and Sinclair in 1927.
Cielito Lindo, meaning “A Little Piece of Heaven,” was the 45,000 square-foot
winter home of Jessie Woolworth Donahue and her husband James P. Donahue.
The $2-million mansion was originally constructed on a vast 300-foot wide
lake-to-ocean parcel between what is now Woodbridge Road and Algoma
Road.
By World War I, Henry Flagler had established Palm Beach as the winter
capital of American high society. Most came by rail and stayed for the early
January to February 22nd season at one of Flagler’s luxury hotels, the Royal
Poinciana or the Breakers. However, following World War I, this practice
shifted as the season became longer and many of the society’s wealthy built
grand mansions along the ocean and lake. The early architect of choice was
Addison Mizner who had come to Palm Beach with Paris Singer in 1918 and
designed Singer’s Mediterranean Revival-style Everglades Club in 1918-1919.
The club not only became the new center of social life for Palm Beach’s
wealthiest and most socially prominent residents, but it also introduced
Mizner’s Mediterranean Revival style to the island. Society leaders Eva and
Edward Stotesbury were the first to commission Mizner to design a grand
Mediterranean Revival style estate for their winter residence. The resulting El
Mirasol, on a vast oceanfront property, provided a superb setting for Eva
Stotesbury’s extensive entertaining and “confirmed both Eva’s status as society
queen and Mizner’s status as a fashionable architect.”1 With El Mirasol setting
the precedent, owning a fashionable Mediterranean Revival-style estate
became a symbol of prestige and a place to entertain for Palm Beach’s and
affluent winter residents.
1
Donald Curl, Palm Beach County: An Illustrated History. Windsor Publications Inc., 1986. Throughout the
1920s land boom, Mizner remained a highly sought after architect, designing mansions for many of the most
prominent winter residents. In addition to Paris Singer and the Stotesbury’s, some of Mizner’s Palm Beach
clients included Harold Vanderbilt (El Solano), Charles Munn (Amado), Gurnee Munn (Luawana), Anthony
Drexel Biddle (Villa del Sarmiento), Charles Winn (Kahlua), Dr. Willey Lyon Kingsley (La Bellucia), George
Mesker (La Fontana), Arthur Chaflin (Casa del Ensuenos), Edward Shearson (Villa Flora) Rodman
Wanamaker (La Guerida), Dr. Preston Satterhite (Casa Florencia), William Warden (Warden House), Henry
Phipps (Heamaw), John Phipps (Casa Bendita), Leonard Thomas (Casa de Leoni) William Wood (The
Towers), Joshua Cosden (Playa Riente), George Rasmussen (Casa Nana) and Major Barclay Warburton (Villa
Des Cygnes).
57
James P. Donahue and his wife Jessie Woolworth Donahue started spending
the winter season in Palm Beach in the early 1920s, arriving in their lavish
private railcar, Japauldon, and staying at the Everglades Club where they
entertained extensively. 2 Jessie Woolworth Donahue was the youngest of three
daughters of Franklin Winfield Woolworth, the five-and-dime store magnate
who was one of the wealthiest men in America at the time of his death in 1919.
When her mother, Jennie Creighton Woolworth, died in 1921, Jessie and her
sister Helena Woolworth McCann and her niece Barbara Hutton, shared in the
huge fortune. 3
The early 1920s was a period of tremendous growth in the Town of Palm
Beach. The Island had become the winter resort of America’s most influential
families and the building boom was radically changing the face of the small
community. Though Ocean Boulevard was complete by 1920 most of the land
west of the road was covered with jungles of rugged palms. During the Land
Boom, much of the land was transformed into grand Palm Beach estates
designed by architects to suit their wealthy clients’ extravagant tastes and lavish
lifestyles.
Marjorie Merriweather Post had been vacationing in Palm Beach since the early
1900’s, having stayed at the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers with her
first husband Edward Bennett Close.4 By 1920, she had inherited a vast fortune
from her cereal-tycoon father C.W. Post, married her second husband, Edward
Francis “E.F.” Hutton and was eager to build her own estate where she could
spend the winter season and entertain. While the Hutton’s were looking for
property on Golfview Road to build their estate, they met Marion Sims Wyeth,
a New York architect who had moved to Palm Beach the previous year.
According to reports from the time, “When the sun had set on Golfview Road
that day, the Hutton’s had hired Wyeth to build them a home on a plot of land
they had purchased that afternoon from Paris Singer’s Ocean and Lake Realty
Company, launching Wyeth into a lifelong career of villa-building in the
resort.” 5 By the 1921 winter season, the Hutton’s were established in
Hogarcito, their new Spanish-style house fronting the Everglades Club golf
2
Japauldon was named for James Paul Donahue.
Jessie’s sister Edna Woolworth (1883-1917) married Franklyn Laws Hutton, brother of E.F. Hutton and a
financial advisor to her father. They had one child, Barbara Hutton. Edna died in 1917 when Barbara was just
five years old. Jessie Woolworth Donahue was a sister-in-law of Marjorie Merriweather Post, who had been
married to E.F. Hutton (1920-1935), and Barbara Hutton was a niece of both women.
4 Marjorie Merriweather Post divorced Edward Bennett Close in 1919 and married E.F. Hutton in 1920.
5 Shirley Johnson, Palm Beach Houses. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991; p. 290.
3
58
course.6 However, even after a large addition by Wyeth in 1923, the house was
too small for the Marjorie’s entertaining, so she called upon Wyeth again to
design a palatial estate further south on an ocean to lake property that four years
later would become Mar-a-Lago.7
The South Florida Land and Building Boom reached its height in late 1925, but
by 1926, the “Boom Times” were ending as speculation had pushed prices so
high that speculators and developers could no longer find buyers and many
banks in the state failed. However, while much of South Florida suffered from
this real estate bust, the Palm Beach winter colonists and real estate on the
island was not dramatically affected. A February 27, 1927 Palm Beach Times
article titled, “Much Activity Indicated in New Projects: Several Homes to be
Built at Resort” addressed this issue:
“Every indication that there will be plenty of activity in the building trades in
Palm Beach during the coming summer is evidenced in the announcement of a
number of private homes and apartments to be constructed in the winter colony.
The announcement of increased building activity comes as encouraging to many
tradesmen who feared that with the completion of the Bath and Tennis Club, the
Sunrise Theatre building, the Oasis Club and other places there would be a big
cessation in building and that many men would be jobless. The Donahue house
along Ocean Boulevard will be the largest to be built during the coming year.” 8
As Mar-a-Lago was being completed, James and Jessie Donahue hired Wyeth
to design a grand estate for them on a sprawling ocean-to-lake lot they had
purchased a few years earlier just one block north of Mar-a-Lago. A January
19, 1927, Palm Beach Post article titled, “Work Started On New Oceanfront
Palm Beach Home; Strip Near Hutton’s is Site of New Residence; Contractor
Brings Huge Crew from North to Construct Mansion Here,” describes the
beginning of Cielito Lindo:
“Hogarcito, Palm Beach – Historic Home for Sale.” Palm Beach Daily News 11 September 2009.
According to historian Donald Curl, “Hogarcito was the first house to be built on Golfview Road. Many
of the other houses were built because Marjorie Merriweather Post (at that time Mrs. E.F. Hutton)
wanted to populate the street with what she called, ‘young marrieds,’ which is how she saw herself. Mr.
and Mrs. Charles McCann (Helena Woolworth) were one of the ‘young marrieds’ who bought a Wyeth
house on Golfview Road.”
7
Marion Sims Wyeth drew the basic plans for Mar-a-Lago but Marjorie Merriweather Post wanted something
more grand and extravagant so she hired Austrian architect Joseph Urban to create a dramatic 115-room villa.
8
“Permits Nearly Two Million in Colony.” Palm Beach Post, 1 January 1928. While West Palm Beach and
Palm Beach during the year of 1927 were absorbing the great number of hotels, apartment and public buildings
which shot up in the proceeding years, in Palm Beach a number of winter residents have been busy constructing
new homes or adding to their estates. As a result of this activity, building permit totals for Palm Beach have
kept pace with those of 1926. For 1927, the permits totaled $1,691,699 and in 1926 $1,888,200.
6
59
“Ground was broken and work started yesterday on the foundations of the new
James P. Donahue home, which is to be located on a 300-foot wide strip of
land between the lake and the ocean, just north of the Charles W. Copp estate,
near the new Bath and Tennis Club and the Edward F. Hutton mansion (Mara-Lago). The Donahue home, which is to be the permanent winter abode of
Mr. and Mrs. Donahue, regular Palm Beach residents, will be one of the most
interesting additions to the Ocean boulevard residences and is to be located
along one of the loveliest stretches of beach. Watts and Sinclair, contractors,
who have been in charge of construction work for Mr. Donahue in the north,
arrived in Palm Beach with a large crew and began work yesterday on the
foundations. Mr. and Mrs. Donahue are to arrive Monday for the final
consultation with Marion Sims Wyeth, Palm Beach architect who is designing
the house. They visited Palm Beach early in December to confer with Mr.
Wyeth and are arriving now to occupy their apartment at the Everglades Club
and superintend the early stages of the building.
Like most Palm Beach houses built by Mr. Wyeth, the architecture is decidedly
Spanish in feeling and influence and the dominant feature will be the patio
facing west and overlooking the lake with a glass terrace above it. The house
will have the usual features of Palm Beach villas with a large 30x50 living
room, a library, a 22’ x 35’dining room opening into a conservatory, breakfast
room, six master bedroom suites and sleeping porches. The usual kitchen and
servant’s rooms are in the rear together with a garage and a chauffeur’s house.
The house is to be complete with every small detail that affords comfort and
luxury.
The beach opposite the Donahue property is one of the best along the shore
and for two years they have maintained a private bathhouse there with kitchen,
shelter and conveniences for the serving of beach luncheons. During their
recent visit here they entertained at several beach luncheons and have allowed
friends to use the beach and its facilities during their absence. The proximity
to the Bath and Tennis Club makes this location all the more desirable, with
the beautiful homes on the south ocean front as near neighbors. Mr. Wyeth
adds this home to his already notable list of Palm Beach houses.”
The Donahue’s wished to occupy their house for the 1927-1928 winter season,
so Watts and Sinclair, Inc. brought a “small army of workmen” to construct the
house. 9 Just eleven months after the foundation was laid, Cielito Lindo was
9
“Donahue House on Boulevard Nearly Ready: Mr. and Mrs. Donahue, with Two Sons, Expected to Arrive
December 22 for the Christmas Holidays.” Palm Beach Daily News, 16 December 1927.
The palatial Palm Beach home on South Ocean Boulevard of James P. Donahue of No. 6 East 80th Street, New
York City, will be complete and ready for occupancy on December 22, according to the announcement
yesterday of Marion Sims Wyeth, architect in charge and designer of the Spanish type residence. With the last
of the building work, supervised by Watt and Sinclair, Inc., New York contractors, drawing near, the small
60
ready for occupancy. Jessie and her two sons, James Jr. “Jimmy” and
Woolworth “Woolie” arrived by train to spend Christmas in Palm Beach.
Newspaper articles bestowed accolades upon Cielito Lindo, describing it as
“the magnificent new home that has taken its place among the show places of
Palm Beach.” 10
In addition to the house, the elaborate estate grounds received extensive praise
in newspaper and magazine articles. Designed by Lewis & Valentine of Long
Island, the grounds included many lush gardens with magnificent plantings and
rare flowers creating a “wonderland of tropical beauty.” 11 In addition to the
exquisite gardens and stunning landscaping, the grounds included a multi-car
garage, a chauffeur’s and gardener’s house, a tennis court, a boathouse, an
orchid house, orange groves, a tea pavilion, a lily pond and numerous stone
fountains and benches, all overseen by the estate’s gardener and superintendent
E.E. Sheldon. 12
James and Jessie Donahue returned to Palm Beach in January 1928 to spend
the winter season. Like the other grand Palm Beach estates, Cielito Lindo was
designed for entertaining. Not long after moving in, the Donahue’s christened
Cielito Lindo with a party. According to a February 21, 1928 article in the New
York Evening Post,
“One of the largest parties of the season was given at Cielito Lindo last
evening by Mr. and Mrs. James P. Donahue, to which were bidden
practically all of the winter colony. The affair was in the nature of a house
warming of their new home. The mansion takes its place among the four
or five of Palm Beach’s most notable homes.” 13
Jessie’s inheritance from the Woolworth fortune allowed the Donahue’s to lead
lavish lifestyles. Even after the untimely death of her husband James in 1931,
Jessie continued to host grand parties at Cielito Lindo, often accompanied by
army of workmen who were employed on the grounds when the contract was let last February has now
dwindled to about 50 men.
