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NP Splits on Sidewalk Issue (PBP) 10-13-65; NP meet hears complaints (PBP) 10-20-65Wednesda Oc201965 The Palm Beach Post ![Taft, ko/ ars B I y BILL TERRY tion. added, "It doesn't look like a Bureau Chief Paul Emond, of the recreation very prosperous village when NORTH PALM BEACH — Op- committee called Prosperity you see the Lighthouse Drive position is forming to a proposal Park an eyesore and asked for entrance on the east side of U. to permit construction of a closer cooperation between the S. 1." section of waterfront luxury council and the committee. Spence agreed with Blakely �homes without sidewalks. % - Tames Blakely, chairman of on lack of maintenance, but sail 98 This came out at Tuesday the beautification committee, he can't hire more public works night's village council workshop said the village has neglected employes to speed up maint& ,session which was devoted to (maintenance of landscaping in nance because of a tight bud, hearing complaints from threelparkways and elsewhere. He get. groups. Royal American Realty, a�� .1 1 The council decided to station police cars at the school cross- ing on U. S. 1 at Lighthouse Drive. Right before the intersec- tion, a speed of 55 miles an hour is permitted and motorists can- not see the school zone signs in time to slow down, it was brought out. The police cars �should be a deterrent, Watt 1 said. John D. MacArthur subsidiary, wednesday�j-7, n65 ne raim. wants permission to omit side- walks in a proposed $6 million development along Lake Worth l across from the village hall. A!orth PI(I Im Under local law, all homes �must have sidewalks unless the .council says otherwise. Tleac:li rose ts I George Geyer, representing! 'Yacht Club Point residents, said' 0 -M&OU 0 S --de Ik 141 they oppose the area without' wa ssue I sidewalks. Village Manager Frank R. Spence added a pet, ition expressing the same view lhas been received from another ,Part of the village. The council has yet to act on the sidewalk issue. An informal poll one week ago, with one councilman absent, revealed a! 2-2 split. Mayor Thomas Lewis andi Vice -Mayor Thomas Bell Nvere 1 absent last night and Council- man Herbert Watt conducted the session with Councilmen Al - Ian Eberard 'and Gordon Dun- can. Geyer presented a number of complaints and Spence said most would be corrected soon. Geyer said most of the lights at the entrance to Lighthouse Drive aren't working, trash is I being dumped on empty lots and I high weeds are creating a rat problem. He also said Lakeside Drive has become a speedway and, stop signs are needed, and that' street lights there are too bright; and erosion of empty lots along' the seawall is creating a sa.fety hazard for children. When Geyer said a traffic light was needed at U. S. I and Lighthouse Drive, Watt said one has been approved by the State Road Department and will be installed. The council also heard com- plaints from the village's -recrea- tion and beautification commit- tees and decided to work more closely with those groups. Watt!, will attend the next recreation committee meeting and Spence will sit in on the next beautifica- tion session. Roger Boyer, recreation com- mittee chairman, said a shelterl ,is badly needed at Prosperity� ,Park and his committee is will-, ing to help raise funds for one, iThe group is unhappy because the, recreation budget was cut to', $13,000, he said as he listed improvements he thinks should be made. Watt said all village depart- ments are operating under tight budgets, but that part of the $20,000 contingency fund proba- bly will be used for recrea- NORTH PALM BEACH —With one member absent, the village council Tuesday night split 2-2 on whether to permit a $6 mil- lion section of luxury waterfront homes to be built without side- walks. Royal American Realty, a John D. MacArthur company, wants permission to omit side- walks as is permitted in similar exclusive housing areas in Mia- mi and Fort Lauderdale. The village has an ordinance, that says all homes must have sidewalks. Two MacArthur men, Horace Miller and Michael Brennan, appeared before council and spoke in favor of building wi- thout sidewalks. Councilmen Herbert Watt and Allan Everard, during an infor- mal poll, said they favored going along with the developer. Mayor Thomas Lewis and Coun- cilman Gordon Duncan opposed granting a variance. Vice Mayor Thomas Bell was ab- sent. The village Plannin: and Zo- ning Advisory Board, less than a week ago, explored the ques- tion and said it felt 'there should be sidewalks. It said they would be in keeping with the rest of the village, that children would need them for play areas, and they would increase traffic safe- ty. The development is planned across from the Village Hall between U.S. 1 and Lake Worth, and would consist of 123 homes! on large lots. The average home price, in- cluding land, would be $,50,000,1 and Brennan said after the s.e(c-' tion is completed in two or three! years it would produce from $50,000 to $60,000 in new real estate taxes. Last year the land produced $7,520 in taxes. -A six-foot wall would separate the development from U.S. 1, there would be but one en- trance, and there would be no through streets, he added. As a safety measure, Brennan said, the developer would be willing to put in a wider street. He said the population density would be low. Miller said construction of the luxury homes would increase the tax valuation of the area from $750,000 to $61150)000. The development has been in the planning stage for 18 months, and Lewis called for an up-to-date plait. Miller said one would be subm. i tted. The council delayed action on a proposed ordinance w h i c h would permit higher business signs. The limit now is 20 feet, and the Standard Oil Co. wants to erect one higher than that at its station