10
Palm Beach Daily News 16 December 1927.
11 “Donahue Estate a Wonderland of Beauty; Gardens Replete With Rarest Flowers.” Palm Beach Post 13
January 1929. According to Dr. W.S. Aldridge, president of the Lake Worth Garden Club in the 1920s-1930,
“Cielito Lindo’s grounds were an outstanding example of the art of landscape gardener. The division and layout
of the gardens are as beautiful as the rare plants and decorative carved stonework they contain.”
12
Three separate building permits were taken out April 11, 1927 for some of the outbuildings; #668 for the
Gardner and Chauffeur House $18,000; #669 Garage and Service Building $35,000 and #670 for the Boat
House $10,000.
13 J.P. Donahue’s Open New House at Palm Beach: Cielito Lindo Scene of Resort’s Largest Party – Geraldine
Farrar in Concert.” New York Evening Post, 21 February 1928.
61
her sons. 14 Jimmy Donahue had a notorious friendship with the Duke and
Duchess of Windsor, and they were frequent guests at Cielito Lindo and aboard
Jessie’s yacht Freedom which she began bringing to Palm Beach in the 1930s.15
Woolie Donahue, who had married Gretchen Wilson Hearst, also wintered in
Palm Beach in houses on owned on Via Belleria and South Ocean Boulevard.16
Barbara Hutton, the only daughter of Jessie’s late sister Edna, was also a
frequent guest at Cielito Lindo and in the early years the tower room was known
as Jimmy and Barbara’s playroom. 17 Other Palm Beach winter colonists
associated with the Woolworth fortune included Jessie’s sister Mrs. Charles
E.F. McCann (Helena) who commissioned Wyeth to design a house on
Golfview Road just after he completed Hogarcito and Woolworth Company
executive, Earle Perry Charlton, who hired Wyeth to design his Jungle Road
oceanfront estate Qui-Si-Sana in 1924.
The 1929 stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression had little effect on
the Woolworth fortune. Jessie Donahue continued to spend the winter season
in Palm Beach, and New York and Palm Beach newspapers covered her grand
parties and family’s extravagant lifestyle. Though she had the means to run a
large estate, there were several years during the 1930s and early1940s Jessie
chose to spend the season at Whitehall, the Everglades Club or aboard her
yacht, and open Cielito Lindo only for her large celebrated parties. When
Cielito Lindo was not open, Jessie did not want for a place to entertain, as she
was a member of all of the fashionable clubs in Palm Beach and also frequently
entertained at her beach house. 18
At the end of World War II, Jessie Donahue was ready to downsize her Palm
Beach winter residence and consequently put Cielito Lindo up for sale. In
James P. Donahue, Sr., committed suicide in April of 1931 in their New York home.
Jimmy Donahue became friends with the Windsor’s while sailing to Europe in the 1930s. The Duke of
Windsor had been King Edward VIII before abdicating the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, who was a
twice-divorced American. Jimmy and Jessie Donahue enjoyed being in the company of the Duke and
Duchess and Jessie spent large sums of money entertaining them in the United States and abroad.
16 Woolworth Donahue married three times. His third wife Mary Donahue, the former Mary Hartline of
Super Circus fame, outlived Woolie (1973), Jessie (1971), and Jimmy (1966), thus inheriting a
substantial sum of money and numerous houses, yachts and cars. One of the houses was Casa Nana at
708 South Ocean Boulevard.
17 Barbara Woolworth Hutton was dubbed the “Poor Little Rich Girl” first when she was given a lavish
debutante ball in 1930 amid the Great Depression, and later due to a notoriously troubled private life.
By the time of her 21st birthday, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world. She married seven
times, once to Cary Grant, all ending in divorce. When she was younger she spent time with her cousins
at Cielito Lindo and Mar-a-Lago (cousin to Nedenia Hutton aka Dina Merrill) and was known to be a close
confidant to Jimmy Donahue.
18
Jessie Woolworth Donahue belonged to the Everglades Club, Bath and Tennis Club, Seminole Club, and the
Gulf Stream Club,
14
15
62
1946, she sold the house and property to developers for $101,000. 19 At that
time, many owners saw their large estates as anachronisms, too large to aircondition, too expensive to maintain, and too hard to staff. Within a few years,
many of Palm Beach’s great estates including Playa Riente, El Mirasol, Casa
Bendita, The Towers, Casa Florencia, Casa Joseto and La Fontana were
demolished, making way for housing developments and high-rise
condominiums. 20 Most in Palm Beach assumed that Cielito Lindo would meet
the same fate. However, architect Byron Simonson, who had been a draftsman
and designer for Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio, devised a plan to
subdivide the property into the nineteen-lot Boulevard Estates subdivision and
then subdivide the Cielito Lindo estate into five residences. The January 11,
1949 article in Palm Beach Life describes this achievement:
How a very large mansion in Palm Beach was snatched from the jaws of
house wrecking machinery a few years ago and divided into five villas,
creating what is known today as the Ocean Boulevard Estates, is an
architectural feat worthy of notice. The very large mansion partitioned into
five smaller ones this past year was once the home of Mrs. James P. Donahue.
Erected in the twenties, it was known in Palm Beach and New York society
columns as “Cielito Lindo,” the scene of sumptuous social affairs and one of
the most charming villas of Palm Beach’s Ocean Boulevard.
The three-day sale of household goods was believed to mark Cielito Lindo’s
swan song with the large acreage being divided into 19 lots with a road
running through the mansions 60-foot living room. Instead, through an
outstanding venture in preservation and the architectural ingenuity of Byron
F. Simonson of Simonson and Holley, a proposal to erect five graceful
dwellings by partitioning the house and auxiliary buildings, was accepted and
work begun last year. Dining halls became living rooms in the partitioning,
servant’s quarters were converted to bedrooms, and even incinerator flu
became a fireplace large enough to burn 12-foot logs. Bedrooms were
fashioned from loggias and entire kitchens from the laundry of the large
house. In every instance something old becoming something new in the
skillful partition of a mansion.
Now stands on the site of the great Spanish-Moorish castle five smaller ones.
All Cielito Lindo thus divided into five parts produced charming and intimate
19
At the time of the sale and subdivision of Cielito Lindo, the Donahue family retained the oceanfront lots east
of Ocean Boulevard with its luxurious beach house and kept a corner of the property on the southwest corner
of Ocean Boulevard and Woodbridge Road as a site for a guesthouse. Jessie Donahue took an Everglades Club
apartment for her winter residence. There were plans drawn for a guesthouse but it was not constructed.
20
Donald W. Curl. Mizner’s Florida: American Resort Architecture.” New York: Architectural History
Foundation, 1984; page 203.
63
smaller villas, picturesquely dotting a broad expanse stretching from ocean
to lake along Kings Road on in the new Ocean Boulevard Estates. 21
Contractors Smith, Yetter & Griffin, completed the partitioning of Cielito
Lindo and subsequent renovations to 123 Kings Road in 1947. 123 Kings Road
was originally the estate’s grand dining room and breakfast loggia. Byron
Simonson redesigned the partitioned structure into a fully functional singlefamily house.
Mr. and Mrs. Hall and their two daughters, Katherine and Ann Elizabeth,
purchased the house in February 1949 for $80,000. The Halls had been visiting
Palm Beach for many years from Asheville, North Carolina prior to purchasing
the house. Katherine Hall was a professional historian and medievalist and
achieved international recognition for her scholarly history of English
architecture. In Palm Beach, Katherine and Ann Elizabeth became very
involved with Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. Katherine wrote two
books about the church, which included information on Bethesda’s influence
on cultural and educational realms in Palm Beach life since 1889. Ann
Elizabeth wrote the church’s most recent tour guide and continues to lead
Bethesda’s tour guide program.
The current owners Robert “Bob” and Carolyn Jackson purchased the house
from Ann Elizabeth Hall in February of 1999, exactly 50 years after the Hall’s
purchased the villa. Bob Jackson had visited the house many times over the
years and stayed in touch with the Hall sisters during their ownership. 22 The
Jackson’s have remained excellent stewards of the house.
IV. Architectural Information
21
The five houses are located at 122, 123, 127, 137 and 145 Kings Road. 122 Kings Road, lot 17, includes the
original tower, entrance hall and bedrooms ($135,000). 123 Kings Road, lot 3, was the dining room and
breakfast room ($80,000). 127 Kings Road, lot 4, was the entire culinary department of the original mansion
and the huge fireplace was once the incinerator flu ($75,000). 137 Kings Road, lot 5, was originally the fivecar garage and laundry building ($75,000). 145 Kings Road, lot 6, was converted from the chauffeur’s house
($75,000).
22 According to a Palm Beach Daily News article “New Residents Cherish Cielito Lindo’s Past” October
25,2002, Bob Jackson state, “I was always in love with the house. When I was younger, I would come
over and talk to Evangeline Hall, the mother of the two Hall girls, to let the family know that should
they ever want to sell, I was interested.”
64
At a time when many of the extravagant oceanfront estates in Palm Beach were
being torn down due to changing desires in the size and styles of residences, an
important architectural and preservation achievement took place at the notable
Cielito Lindo estate of James and Jessie Donahue. Designed by Marion Sims
Wyeth and constructed in 1927 by the firm of Watt & Sinclair, Cielito Lindo
was a Mediterranean Revival style masterpiece with Spanish and Moorish
influences. In 1946, Jessie Woolworth Donahue sold the massive 45,000
square foot, 125 room estate and architect Byron Simonson devised a plan to
subdivide the property into nineteen lots and divide the stately home into five
separate residences. One of the residences created from this preservation effort
was 123 Kings Road.
Cielito Lindo’s West Facade
Cielito Lindo, as designed by Wyeth, was an excellent example of the
Mediterranean Revival style of architecture that was popular in Palm Beach
during the Land Boom of the 1920s. The Mediterranean Revival style is an
eclectic style incorporating architectural elements derived from the area around
the Mediterranean Sea including Spanish, Italian and Moorish elements. The
style is found most frequently in states that have a Spanish Colonial heritage,
but its use gained national popularity after the Pan-American Exhibition held
in San Diego in 1915. In Palm Beach, the style was first popularized in 1919
65
by Addison Mizner’s design for the Everglades Club. The popularity of the
style soared in the 1920s for both commercial and residential buildings. The
style remained a pervasive influence on building design until World War II.
Buildings of this style are often decorated with ornate cast-stone columns,
pilasters and window surrounds. Arched openings, balconies, asymmetrical
massing and windows of varying sizes and shapes are also common features.
In addition, stone or stucco facades, decorative wrought ironwork, tile floors,
pecky cypress ceilings and clay barrel tile roofs are typical features of
Mediterranean Revival style buildings.
Cielito Lindo was constructed of hollow clay tile and brick surfaced with stucco
with barrel tile surfaced hip roofs with exposed rafters. The residence’s most
significant exterior features included the Moorish influenced brick railings,
bands, and arches, geometric interlaced wood details, and a three-story tower.
The subdivision of the Cielito Lindo estate in 1947 included creating five
North
separate residences with Kings Road running thru the middle of the original
residence. Byron Simonson redesigned the partitioned structures into fully
functional single-family houses. 123 Kings Road was originally the estate’s
grand dining room and breakfast loggia, located in the northern wing of the
stately home. Character-defining elements of the original estate were
preserved, including a decorative brick belt course, terraces, chimneys, and
barrel tile roofing with exposed rafters.
66
Main (South) Facade
The residence’s main (south) façade, facing Kings Road, had once been an
interior wall. In Simonson’s design for the new house he retained elements
from Cielito Lindo’s original design. Cielito Lindo’s original grand entrance
doors of carved wood with cast stone trim were installed as the entrance to 123
Kings Road. The curved grille that had been located over the original entrance
was also installed above the doors on a cast stone corbel, however the grille has
since been removed.
Cielito Lindo’s Original Entrance
South Façade Elevation, 1947
Also retained were some of the shapes of the openings between rooms for use
as the south façade’s fenestration. The unique arched opening to the east of the
entrance was a part of the original residence. It has been enclosed with glass
doors and sidelights with a transom above. The doors lead to a balcony with a
decorative curved metal railing.
The east façade of the residence features a loggia that was constructed using
columns from the original residence. Many of the original windows and doors
in the house were retained including the original single paned glass doors with
arched transoms in the living room. These doors lift up rather than out and
provide access to the east loggia.
67
East Facade, 1947
The grade of the property changes approximately eleven feet from east to west.
This change in grade allows for a two-car garage to access the residence on the
west façade at the lower/basement level. An arched glass doorway on the main
level leads to a terrace with wrought iron railings on the west façade above the
garage. Another terrace is located at the southwest corner of the residence.
West Facade
68
According to the Town of Palm Beach’s building permits, alterations to the
house since the 1947 partitioning have been few. They include interior
renovations, pool installation, landscape and hardscape changes, re-roofing,
and ordinary repair and maintenance. 23
23
Town of Palm Beach Building permits from 1927-205.
69
V. Architect’s Biography
Marion Sims Wyeth
Marion Sims Wyeth was as one of Palm Beach’s foremost architects in a
career that spanned over fifty years. Wyeth was noted for his "quiet, subdued
and rational" interpretations of both the Spanish and Italian styles. With
Addison Mizner, Maurice Fatio, Joseph Urban and John Volk, he is credited
with creating the "Palm Beach Style".
Wyeth was born in 1889 in New York, a son of Florence Nightingale Sims
and Dr. John Allan Wyeth. Dr. Wyeth was a Civil War poet, surgical pioneer,
and founder of New York's Polyclinic Hospital, the first postgraduate medical
school in the United States. Marion’s grandfather, Dr. James Marion Sims,
founded the field of gynecology and the first woman’s hospital in history.
Marion Sims Wyeth began his architectural studies at Princeton University
and completed his classic training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in
1914. At the time, the École was considered the one of the finest schools in
the world. It was a style of education based on studying the classics, mostly
Roman architecture. After completing school, Wyeth served as secretary to
the U.S. Ambassador in Rome. Upon his return to New York, Wyeth became
associated with the architectural offices of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and
later with Carrere and Hastings, the firm that designed Whitehall for Henry
Flagler.
Arriving in Palm Beach at the age of 30, Wyeth met with immediate success.
From 1920, Wyeth shared a New York office with Frederic Rhinelander
King, a friend from his student days in Paris, until 1934 when they formalized
the relationship with the Wyeth and King partnership. William Royster
Johnson joined Wyeth’s Palm Beach office as a draftsman in 1924. In 1944
he became a partner and the firm name changed to Wyeth, King and Johnson.
Over the years, the firm designed buildings ranging from Mediterranean
Revival to classical Georgian, French, and Colonial styles.
The socially popular Wyeth was a prolific craftsman and more than 100 of
his designs have graced the Island, including eight built on El Brillo Way.
Some of his well-known Palm Beach designs include Qui Si Sana, Casa
Juanita, Hogarcito, Casa de Los Arcos, Vita Serena, Southwood and the
Betheseda by the Sea rectory. His largest and most impressive project was
Cielito Lindo, a 45,000-square-foot Spanish Moorish-Revival-style mansion
built for James Donohue and Jessie Woolworth Donohue in 1927. In 1946-
70
1947, it was sold to developers, who split the property and created five
houses. And while Joseph Urban is credited with Mar-a-Lago, Wyeth's
association with the project was essential for its original design and
completion. Wyeth also had an impressive list of prominent works outside
of Palm Beach. Some of these include Good Samaritan Hospital and the
Norton Gallery of Art in West Palm Beach, the Governor's Mansion in
Tallahassee, and Doris Duke’s Shangri La in Honolulu.
Wyeth served as a trustee of the Society of the Four Arts (1936-1969) and as
its president (1956-1961). He became the first Palm Beach architect to be
elected a fellow of the American Institute of Architecture in 1954, and
received the Test of Time Award from its Palm Beach Chapter in 1981.
Marion Sims Wyeth passed away in 1982 at the age of 93.
Byron Frederick Simonson
Byron Simonson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 9, 1902.
He attended Milwaukee State Teachers College from 1920 – 1923. He then
attended the Chicago Institute of Fine and Applied Arts and the Ray School
of Design for a year. Simonson moved to Palm Beach and served as chief
draftsman for Addison Mizner from 1924-1925 and again from 1930-1933.
Between that time he was a designer for York & Sawyer in New York. From
1933-1942, Simonson was the chief designer for Treanor and Fatio. On April
28, 1944, Simonson applied to the State of Florida licensure as an architect,
which was granted with certificate #AR0001418 on January 11, 1945. Upon
receiving his Florida architectural license, Byron Simonson formed a
partnership with Maurice E. Holley, which thrived until they dissolved the
partnership in 1949, at which time he began to practice under his own name.
He acquired a N.C.A.R.B. certification and was active in the Palm Beach
Chapter of the A.I.A. 24
Byron Simonson’s most prominent work in Palm Beach is the Colonial
Revival style Colony Hotel he designed in 1946-1947. In the 1950’s he
“renounced the arches and columns of classical styles” for Mid-Century
Modernism. The former La Coquille Club in Manalapan was considered a
modernist masterpiece popular with the jet set and for a time put Simonson
in the top tier of Palm Beach’s society architects.25 Built in 1952 for Spelman
Prentice, John D. Rockefeller’s grandson, “the club’s flat-roofed buildings
24
25
N.C.A.R.B is the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
The La Coquille Club was demolished in 1985 to make room for the Ritz Hotel (now Eau Palm Beach).
71
were so stunningly avant-garde that the year after it opened, awed Florida
AIA members held their meeting at the club and high society loved its
minimalist elegance.” 26 Simonson became one of the areas most prominent
modern architects in the post-war building boom of the 1950s but
unfortunately most of his Palm Beach houses were torn down after
modernism fell out of favor locally in the 1980s.
Byron and Frances Simonson had two children, Dawn and Byron Douglas.
The Simonson family summered at their Tioga Coach House in Sapphire
Valley, North Carolina where Byron also designed a number of houses.
Byron Simonson passed away in 1972.
Builders Biography - William Watt, Jr.
William Watt, Jr. was a winter resident of Palm Beach since 1928. Mr. Watt
was the founder of Watt & Sinclair of New York, a construction firm that
built many buildings in Manhattan as well as numerous houses in Oyster Bay
(NY), Red Bank (NJ) and Palm Beach. 27
William Watt first came to Palm Beach at the request of Jessie Woolworth
Donahue in 1927 to supervise the construction of her Palm Beach villa,
Cielito Lindo, designed by Marion Sims Wyeth. Watt was the builder for the
Woolworth Building in New York City that Jessie’s father F.W. Woolworth
commissioned in 1913. Cass Gilbert was the architect for the terra-cotta
building that was dubbed “The Cathedral of Commerce” and at 792 feet was
the tallest building in the world until 1930.
In 1939, the firm of Watt and Sinclair moved to Palm Beach and the Watt
family became permanent winter residents of Palm Beach. Their house on
Jungle Road was designed by Palm Beach architect William Johnson.
Associated with leading architects of the area, Mr. Watt’s firm planned and
built many residences in Palm Beach. One of Mr. Watt’s closest associates
was Maurice Fatio, and together they designed and built a number of
residential and commercial buildings.
Augustus Mayhew, New York Social Diary.
The Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway in New York City was designed by Cass Gilbert and constructed by
Watts and Sinclair for five-and-dime store magnate F.W. Woolworth in 1913. When the magnificent terra-cotta
building opened it was dubbed “the Cathedral of Commerce” and at 792 feet was the tallest building in the world
until 1930.
26
27
72
Mr. Watt planned and supervised the building of the Morrison Field to serve
as West Palm Beach’s Airport. When World War II was declared, he
expanded the field to buildings for what was to become the ferrying base for
the Air Transport Command. As a military base, Morrison Field became a
port of embankments for Army Air Force bomber crews headed for North
Africa and England.
Mr. Watt was a successful developer and social member of the winter
colonists with memberships to both the Everglades Club and the Bath and
Tennis Club.
VI. Statement of Significance
123 Kings Road is significant as an evocative remaining part of the grand
Cielito Lindo estate. Its Mediterranean Revival architecture with Moorish
influence is an excellent example of the style and a notable work of Marion
Sims Wyeth. It is also significant as one of the first acts of historic
preservation in Palm Beach where a great estate was divided and adaptively
reused rather than demolished.
VII. Criteria For Designation
Section 54-161 of the Town of Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation
Ordinance outlines the criteria for designation of a landmark or landmark site
and suggests that at least one criterion must be met to justify the designation.
Listed below are the criteria which relate to this property and justification for
designation:
(1) “Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic or
social history of the nation, state, county or town.”
123 Kings Road reflects the broad cultural, economic and social history of
the Town of Palm Beach. Cielito Lindo was built at a time when many of the
wealthiest people in America came to Palm Beach for the warm winter season
and built palatial estates to live in opulence and entertain guests with
magnificent parties. Jessie Woolworth Donahue was one of the wealthiest
women in the United States when she commissioned Cielito Lindo and she
did not spare any expense in the design of the house and grounds or in the
parties she hosted.
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123 Kings Road also reflects the post World War II era when numerous
owners of Palm Beach’s grand estates sold their properties to developers who
subsequently demolished the estates that had become too costly to maintain.
Fortunately, Cielito Lindo was a novel project where the estate was portioned
rather than demolished making 123 Kings Road a fine example of adaptive
reuse.
(3) “Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or
is a specimen inherently valuable for the study of a period, style, method
of construction or use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship.”
123 Kings Road is an excellent example of the Mediterranean Revival style
architecture popularized in Palm Beach during the Land Boom of the 1920s
and still recognized as the “Palm Beach Style.” The Moorish influences that
Marion Sims Wyeth incorporated into the design enhance the exotic nature
of the style, and the re-use of significant design elements from the original
estate into the design of 123 Kings Road enriches the style of the residence.
Furthermore, the partitioning of the Donahue’s grand estate Cielito Lindo into
five separate residences is an example of a method of construction that is
valuable for study.
(4) “Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer
or architect whose individual ability has been recognized or who
influenced his age.”
Marion Sims Wyeth was as one of Palm Beach’s foremost architects in a
career that spanned over fifty years. More than 100 of his designs have graced
the Island and many consider Cielito Lindo to be Wyeth’s most impressive
work of his career. Though 123 Kings Road is just a portion of the original
estate, it is still evocative of the original design and a notable representation
of Wyeth’s work.
Byron F. Simonson was a Palm Beach architect who had worked for both
Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio before designing the Colony Hotel, his
largest Palm Beach commission. It was Simonson’s architectural ingenuity
to partition Cielito Lindo into five houses and create the Ocean Boulevard
Estates subdivision with Kings Road running through the middle.
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VIII. Selected Bibliography
Curl, Donald W. Mizner’s Florida: American Resort Architecture. New York:
The Architectural History Foundation, 1984.
--- Palm Beach County: An Illustrated History. Northridge, California:
Windsor Publications, Inc., 1987.
Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Archives and PBC History Online.
Files and Photographs with information on Cielito Lindo and the Woolworth and
Donahue families.
Hoffstott, Barbara D. Landmark Architecture of Palm Beach (Third Edition).
Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 1991.
Johnston, Shirley. Palm Beach Houses. New York: Rizzoli International
Publications, 1991.
Knott, James R. Palm Beach Revisited: Historical Vignettes of Palm Beach
County. Palm Beach Post: The Best of the Brown Wrappers I, 1987.
Marconi, Richard and Debi Murray with the Historical Society of Palm Beach
County. Images of America: Palm Beach. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing,
2009.
Marconi, Richard A. and the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Palm
Beach: Then & Now. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2013.
The Palm Beach Daily News and The Palm Beach Post. Archived Articles 1913
– 1989.
Palm Beach Life, 1949.
Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. Building Files and Architect
Information
Roberts, Mary Fanton. “Cielito Lindo” Arts & Decoration Magazine, Volume
XXIX, Number 3, July 1928.
75
Sanborn Insurance Map of Palm Beach. New York: Sanborn Map Co., 1919 and
1924 updated to 1946
Town of Palm Beach. Building Permits and Microfiche Records 1919– 2015.
Thuma, Cynthia. Images of America: Palm Beach Vintage Postcards.
Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2001.
West Palm Beach City Directories. Palm Beach Section, 1916-1975.
76
IX. Florida Master Site File Form
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Palm Beach, Florida, Code of Ordinances » PART II - CODE OF ORDINANCES » Chapter 54 HISTORICAL PRESERVATION » ARTICLE IV. - DESIGNATION PROCEDURE »
ARTICLE IV. - DESIGNATION PROCEDURE
Sec. 54-1 61. - Criteria for landmarks and landmark sites.
Sec. 54-1 62 - Creation of historic djstrjcts.
Sec. 54-163. - Commission oowers wrth respect to landmarks. landmark sites and historic districts.
Sec 54-1 64. - Landmark. landmark site and historic district desjgnation and undesignation procedures.
Sec. 54-1 65. - Voluntary restrictive covenants.
Secs. 54- 16&-54-195. - Reserved.
Sec. 54-161. - Criteria for landmarks and landmark sites.
A landmark or landmark site shall meet at least one of the following criteria :
(1)
Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural , political, economic or social history of the
nation , state, county or town .
(2)
Is identified with historic personages or with important events in national , state or local
history.
(3)
Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or is a specimen
inherently valuable for the study of a period , style, method of construction or use of
indigenous materials or craftsmanship.
(4)
Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer or architect whose
individual ability has been recognized or who influenced his age .
(Code 1982, § 16-38)
Sec. 54-162. - Creation of historic districts.
(a)
(b)
Authorized. For preservation purposes, the commission shall identify geographically defined
areas within the town to be designated as historic districts and shall cite the guideline criteria
upon which such designation shall be made. An historic district may be designated for any
geographic area of particular historic, architectural or cultural significance to the town that:
(1)
Exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural , political, economic or social history of the
nation , state, county or town .
(2)
Is identified with historic personages or with important events in national, state or local
history.
(3)
Embodies distinguishing characteristics of one or more architectural types, or contains
specimens inherently valuable for the study of a period, style or methods of
construction or use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship .
(4)
Is representative of the notable works of one or more master builders, designers or
architects whose individual ability has been recognized to have influenced their age.
(5)
Constitutes a unique area of architecture, landscaping and planning.
Petition for special historic district category. Following the designation of each landmark or
landmark site, the commission may petition the town council for the categorizing of such
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property as special district H. Following the designation of each historic district, the
commission may petition the town council for the categorizing of each property in such
district to special district HD.
(Code 1982, §§ 16-38.1, 16-39)
Sec. 54-163. - Commission powers with respect to landmarks, landmark sites and
historic districts.
The commission has the power to:
(1)
Designate a building , together with its accessory buildings and its lot of record, or a
vacant site or a district as historic and worthy of preservation as a landmark, landmark
site or historic district, as the case may be, within the jurisdiction of the commission,
provided such designation is ratified by the town council.
(2)
Recommend appropriate legislation for the preservation of any building, site or district
which it has so designated.
(3)
Make application for public and private funds when appropriate and available for the
purposes set forth in this article subject to the approval of the town council.
(4)
Review applications proposing erection , alteration, restoration or moving of any
building it has so designated or any building located in a district it has so designated,
and to issue or deny certificates of appropriateness accordingly .
(5)
Review applications for demolition permits proposing demolition of all or part of any
landmark or any building located in an historic district, and to issue certificates of
appropriateness or to deny them for one year.
(6)
Cooperate with the owner of a landmark or a property located in an historic district
throughout the year following a refusal to issue a certificate of appropriateness
pursuant to an application for a demolition permit, and to seek alternative economic
uses for such landmark or property.
(7)
Review its denial of a certificate of appropriateness for demolition of such landmark or
property annually, during a public hearing at which time the owner of the affected
landmark or property shall be afforded an opportunity to appear with counsel and to
present testimony .
(8)
Prohibit the issuance of building , exterior remodeling or demolition permits affecting
any property under consideration for landmark designation without a certificate of
appropriateness . this prohibition to remain in effect for the length of time required by
the commission and the town council for final action on the proposed designation. The
commission shall accomplish such prohibition by furnishing the building official a list of
all property under consideration for landmark designation.
(Code 1982, § 16-42)
Sec. 54-164. - Landmark, landmark site and historic district designation and
undesignation procedures.
(a)
The following procedure shall be adhered to by the commission in designating any building ,
building site or district that is worthy of preservation :
(1)
The commission shall consider for landmark designation any property proposed by
the owner of record or by a member of the commission.
(2)
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Notice of a proposed designation shall be sent by certified mail to the owner of record
of property proposed for designation as a landmark or landmark site and to each
owner of record of property in a district proposed for designation as an historic district,
describing the property proposed and announcing a public hearing by the commission
to consider such a designation to be held not less than 30 days after the mailing of
such notice.
(3)
The commission shall also cause notice of each such proposed designation to be
posted at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the bulletin board in the lobby of
the town hall , and in addition the commission shall cause such notice to be published
in a newspaper having general circulation in the town .
(4)
The commission may reta in or solicit expert testimony regard ing the historic and
architectural importance of the buildings and districts under consideration for
designation .
(5)
The commission may present testimony or documentary evidence of its own to
establish a record regarding the historic and architectural importance of the proposed
landmark, landmark site or historic district.
(6)
The commission shall afford the owner of each affected property reasonable
opportunity to present testimony or documentary evidence regarding the historic and
architectural importance of such property.
(7)
The owner of each affected property shall be afforded a right of representation by
counsel and reasonable opportunity to cross examine witnesses presented by the
commission .
(8)
Any interested party may present testimony or documentary evidence regarding the
designation of a proposed landmark, landmark site or historic district at the public
hearing and may submit to the commission documentary evidence within three days
after the hearing.
(9)
With in not more than 30 days after a public hearing , the commission shall render a
final decision regard ing the proposed designation and give written notice of its
decision to each owner of property affected by the designation, setting forth the
reasons for the decision.
(10)
The commission shall maintain a record of testimony and documentary evidence
submitted to it for consideration of the designation of a proposed or previously
designated landmark, landmark site or historic district.
(11)
In accordance with section 54-163(1), the town council shall, within 90 days of the
commission's final decision, hold a public hearing to consider ratification of the
determination of the commission prior to the designation of a property as a landmark
or landmark site or of a district as an historic district becoming effective. Absent
ratification by the town council, the commission's determination shall be ineffective.
(12)
(b)
Within 30 days of the date on which the town council ratifies the commission 's
designation of a landmark, landmark site or historic district, the commission shall
cause to be filed in the office of the county recorder of deeds a certificate of
notification that such property is designated a landmark or landmark site or is located
within a district designated an historic district; and the certificate of notification shall be
maintained on the public record until such time as such designation may be withdrawn
by the commission and the town council.
Designation and undesignation hearings before the commission shall be held only during the
months of November, December, January, February, March and April.
(c)
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Designation of a landmark, landmark site or a historic district may be withdrawn by following
the same procedure as listed above.
(Code 1982, § 16-43)
Sec. 54-165. - Voluntary restrictive covenants.
The owner of any landmark or landmark site may, at any time following the designation of his
property, enter into a restrictive covenant on the property after negotiation with the commission . The
commission may assist the owner in preparing such a covenant in the interest of preserving the
landmark or the landmark site. The owner shall record such covenant in the office of the county
recorder of deeds and shall notify the town clerk, building official and town council and may notify
the office of the county property appraiser of such covenant and the conditions thereof.
(Code 1982, § 16-48)
Secs. 54-166-54-195. - Reserved.
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Public Hearings
Agenda Title
RESOLUTION NO. 06-2016 A Resolution of The Town Council of The
Town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Providing For The
Abandonment of The Existing Pedestrian Access Easement On The North
Five Feet of Lot 3, And Dedicating A New Pedestrian Access Easement
On The North Five Feet Of Lot 1, Replat of The Blossom Estate As
Recorded In Plat Book 54, Pages 127 And 128, Palm Beach, Florida, At
The Request of Blossom Way Holdings, LLC.
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Supporting Documents
Memorandum dated December 23, 2015 from John S. Page
Resolution No. 06-2016
Letter dated November 12, 2015 from Maura Ziska
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Information for Town Council Meeting on: January 13, 2016
To:
Mayor and Town Council
Via:
Thomas G. Bradford, Town Manager
From: John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Re:
Relocation of Beach Access Easement from the North Five (5) Feet of Lot 3 to the North
Five (5) Feet of Lot 1, Replat of the Blossom Estate Subdivision
Resolution No. 06-2016
Date: December 23, 2015
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council consider Resolution No. 06-2016 (copy attached),
relocating a pedestrian access easement to the Atlantic Ocean from the north five (5) feet of Lot
3, to the north five (5) feet of Lot 1, Replat of the Blossom Estate. If said easement is relocated,
Staff recommends that the dedication language of the easement be modified to allow the State
and Town to use the easement for beach monitoring (sand and turtle nesting).
GENERAL INFORMATION
On July 26, 1982, the Town accepted the Blossom Estate plat, which subdivided the subject
property and also established a “Beach Access Way” to the Blossom Estates Homeowners
Association over the north ten (10) feet of Lot 1 for its use and maintenance.
August 22, 1986, the Town accepted the Replat of Blossom Estate which moved the beach
access easement from the north ten (10) feet of Lot 1 to the north five (5) feet of Lot 3. There is
a scriveners error on the replat. The dedication language on the face of the replat states that the
pedestrian access to the Atlantic Ocean (“Beach Access Way”) is three (3) feet wide but the
actual easement on Lot 3 identifies five (5) feet.
Attached is a letter and documentation from Blossom Way Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company, property owner for Lots 1 through 4 of the Replat of the Blossom Estate, by
and through its counsel, Maura Ziska, at Kochman & Ziska, PLC. The title holder is requesting
that the Town abandon an existing easement and simultaneously dedicate a new beach access
easement (in the same location as originally platted). The proposal would move the easement
from the north five (5) foot of Lot 3 to the north five (5) feet of Lot 1. The applicant has
received consent from all of the property owners in the subdivision and the Blossom Estates
Homeowners Association to move the easement. It should be noted that the property owner at
60 Blossom Way, directly north of the proposed easement and directly affected by the move, is
86
not within the subdivision and consent was not provided nor required. The Town did provide
notice in the Palm Beach Daily News and did provide certified and regular mail notice of the
proposal to all of the property owners within the subdivision, as well as the property owner 60
Blossom Way.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Public Works Department has requested that if the pedestrian access to the Atlantic Ocean is
moved to Lot 1, that the dedication language in the easement be modified to allow the State and
Town access through that easement to monitor sand and sea turtle nesting.
TOWN ATTORNEY REVIEW
Resolution No. 06-2016 was approved by Town Attorney John C. Randolph for legal form and
sufficiency.
cc:
John C. Randolph, Town Attorney
Paul Brazil, Public Works Director
Susan Owens, Town Clerk
Veronica B. Close, Assistant Director, Planning Zoning & Building
Paul W. Castro, Zoning Administrator
Maura Ziska, Esquire
pf
zf
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RESOLUTION NO. 06-2016
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF
PALM BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR
THE ABANDONMENT OF THE EXSTING PEDESTRIAN ACCESS
EASEMENT ON THE NORTH FIVE FEET OF LOT 3, AND
DEDICATING A NEW PEDESTRIAN ACCESS EASEMENT ON THE
NORTH FIVE FEET OF LOT 1, REPLAT OF THE BLOSSOM ESTATE
AS RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 54, PAGES 127 AND 128, PALM
BEACH, FLORIDA, AT THE REQUEST OF BLOSSOM WAY
HOLDINGS, LLC.
WHEREAS, the owner of the land and property hereinafter described has petitioned the
Town of Palm Beach to abandon an easement for pedestrian access from Blossom Way to the
Atlantic Ocean currently located over and across the land owned by Blossom Way Holdings
LLC, and to relocate the easement onto land owned by Blossom Way Holdings LLC, all located
in The Blossom Estate, as more fully hereinafter described; and
WHEREAS, the owners of all lots in Replat of the Blossom Estate, as the members of
Blossom Estate Homeowner’s Association, Inc., have agreed to the abandonment of the existing
pedestrian beach access easement in exchange for the relocation and new dedication of an
easement for pedestrian access from Blossom Way to the Atlantic Ocean within The Blossom
Estate; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Palm Beach does hereby find and
determine that the necessity for an easement for pedestrian access to the Atlantic Ocean will be
satisfied by the relocation of the beach access easement within The Blossom Estate.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF PALM BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows:
Resolution No.06-2016
Page 1 of 3
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Section1.
That certain Easement for Pedestrian Access to Atlantic Ocean, shown on The
Replat of The Blossom Estate, Palm Beach, Florida, being on the north five feet of Lot 3 and
more particularly described as follows and identified on the attached survey:
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:
The easement for pedestrian access to Atlantic Ocean lying within Lot 3, of REPLAT OF THE
BLOSSOM ESTATE, according to the Plat thereof, as recorded in Plat Book 54, Page(s) 127, of
the Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida, being more particularly described as follows:
BEGIN at the Northwest corner of said Lot 3, said point lying on a curve concave to the West
having a radius of 40.00 feet, a central angle of 09°17’29” and a chord bearing of South
38°08’40” East; thence Southerly, along the arc of said curve, a distance of 6.49 feet; thence
South 88°38’54” along a lien 5 feet South of and parallel with the North line of said Lot 3, a
distance of 15.08 feet to a point; thence South 56°38’35” East a distance of 5.66 feet to a point;
thence North 61°10’41” East a distance of 5.97 feet to a point; thence South 88°38’54” East,
along said parallel line, a distance of 397 feet, more or less, to the East line of said Lot 3 and the
mean high water line of the Atlantic Ocean; thence Northerly, along said East line, a distance of
5 feet, more or less, to the Northeast corner of said Lot 3; thence North88°38’54” West, along
said North line, a distance of 426 feet, more or less, to said Northwest corner and the POINT OF
BEGINNING.
The North line of said Lot 3 is assumed to bear North 88°38’54” West and all other bearings are
relative thereto.
Be and the same is hereby vacated and abandoned.
Section 2. In substitution for the easement herein abandoned, there is hereby dedicated to and
accepted by the Town of Palm Beach a new Easement for Pedestrian Access to Atlantic Ocean,
for the benefit of Blossom Estate Homeowner’s Association, the State of Florida and the Town
of Palm Beach for sand and turtle monitoring, located on the north five feet of Lot 1 and more
particularly described as follows and identified on the attached survey:
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:
The North five feet of Lot 1, REPLAT OF THE BLOSSOM ESTATE, according to the Plat
thereof recorded in Plat Book 54, Page 127, of the public records of Palm Beach County, Florida,
together with a strip of land lying within said Lot 1, six feet (6’ ) in width, the centerline of said
strip being more particularly described as follows:
COMMENCE at a point on the North line of said Lot 1 lying 27.7 feet East of the Northwest
corner of said Lot 1; Thence South 01°21’ 06” West, perpendicular to said North line (the North
line of said Lot 1 is assumed to bear South 88°38” 54” East and all other bearings are relative
thereto), a distance of 5.00 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING of the hereinafter described
centerline; Thence South 01°21’ 06” West, a distance of 14.32 feet to a point; Thence radially
South 76°42’ 55” West a distance of 18.76 feet to a point on the West line of said Lot 1 and the
POINT OF TERMINUS.
Resolution No.06-2016
Page 2 of 3
89
PASSED AND ADOPTED in a regular adjourned session of Town Council of the Town of
Palm Beach this ___ day of ______________ 2016.
________________________________
Gail L. Coniglio, Mayor
__________________________________________
Michael J. Pucillo, Town Council President
__________________________________________
Richard M. Kleid, Council President Pro Tem
__________________________________________
Danielle H. Moore, Town Council Member
ATTEST:
__________________________________________
Penelope D. Townsend, Town Council Member
________________________________
Susan A. Owens, MMC, Town Clerk
__________________________________________
Robert N. Wildrick, Town Council Member
Resolution No.06-2016
Page 3 of 3
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Development Review - Old Business
Agenda Title
Consideration of a Construction Management Agreement for
Redevelopment of the Testa's site (Site Plan Review #13-2014 with
Special Exceptions and Variances (Modified), 221 & 231 Royal
Poinciana Way, 214 & 216 Sunset Avenue, all previously approved)
[Attorney: Francis X. J. Lynch]
Deferred from the June 10, 2015, July 15, 2015, August 11, 2015,
October 14, 2015, and December 9, 2015 Town Council Meetings
Request for Deferral to the February 10, 2016, Town Council
Meeting Per Letter Dated December 23, 2015, from Francis X.J.
Lynch
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning, and Building
Supporting Documents
Letter Dated December 23, 2015, from Francis X.J. Lynch
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Development Review - Old Business
Agenda Title
SPECIAL EXCEPTION #31-2015 WITH SITE PLAN REVIEW The
application of The Breakers Palm Beach, Inc.; relative to property
commonly known as 1 South County Rd., described as lengthy legal
description on file; located in the PUD-A Zoning District. The Applicant
is requesting a Special Exception approval with site plan review approval
for the following projects at the Breakers: Front Lawn Service Buildings:
construction of two pavilions on the front lawn west of the hotel and
south of the main entrance. The north pavilion (446 sq. ft. of air
conditioned space) will house restrooms, while the south pavilion (710 sq.
ft. of air conditioned space) will be used for the staging of food service
for guests who are attending weddings and similar events that occur on
that lawn and may occur on a more regular basis in the future. There will
be no intensification of use because The Breakers requested that indoor
space be reserved as back-up when outdoor space in in use in case of
inclement weather. Ponce Loading Dock Expansion: enclosure of
additional space between the Ponce Ballroom addition and the South
Tower of the hotel. This space will provide services for events on the
Ocean Lawn. It will include new food service equipment and a unisex
bathroom. This enclosure will add 1,261 sq. ft. of air conditioned space.
An awning will also be constructed over part of the remaining open
corridor. Mediterranean Courtyard Service Elevator: addition of service
elevator in the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean Courtyard to
facilitate direct access for food service for events in the Courtyard.
Currently, staff must negotiate multiple levels to get tables, food, etc. in
and out of this area. Emergency generator: approval of a 900 KW
generator in the new engine room on the north side of the hotel in lieu of
the 600 KW generator which was approved in September of 2015. An
engineering re-evaluation resulted in a recommendation for a larger
generator. [Attorney: James M. Crowley, Esq.]
[Landmark Commission Recommendation: Deferred consideration of the
variances related to the two proposed pavilions on the front lawn, west of
139
the hotel and south of the main entrance, to the November 18th meeting.
Carried 7-0]
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
Request for Withdrawal Per Letter Dated December 7, 2015, from
James M. Crowley, Esq.
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
Supporting Documents
Letter Dated December 7, 2015, from James M. Crowley, Esq.
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Development Review - Old Business
Agenda Title
SITE PLAN REVIEW #8-2015 WITH VARIANCE The application of
201 Debra Lane, LLC (Juan M. Naveja Diebold, Manager); relative to
property commonly known as 201 Debra Ln., described as lengthy legal
description on file; located in the R-B Zoning Districts. The Applicant
seeks Site Plan approval to construct a 3,814 square foot two story home
on a platted lot that is 98.55 feet deep in lieu of the 100 foot minimum
required and 91.61 foot wide in lieu of the 100 foot minimum required. A
variance is requested to permit installation of a pool in the street side yard
with a setback of 6.25 feet in lieu of the 15 foot minimum required.
[Attorney: M. Timothy Hanlon]
[Architectural Commission Recommendation: Deferred the project to the
requested deferral to the January 27th meeting. Carried 7-0]
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
Request for Deferral to the February 10, 2016, Town Council
Meeting Per Letter Dated January 4, 2016 from M. Timothy Hanlon.
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
Supporting Documents
Letter Dated December 8, 2015, from Dragana Connaughton
Letter Dated January 4, 2016, from M. Timothy Hanlon
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Development Review - New Business
Agenda Title
SPECIAL EXCEPTION #02-2016 WITH SITE PLAN REVIEW The
application of Maura Ziska, Esq., Attorney in Fact; relative to property
commonly known as 1021 No. Ocean Blvd., described as lengthy legal
description on file; located in the R-A Zoning District. The Applicant is
requesting a Special Exception with Site Plan Review approval to allow
the construction of a new two-story residence consisting of a 8,202 sq. ft.
non-habitable underground basement/garage, 14,061 sq. ft. first and
second floor habitable space, and, 2,317 sq. ft. of outdoor covered areas
for a total of 25,198 sq. ft. on a non-conforming lot which is 100 feet in
width in lieu of the 125 foot minimum width required in the R-A Zoning
District. The subject property is part of two platted lots. [Attorney: Maura
Ziska, Esq.]
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
Supporting Documents
Letter Dated January 6, 2015, from James K. Green, P.A.
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Development Review - New Business
Agenda Title
VARIANCE #02-2016 The application of M. Timothy Hanlon, as
Trustee of the 240 Banyan Land Trust; relative to property commonly
known as 240 Banyan Rd., described as lengthy legal description on file;
located in the R-A Zoning District. The Applicant is requesting a variance
approval to allow the construction of a one-story Guest House containing
approximately 875 sq. ft. with a front yard setback of 20 feet in lieu of the
35 feet minimum required. [Attorney: M. Timothy Hanlon, Esq.]
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning & Building
Supporting Documents
Letter Dated November 30, 2015, from Bob and Laura Reynolds
Letter Dated December 1, 2015, drom Lynn and Jack McAtee
Letter Dated December 2, 2015, from Roberta and Paul Kozloff
Letter Dated December 2, 2015, from Patti and Richard Kurtz
211
212
213
214
215
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Ordinances - First Reading
Agenda Title
ORDINANCE NO. 31-2015 An Ordinance Of The Town Council Of The
Town Of Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, Amending The Town
Code Of Ordinances At Chapter 134, Zoning; Article I, In General;
Section 134-2, Definitions And Rules Of Construction, So As To Amend
The Definitions Of Sign Institutional, Sign Menu And Sign Official
Traffic; Further Amending Chapter 134, At Article XI, Signs, So As To
Amend And Restate Article XI In Its Entirety As Set Forth In Exhibit “A”
Attached Hereto; Providing For Severability; Providing For Repeal Of
Ordinances In Conflict; Providing For Codification; Providing An
Effective Date.
Deferred from the December 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting
Presenter
John S Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Supporting Documents
Memorandum dated December 30, 2015 from Margaret L. Cooper
Ordinance No. 31-2015
216
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Information for Local Planning Agency and Town Council Meeting on:
January 13, 2016
To:
Mayor and Town Council
Via:
John Page, Director Planning Zoning and Building
From: Margaret L. Cooper, Town Attorney’s Office
Re:
Proposed Changes to the Sign Regulations in Chapter 134, Zoning
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Date: December 30, 2015
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Local Planning Agency (LPA) and the Town Council consider amending the
Zoning Ordinance which regulates permanent and temporary signs in residential and commercial zoning
districts.
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
The Planning and Zoning Commission, at its October 20, 2015 meeting, considered Staff proposed changes
regulating signs. After deliberating, the Commission unanimously recommended proposed Zoning Code
modifications (which were more restrictive than Staff’s recommendation as it relates to the number of
temporary signs allowed at any given time).
GENERAL INFORMATION
In 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion which substantially affects sign ordinances
throughout the United States. This prompted us to review the Town’s sign ordinance. The Court’s opinion
is complicated and provides little guidance on how to comply with the mandate. In short, the opinion stands
for the proposition that codes and ordinances cannot be written or applied so as to treat commercial speech
more favorably than non-commercial speech.
The purpose of the attached amendment is to try to bring the Town’s Zoning Code regulations into
compliance with the Supreme Court decision. First, the amendment differentiates between temporary and
permanent signs. We added sections that allow temporary non-commercial messages to the same extent as
temporary political signs, but limited the total number of temporary signs to four per property or store, with
unlimited messages on both the back and front. The Planning Commission recommends two per property or
storefront. See Sections 134-240 and 134-2447. The other major change is found in section 134-2372(2)
which allows the substitution of any commercial message with a non-commercial message. We also
attempted to bring clarity to certain sections of the Code and to make some minor adjustments that do not
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217
involve a change in how we have operated. These just clarify some confusing sections. Lastly, we added a
statement of findings and purpose.
The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the proposed modifications, except for
the number of temporary signs.
If you have any questions, please contact Paul Castro, Zoning Administrator, at 227-6406.
TOWN ATTORNEY REVIEW
Ordinance No. 31-2015 was approved by Town Attorneys John C. Randolph and Margaret L. Cooper for
legal form and sufficiency.
Attachments
cc:
Veronica Close, Asst. Director Planning, Zoning and Building
Paul Castro, Zoning Administrator
zf
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2
218
ORDINANCE NO. 31-2015
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PALM BEACH, PALM
BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES AT
CHAPTER 134, ZONING; ARTICLE I, IN GENERAL; SECTION 134-2, DEFINITIONS AND
RULES OF CONSTRUCTION, SO AS TO AMEND THE DEFINITIONS OF SIGN
INSTITUTIONAL, SIGN MENU AND SIGN OFFICIAL TRAFFIC; FURTHER AMENDING
CHAPTER 134, AT ARTICLE XI, SIGNS, SO AS TO AMEND AND RESTATE ARTICLE XI
IN ITS ENTIRETY AS SET FORTH IN EXHIBIT "A" ATTACHED HERETO; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT;
PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PALM BEACH, PALM
BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
The Code of Ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach is hereby amended at
Section 1.
Chapter 134, Zoning; Article I, in General; Section 134-2, Definitions and Rules of Construction,
to amend the following definitions to read as follows:
Sec. 134-2.
Definitions and Rules of Construction.
Sign, institutional means a sign for building identification of schools, colleges, elu1rehes,
saH:iteria museums, libraries, houses of worship, or other institutions of a similar public or
semipublic nature.
Sign, menu means a restaurant or take-out food establishment wall, or pedestal er wiaElew
mounted sign which identifies the menu and prices within said establishment.
Sign, official traffic means a sign placed or erected by a municipal, county, state,_Q[
federal governmental agency as a regulatory, aid-to-traffic or informational sign, in connection
with control of vehicular or pedestrian traffic over a bridge, roadway, pathway or sidewalk.
Section 2.
The Code of Ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach is hereby amended Chapter
134, Zoning; Article Xl, Signs, so as to amend and restate said Article Xl in its entirety as set
forth in Exhibit "A" attached hereto.
Section 3.
Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect the other provisions or applications of this Ordinance which can be given effect
without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance
are hereby declared severable.
Section 4.
Repeal of Ordinances in Conflict.
All other ordinances of the Town of Palm Beach, Florida, or parts thereof which conflict with
this or any part of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 1 of17
219
Section 5.
Codification.
This Ordinance shall be codified and made a part of the official Code of Ordinances of the Town
of Palm Beach.
Section 6.
Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its passage and approval, as provided by law.
PASSED AND ADOPTED in a regular, adjourned session of the Town Council of the Town of
Palm Beach on first reading this _ _ day of
, 2016, and for second and final
reading on this _ _ day of
, 2016.
Gail L. Coniglio, Mayor
Michael J. Pucillo, Town Council President
Richard M. Kleid, Council President Pro Tern
Danielle H. Moore, Town Council Member
ATTEST:
Penelope D. Townsend, Town Council Member
Susan A. Owens, MMC, Town Clerk
Robert N. Wildrick, Town Council Member
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 2 of17
220
EXHIBIT "A" TO ORDINANCE NO. 31-2015
CHAPTER 134 ZONING
ARTICLE XI. - SIGNS
DIVISION 1. - GENERALLY
Sec. 134-2371. - Statement of findings and purpose.
The Town Council has found that Palm Beach is internationally known and has become a
worldwide synonym for beauty, gualitv and value and that a proliferation of signs without
regulations as to size, location and material detracts from such beauty, can become a visual
blight. Signs, particularly if placed in rights-of-way, can create distractions for drivers impacting
the safety and welfare of pedestrians and drivers and further create an aesthetically unpleasant
atmosphere.
The Town Council has found that the Town's Code of Ordinances is reguired to regulate
signs as provided by Section 163.3202(2)fD. Florida Statutes. The Town Council does not wish
to censor speech but does wish to provide for the public welfare by regulating signage in the
Town in a manner that enhances the aesthetics of the community, reduces visual pollution,
provides clear information and minimizes distractions to drivers in the interest of traffic safety.
The Town deems the following standards to be the least restrictive measures on free
speech necessary to advance the Town's interest in aesthetic appeal and traffic safety. This
ordinance serves a significant government interest, is unrelated to the suppression of free
expression, and leaves open ample alternative channels of communication by adopting
reasonable and appropriate time, place and manner regulations.
Sec.
134-2371~.
- Compliancei FeqeiFed substitution, and severability.
(1)
Compliance. Signs may be erected and maintained only as authorized and when
in compliance with the provisions of this article and other applicable Town ordinances. All signs
are subject to the Florida Building Code and Fire Prevention Code. Signs that are not
specifically permitted by this division are prohibited.
(2)
Substitution of noncommercial for commercial messages. Notwithstanding any
provision in this division to the contrary, to the extent that any permitted sign could be construed
as a sign containing commercial message, a noncommercial sign shall be permitted to the same
extent. The noncommercial message may occupy the entire sign area, or any portion thereof. and
may substitute for or be combined with any commercial message. The sign message may be
changed as freguently as desired by the sign's owner. provided it is not a prohibited sign and
continues to comply with the reguirements of this division.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 3 of17
221
(3)
Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence,
clause, phrase, or word of this division is declared or held invalid or unconstitutional by any
court of competent jurisdiction, such declaration shall be deemed separate, distinct, and
independent, and shall not affect the validity of any other part. section, subsection. sentence.
phrase, clause term, or word. Severability shall be applied to the sign regulations in this division
even if the result would be to allow less speech in the Town. whether by subjecting currently
exempt signs to permitting or by some other means. The Town specifically intends that
severability shall be applied so that any prohibited sign shall continue to be prohibited
irrespective of whether another sign prohibition is declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Sec. 134-2371,J. - General regulations and definitions applicable to permitted signs.
Under this ehaptefarticle, the following shall apply to all permittee signs:
(1)
Signs ami/er letteri0g,ofall types addressed herein are defined in Section 134-2 of
this code. All s.igm_ visible from a public or private roadway and/or sidewalk shall be classified
as signs regardless of whether they are freestanding or attached or painted to or on or in the
principal building they are accessory to.
(2)
"Commercial message" means any lettering, wording, reading matter, illustration,
logo, logogram, symbol, emblem, insignia. trademark, symbol, poster, picture, character or other
representation with or without letters or numerals that directly or indirectly names. advertises or
calls attention to a business product or business service (whether for profit or not for profit) or
other commercial activity. including fund raising for not for profit or charitable entities.
(3)
message.
''Non-commercial message" means any message that is not a commercial
Gl__In all cases, signs shall be constructed of durable materials, maintained in good
condition, and not allowed to become dilapidated.
(2~)
No sign other than an official traffic sign erected by the Town. Palm Beach
County. the State of Florida. the United States government and/or any agency thereof shall be
erected within the right-of-way lines of any street or public way, nor shall any sign or banner be
hung on, from, or beneath any canopy. awning or marquee.
(~)
All signs, except nameplates and identification signs for single-family dwellings,
as set ferth iR seetieR 134 2402 shall have the name of the manufacturer or producer in small but
legible letters.
(47)
Provided that such signs are otherwise in compliance with this article, A~ permit
and review by the architectural review commission process or landmarks preservation
comm1ss10n process (if applicable) shall not be required for the erection, alteration, or
maintenance of the following types oftemoorarv er aermaAeRt signs:
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 4 of 17
222
{fil
Ramefllates, and ideRtifieatioR, of sale or reRtal sigRs and street
family dwelliRgs, fleffRitted iR an R distriet;
R~erals
for siRgle
(ae) identification of sale or rental signs for single family dwellings, two family dwellings and
multi-family dwellings permitted in R or commercial districts;
~-er-fer
temporary political signs or other temporary noncommercial signs in R or
commercial districts;
(ca)
development signs;
(de)
artisan signs;
(ef)
menu signs in commercial districts; or
(fg)
temporary display signs in commercial districts.
(~~)
A permit and review by the architectural review comm1ss1on process for
architectural and aesthetic review, or landmarks preservation commission rocess (if applicable),
shall be required for the erection, alteration, reconstruction, painting or producing by artificial
light of any other sign within the Town.
(6.2) No sign shall be permitted within any district for any purpose which is flashing or
which has any animation or movement associated with it.
___(710) No sign, including numerals, lettering, illustrations, logos or characters, shall be
painted or installed on any awning visible from public or private streets.
QlL_In residential districts, no lettering, illustrations, logos or characters visible from
public or private streets shall be painted on or attached to any structure except as otherwise
provided in division 2 of this article.
(812) No banner signs of any kind, including but not limited to those produced on cloth,
paper or fabric, shall be permitted. This section shall not prohibit the display of flags. Flags shall
be defined as "a piece of fabric or other flexible material solely containing distinctive colors,
patterns, standards, words or emblems that convey a non-commercial message or symbol of a
non-commercial organization or entity including, but not limited to, political jurisdictions such as
the United States of America." Portable, removable flags, as permitted herein, shall be limited to
three per property and shall be no larger than the maximum dimensions permitted under
st:1eseetioR e this section . Flags of a size larger than those which may be accommodated on a
flagpole of a height which exceeds 40 percent above the building height limit of the zoning
district in which it is located may be allowed on properties of five acres or greater in size
pursuant to a special exception provided the location of the flag shall be on a flagpole set back at
least 120 feet from any lot line and provided further that no flag or banner shall be in excess of
216 square feet.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 5 of17
223
a.
Fer p1:1rpeses ef this seetieR, "eeFRfflereial message" means aRY werdiftg, lege,
!ry'mbel, emblem er ether represefttatieft with er withe1:1t letters that direetly er ifldireetly RaFRes,
ad'iertises er sails attefttieR tea b1:1siRess, pred1:1et, sep,·iee er ether eemmereial aeti'>·ity.
b.
Fer the pl:!Ffleses ef this seetieR, "fteft eemmereial message" meafts aRy message
that is Ret a eeFRfflereial message.
&.---The maximum dimensions of any flag permitted under this section shall be
proportional to the flagpole height according to the following limitations:
I
'!Pole Height (ft.)
ilJp to 25 ft.
j25 to 30 ft.
30 to 35 ft.
35 to 40 ft.
40 to 50 ft.
,50 to 60 ft.
1
70 ft.
!Maximum Flag Size (sq. ft.)
~4
sq. ft.
140 sq. ft.
148 sq. ft.
~o
sq. ft.
sq. ft.
150 sq. ft.
~16 sq. ft.
~6
For flag sizes or flagpole heights not found in the foregoing chart, the hoist side of the flag shall
not exceed 20 percent of the vertical height of the flagpole. Further, flag dimensions as specified
in this section shall not exceed a ratio in height to width of two to one or one to two.
(913) Strip lighting of any nature, including neon tubing, fluorescent lights, or other
similar strip lighting devices, shall not be used to outline any building, fence, wall or any other
structure. In addition, strobe or flash lighting and/or neon lighting which draws attention to a
tenant space, building or structure is not permitted. Any lighted or illuminated sign shall not be
permitted or erected until such illuminated sign has been approved as a special exception use in
conformity with sections 14-227 through section 134-233, except that this shall not apply to lowlevel illuminated sign, less than 30 inches in height, indicating only the street number and
location of entrance and exist drives of a parking area.
(.Wl4) No sign shall be permitted on any premises, improved or unimproved, except as
relating to that property and as permitted by division 2 or 3 of this article or as otherwise allowed
in this code.
(l-1-U) Supporting structures for any sign shall not be included in determining the square
foot area of the sign, provided that such supporting structure shall not exceed the maximum
allowable sign area and shall not carry any lettering.
DIVISION 2. - RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 6 of17
224
Sec. 134-2401. - Scope of division.
The following types of nonadvertising or noncommercial signs of a stationary and
permanent or temporary nature in this division are permitted in all residential districts.
Sec. 134-2402. - Nameplates and identification signs.
(il___Uaaer this aiYisiea, s~igns indicating the name or address of the occupant or
designating an access drive to the property may be permitted in conjunction with a single-family
dwelling, provided that they shall not be larger than one square foot in area. Only two such signs
per lot or main building shall be permitted.
(2)
For multifamily dwellings and buildings other than single-family dwellings, an
entrance and/or exit sign as an aid to traffic designating access drives between the private
property and the public street may be permitted, provided that each sign shall be located on
privately owned property and each sign shall be no larger than one square foot in area and not
extending over 30 inches in height above the yard ground level. Additionally, for multifamily
dwellings and buildings other than single-family dwellings, a single yard identification sign not
exceeding six square feet in area or exceeding six feet in height above the lot grade or closer than
ten feet to the front or street side lot line and indicating only the name and address of the
building and the name of the management may be displayed in the yard area, provided that on a
comer or through lot two such signs (one facing each street) shall be permitted. In addition to the
permitted yard signs, one sign for each street frontage may be installed flat against the main wall
of the building, each such sign not exceeding 20 square feet in area. Aeere¥al mt1st be ebtaiaed
frem the arehiteerural review eemmissiea aad laadmarks ereservatiea eemmissiea (if
aeel ieablet
Sec. 134-2403. - Sale or r ental signs in R-AA, R-A and R-B districts.
Signs pertaining to the sale, lease or rental of property or buildings shall be permitted in
single-family dwelling R-AA, R-A and R-B residential districts, subject to the following
conditions and restrictions:
(1)
The sign shall read either "open," "for rent," or "for sale," and may include the
name of the persons affecting the sale or rental and the telephone number of the owner or agent
relative to the premises upon which the sign is located.
(2)
The face surface of such sign shall not be larger than 40 square inches.
(3)
The supporting member shall be installed into the ground to provide that the top
of the face of such sign shall not be more than four feet above the finished grade of the ground.
(4)
All such signs shall be lettered professionally, but such signs shall not be required
to be submitted to the Town's architectural commission for approval and no permit shall be
required for the installation or erection of such signs. Color of the signs shall be a white
background with black, block letters thereon.
Ordinance No. 31 -2015
Page 7 of 17
225
(5)
Only one such sign shall be permitted on any one premises. Where the property
abuts a waterway or golf course, no signs may be placed or erected to be visible from such
waterway or golf course.
(6)
Such sign shall not be erected or placed closer than five feet to the front property
line, and such sign may be placed parallel or perpendicular to the front property line. Signs must
be placed only upon the property being offered for sale or lease.
(7)
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the same
wording from being on both the front and back of the sign.
(8)
Where such sign is suspended from an arm of the support, such arm shall not
exceed a length of 16 inches.
(9)
All such signs shall be erected on a temporary basis.
(10) Such signs shall be kept in good repair and shall not be illuminated or constructed
of a reflective material and shall not contain any flags, streamers, moveable items or like devices.
(11) Any such sign shall be removed within five days from the date a binding
agreement is entered into for the sale, lease or rental of the property or immediately upon the
removal of the property from the market, whichever occurs first.
(12) Any Town enforcement officer may cause to be removed any such sign not
conforming with this section.
Sec. 134-2404. - Sale or rental signs in R-C, R-D(l), R-D(2) and PUD districts.
In the R-C, R-D(l), R-D(2) and PUD zoning districts, signs advertising the sale or rental
of the premises upon which they are erected by the owner or broker or any other person
interested in the sale or rental of such premises, and signs bearing the word "sold" or "rented"
with the name of the persons affecting the sale or rental may be erected or maintained, provided:
( 1)
The size of any such sign is not in excess of two square feet;
(2)
Not more than one sign is placed upon any property unless such property fronts
upon more than one street, in which event two signs may be erected, one on each frontage; and
(3)
Such sign shall be removed within one week after the premises have been sold or
rented.
Sec. 134-2405. - Institutional signs.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 8 of 17
226
Institutional S~igns etidentifying schools, colleges, elu1rehes, saHateria,houses of
worship, libraries, museums or other institutions of a similar public or semipublic nature may be
erected and maintained, provided:
(1)
The size of any such sign is not in excess of six square feet; and
- - -(2)
Not more than one such sign is placed on a property unless such property fronts
upon more than one street, in which event two such signs may be erected, one on each frontage.
(3)
Appreval ffil:ISt ee eetaiHee frem the arehiteetl:ll'al re•,'iew 60ffiffiissieA aHe
lai:it:lfAarks preseP>'atieH eemmissieH (if applieaele).
Sec. 134-2406. - Development signs in R-AA, R-A and R-B districts.
In R-AA, R-A and R-B zoning districts, signs advertising the sale or development of the
premises upon which they are erected, when erected in connection with the development of
single-family dwelling premises by a builder, contractor, developer or other persons interested in
such sale or development, may be erected and maintained, provided:
(1)
No sign shall be erected until a building permit for construction on the site has
been issued by the Town. The sign shall indicate only the name and telephone number of the
builder, contractor or developer.
(2)
The size of any sign is not in excess of 40 square inches. Color of the sign shall be
a white background with black, block letters thereon.
(3)
No more than one sign is placed upon any property unless such property fronts
upon more than one street, in which event one such sign may be erected on each frontage.
(4)
Any such sign shall be removed by the developer, builder or contractor within
three days of the completion or abandonment of the project.
(5)
No sign shall be placed closer than five feet to the front or street side lot line.
(6)
The supporting member shall be installed into the ground to provide that the top
of the face of such sign shall not be more than four feet above the finished grade of the ground.
(7)
All such signs shall be lettered professionally, but such signs shall not be required
to be submitted to the Town's architectural commission for approval, and no permit shall be
required for the installation or erection of such signs.
(8)
Where the property abuts a waterway or golf course, no signs may be placed or
erected to be visible from such waterway or golf course.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 9 of17
227
(9)
Such sign may be so erected or placed that its center is parallel or perpendicular to
the front property line.
(10) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the same
wording from being on both the front and back of sign.
(11)
Where such sign is suspended from an arm of the support, such arm shall not
exceed a length of 16 inches.
(12)
All such signs shall be erected on a temporary basis.
(13)
Such sign shall be kept in good repair and shall not be illuminated or constructed
of a reflective material and shall not contain any flags, streamers, moveable items or like devices.
(14) Any Town enforcement officer may cause to be removed any such sign not
conforming with this section.
Sec. 134-2407. - Development signs in R-C, R-D(l ), R-D(2) and PUD districts.
In R-C, R-D(l), R-D(2) and PUD zoning districts, signs advertising the sale or
development of the premises upon which they are erected, when erected in connection with the
development of the premises by a builder, contractor, developer, or other persons interested in
such sale or development, may be erected and maintained, provided:
(1)
No sign shall be erected until a building permit for construction on the sign has
been issued by the Town.
(2)
The size of any sign is not in excess of 20 square feet.
(3)
No more than one sign is placed upon any property unless such property fronts
upon more than one street, in which event one such sign may be erected on each frontage.
(4)
Any such sign shall be removed by the developer within 15 days of the
completion or abandonment of the project.
(5)
No sign shall be placed closer than ten feet to the front or street side lot line.
Sec. 134-2408. -Artisan 's signs
Signs of mechanics, painters, and other artisans may be erected and maintained during
the period such persons are performing work on the premises on which such signs are erected,
provided:
(1)
Only one sign for each artisan is displayed.
(2)
The size thereof is not in excess of six square feet.
Ordinance No. 31 -2015
Page 10 of 17
228
(3)
No sign shall be closer than ten feet to the front or street side lot line.
(4)
Such signs are removed within one week after completion or abandonment of the
(5)
Artisans' signs shall not be permitted in R-AA, R-A and R-B districts.
work.
Sec. 134-2409. - Temporary political signs peFtaieieg te speeifie eleetiees and temporary
noncommercial signs.
Temporary Ppolitical signs pertaining to specific elections urging the election or
opposition of any candidate seeking any political office or urging the passage or defeat of any
ballot measure and other temporary noncommercial signs endorsing. objecting or otherwise
relating to a particular issue or communicating a noncommercial message or idea are permitted
subject to the following restrictions:
(1)
Maximum size: No sign shall exceed a maximum of four square feet in area and
shall be limited to two sides only. There shall be no triangular or multi-sided signs allowed.
_ _(2)
Maximum number:
(a)
For political signs. Nnot more than one sign per candidate or ballot measure shall be
placed upon any property.
(b)
For other temporary noncommercial signs. not more than one sign per issue, idea or
message shall be placed upon any property.
(c)
Altogether there shall be no more than two temporary two sided signs on any one
property. However, more than one message may be placed on any one side of a sign.
(3)
Location: Only on lots where the property owner has given permission. The
placing of temporary politieal signs anywhere on public property is prohibited. Temporary
politieal signs located on public property shall be deemed to be public property and shall be
summarily removed by the Town.
(4)
Minimum setbacks: From lot line of another: Ten feet. From the front property
line or from a street: Five feet.
(5)
_ _(6)
Maximum height: Four feet, including supports for the sign.
Time limit:
(a)
Political 8~igns permitted pursuant to this section shall not be placed prior to 30 days of
the election to which they are related and shall be removed within 48 hours after the day of the
final election to which they apply. In the case where there is a primary election, signs shall be
Ordinance No. 31-2015
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229
allowed 30 days prior to the primary election. This time limit also applies to candidates who do
not have an opponent in the primary. Signs may continue to be displayed between the primary
election and the final election.
(b)
Other temporary noncommercial signs permitted pursuant to this section shall be allowed
only during the times when temporary political signs are allowed.
(7)
Illegally placed: Temporary politieal signs shall be removed by the owner or
individual responsible for the illegal placement. In the event of failure to do so, the signs may be
removed by the Town.
DIVISION 3. - COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS
Sec. 134-2435.
Scope of division.
The following types of signs of a stationary and permanent or temporary nature are
permitted in commercial districtsL _______________ ____ _______________________ _ - -{ Formatted: Font:
Sec.
134-243~.
Not Bold
- Signs in vias and the entrances to vias.
For the purpose of article XI, division 3 of Chapter 134, via frontage of a business is
considered street frontage for regulating the size and number of business identification signs.
Building identification signs are not allowed in vias.
0He eusifless aif:eetory SigH faeiflg eaeh aireetiOfl of an efltfaflee to a via is pefffiittea.
Saia eusifless aireetory sigs: shall flOt ~teeea a maximWH of silt square feet ifl area. lfl aaaitiofl,
eaeh eusifless withifl a BUSifleSS aireetory SigH shall ee allowed Ofli)' Ofle iaeHtifieatiOR iifle Ofl the
aireetory SigH with flO logo. The letteriflg Ofl the BUSifleSS aif:eetory SigH shall flOt eJt6eea a height
Of Ofle ana Ofle <IUarter iflehes for the BUSifleSS aRa shall ee ifl the same foflt as the other BUSiReSS
iaeHtifieatiofl sigs:s Ofl the aireetory. The e1rneptiofl is that letteriflg OR the eusiRess aireetory sigs:
iaeHtifyiflg the Yia ana its aaaress shall flOt exeeea a height of three iflehes ana may ee of a
aiffereflt foflt thafl the BUSifleSSes ietteriflg OR Saia SigH.
IR aeaitiofl, Ofle eusifless aireetory sigs: iaeRtifyiHg the upper floor eusiHesses is
pefffl:ittea Ofl a multi story euilaiflg Nhere the stairs to the upper floor(s) iR the euilaiflg Opefl
OfltO a via. A eusiRess aireetory sigs: Ofl said euilaiflg shall flOt exeeea four square feet ifl area
aRa shall meet the same letteriflg requiremeRts as the eusiRess aireetory sigs: requiremeRtS for the
eHtraHees to a 11ia.
1
Sec. 134-24361. - Building identification and business identification signs!
(1)
Building Identification: One building identification sign (which must have the
word "building" in it) may be pro't·iaea placed on the front of each wall of a building which
fronts onto a street, provided the building identification sign is installed flat against such wall
and does not exceed 20 square feet in area.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
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230
(2)
Individual Business Identification_:__Aeeitieaally, ilndividual business
identification signs wffieft-are allowed for each ground floor business fronting on a street or via.
Each such sign shall not exceed 20 square feet in area and shall be installed flat against the street
or via front, street or via side wall. or street or via rear wall of a building or in a ground floor
window or door ere permittee fer eaeh lieeasee ln1siftess ia a lll:1ileiag ia aeeer0aaee with this
ai¥isioo. In addition, if a ground floor licensed business's parking and main entrance is on the
back or side of a building not fronting a street, said business shall be allowed one business
identification sign installed flat against the face of the building's wall where the business is
located. SaieNo business identification sign shall set-exceed 15 feet in height oor and shall not
be situated above the first floor ceiling of the building, whichever is lower.
(3)
Business Directory Sign for Building with a Via or Arcade: Business directorv
signs shall be allowed for buildings which contain or abut a via. One business directory sign
facing each direction of an entrance to a via is permitted. Said business directory sign shall not
exceed a maximum of six square feet in area. In addition. each business within a business
directory sign shall be allowed only one identification line on the directory sign with no logo.
The lettering on the business directory sign shall not exceed a height of one and one-quarter
inches for the business and shall be in the same font as the other business identification signs on
the directory. Except, however, lettering on the business directory sign identifying the via and its
address shall not exceed a height of three inches and may be of a different font than the
businesses lettering on said sign. Such sign shall be flat wall mounted.
In addition. one business directory sign identifying the upper floor businesses is
permitted on a multi-story building on the interior of a via where the stairs to the upper floor(s)
in the building open onto the via. A business directory sign for upper floor businesses on said
building shall not exceed four square feet in area and shall meet the same lettering requirements
as the business directory sign requirements for the entrances to a via. The business directory
sign shall only identify the names of the businesses in the via. The business directory sign may
also include the name of the via and the via address. The business directory sign shall be flat wall
mounted.
(4)
Individual Business Identification Signs Within a Via: A licensed business on the
first floor within a buileiag ereaee er via shall be allowed one hanging business identification
sign within the areaeevia and perpendicular to the building. lf-Ithe hanging sign is-within a via
saie siga shall be mounted on the wall of the building fronting the via. A hanging business
identification sign shall not be above the first floor of the building it is attached to, shall have a
minimum of eight feet of clearance, and shall be calculated as part of the maximum business
identification sign area allowed. In addition said hanging business identification sign~ shall have
only the name of the business~
(5)
Business identification signs and building identification signs --aAEl-shall require
either-architectural review commission erand landmark~ preservation commission approval(
whiehe.,•er is pertiaeatif applicable).
Sec.
134-24~.
- Size of sign.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
Page 13 of17
231
The gross surface area of all business identification signs on a building shall not exceed
the following schedule:
Building Street Frontage
m Building First Floor
Tenant Main Entrance
land Parking Frontage per
~round Floor Individual
usiness Sign Space
l( in feet)
!Less than 18
18 and over
Maximum Gross
Surface Area for
Business Identification Signs
(in feet)
10
20
Note: This permitted gross surface sign area per individual business may be in the form of one
sign or composed of a group of smaller signs that advertise any licensed individual business with
the building, provided their aggregate area does not exceed that area contained in the schedule.
The gross surface area of any signs on a building shall not, however, exceed 20 square feet. In
addition, any hanging sign, as allowed in section 134-24367, shall not exceed two square feet in
area.
Sec. 134-24382_. - Permitted lettering, logos.
Business identification 8~igns permitted under this division shall consist of lettering
which specifies only the name of the establishment as identified in the business tax receipt and
state registration, a logo as provided for below and/or the nature of the business. Logos shall be
allowed, provided that such logo will fit within a box no more than 12 inches square. Not more
than one such logo shall be permitted on the street frontage of each business establishment, and
the area of such logo shall be counted toward the maximum allowable gross area of sign.
Sec. 134-24™0. - LeeetieeWindow and door business identification signs.
Any individual business within a building shall be allowed business identification signs
in merchandise display area windows and/or entry doors on the first floor; however, such
window display and/or door signs shall count towards the allowable total sign area for individual
business in a building, as calculated under section 134-243.f._8_.
Sec. 134-2440!- - Height of signs.
(a)
No building identification sign shall be higher than the building on which it is
attached, nor shall any sign be located over or upon the roof of any building.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
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232
(b)
No individual business identification sign on a one-story building shall be located
higher than the building on which it is attached, nor shall any sign be located over or upon the
roof of any building.
(c)
Except for signs proposed on a facade of an existing building where the original
architecture predicated that they be located higher, no individual business identification sign on a
multistory building shall be located higher than the first floor elevation of the building or 15 feet,
whichever is lower.
Sec.
134-2441~.
- Residential uses.
Signs for residential uses located within a commercial district shall comply with division
2 of this article.
Sec. 134-24G J . - Sale or rental signs.
Signs advertising the sale or rental of the premises upon which they are erected shall
comply with sections 134-2403 and 134-2404.
Sec.
134-24~.
- Aid-to-traffic signs.
In addition to other sections of this division, 000advertisi0g noncommercial. aid-to-traffic
signs may be erected on private property designated access drives and parking areas, provided
that each such sign shall not be larger than two square feet in area. Only one sign shall be
permitted for each access drive serving a parking area.
Sec.
1 34-2444~,.
- Temporary display signs.
- - -In addition to other sections of this division, one temporary display sign to advertise a
special sale or event to occur on the premises, not to exceed two square feet in area for each 18
linear feet of building frontage for each licensed business, to aa·i'ertise a speeial e•,•e0t shall be
permitted in the merchandise display area of a store, during the period from April 1 to October
31 . No such temporary sign may be affixed or taped to windows or doors, but shall be placed on
a free standing device such as an easel. Such signs may not be erected earlier than 15 days prior
to the special event to which they are related and must be taken down within 24 hours after such
event. Not more than one sign per special sale or event shall be displayed at any one time.
Sec.
134-24~.
- Development signs.
In the C-TS, C-WA, C-OPI, C-PC and C-B zoning districts, signs advertising the sale or
development of the premises upon which they are erected, when erected in connection with the
development of the premises by a builder, contractor, developer, or other persons interested in
such sale or development, may be erected and maintained provided:
(1)
No sign shall be erected until a building permit for construction on the site has
been issued by the Town.
Ordinance No. 31-2015
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233
(2)
The size of any sign is not in excess of ten square feet.
(3)
No more than one sign is placed upon any property unless such property fronts
upon more than one street, in which event one such sign may be erected on each frontage.
(4)
Any such sign shall be removed by the developer within 15 days of the issuance
of a certificate of occupancy or abandonment of the project.
(5)
No sign shall be placed closer than five feet to the front or street side lot line.
Sec. 134-24467. - Temporary political signs perteieieg te speeifie eleetiee and temporary
noncommercial signs.
Temporary P11olitical signs urging the election or opposition of any candidate seeking any
political office or urging the passage or defeat of any ballot measure and other temporary
noncommercial signs endorsing, objecting or otherwise relating to a particular issue or
communicating a noncommercial message or idea are permitted subject to the following
restrictions:
(1)
Maximum size: No sign shall exceed a maximum of four square feet in area and
shall be limited to two sides only. There shall be no triangular or multi-sided signs allowed.
_ _(2)
Maximum number:
(a)
For political signs, Nnot more than one sign per candidate or ballot measure shall be
placed upon any property.
(b)
For other temporary noncommercial signs, not more than one sign per issue, idea or
message shall be placed upon any property.
(c)
Altogether there shall be no more than two temporary two sided signs on any one
property. However, more than one message may be placed on any one side of a sign.
(3)
Location: Only on lots or in stores where the property owner has given
permission. The placing of temporary f!Slitieal signs anywhere on public property is prohibited.
Temporary f!elitieal signs located on public property shall be deemed to be public property and
shall be summarily removed by the Town.
(4)
Minimum setbacks on lots: From lot line of another: Ten feet. From the front
property line or from a street: Five feet.
_
_ (5)
Maximum height: Four feet, including supports for the sign.
(6)
Store front locations: As an alternative to placing temporary signs on commercial
lots meeting minimum setbacks, temporary signs may be placed in the merchandise display area
Ordinance No. 31-2015
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234
windows on the first floor of zero lot line stores not capable of meeting setback criteria or in
cases where there are multiple tenants of a commercial plaza or building. The total temporary
signs allowed, including temporary display signs, shall not exceed two square feet in area for
each 18 linear feet of building frontage for each licensed business.
_ _(61)
Time limit:
(a)
Political S§igns permitted pursuant to this section shall not be placed prior to 30 days of
the election to which they are related and shall be removed within 48 hours after the day of the
election to which they apply. In the case where there is a primary election, signs shall be allowed
30 days prior to the primary election. This time limit also applies to candidates who do not have
an opponent in the primary. Signs may continue to be displayed between the primary election
and the final election.
Other temporary noncommercial signs permitted pursuant to this section shall be allowed
(b)
only during the times when temporary political signs are allowed.
(+~)
Illegally placed: Temporary political signs shall be removed by the owner or
individual responsible for the illegal placement. In the event of failure to do so, the signs may be
removed by the Town.
Sec.
134-24~.
- Menu signs.
One menu sign shall be allowed at the front entrance of a restaurant or merchant retail
take-out food establishment. Said menu sign shall not be further than four feet from the front
entrance of the restaurant or take-out food establishment nor exceed two square feet in area. In
addition, a pedestal menu sign shall not impede pedestrian movement.
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Ordinance No. 31-2015
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TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Town Council Meeting Development Review on: January 13,
2016
Section of Agenda
Any Other Matters
Agenda Title
Chez L' Epicier Restaurant, 288 South County Road, Consideration of
Town-Serving Documentation and Review of Valet Parking Operations,
Exception No. 22-2014
Presenter
John S. Page, Director of Planning, Zoning and Building
Supporting Documents
Memorandum dated December 18, 2015 from John S. Page
Letter dated December 18, 2015 from Marc Labossiere
236
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Information for Town Council Meeting on: January 13, 2016
__________________________________________________________
To:
Mayor and Town Council
Via:
Thomas G. Bradford, Town Manager
From: John S. Page, Director, Planning, Zoning & Building Department
Re:
Chez L’ Epicier Restaurant, 288 South County Road, Consideration of Town-Serving
Documentation and Review of Valet Parking Operations, Exception No. 22-2014
Date: December 18, 2015
______________________________________________________________________________
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council consider and make a determination regarding the
sufficiency of the Chez L’ Epicier Town-serving documentation. If acceptable, staff
recommends that the applicant be allowed to continue valet operations as they exist.
GENERAL INFORMATION
On October 15, 2014, the Town Council conditionally approved the subject zoning application
allowing Chez L’ Epicier Restaurant to operate at the above location. One of the conditions of
approval was that the applicant abide by all previous conditions of approval for restaurants at
that location. It was required that the applicant return six months after opening (August 2015) to
demonstrate that the business qualifies as Town-serving, and to also review valet parking
operations.
The applicant has provided the Town-serving information (see attachment). Staff recommends
that the Council consider the information and determine whether the business is Town-serving.
In regard to parking, Staff has discussed the valet parking operations with the Police Department
and has determined that there have been no negative impacts related the valet service or the
parking for the restaurant.
If you have any questions about this issue please contact Paul Castro, Zoning Administrator at
227-6406.
cc:
Jay Boodeshwar, Deputy Town Manager
Paul Castro, Zoning Administrator
Nicholas Caristo, Police Department
Susan A. Owens, Town Clerk
zf & pf
237
MARC LABOSSIERE PA
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
1222 NE 4TH AVENUE
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 33304
TEL: 954-763-4214
FAX: 954-863-8922
EMAIL: MA RC@ CPAMARC.COM
December 18, 2015
RECEIVED
DEC 1B 2015
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
PZB DEPT
Town of Palm Beach
360 S. County Road
Palm Beach, Florida 33480
Re: Chez L' epicier
To whom it may concern,
My client provided me with a listing from their reservation system. Based on this reservation system
they had 1,509 reservations from patrons. Out of these 1,509 reservations 1,006 where from patrons
that resides on the island of Palm Beach. Therefore 67% were residents of the island of Palm Beach
meeting the 50% town service requirement.
Sincerely,
Marc Labossiere
238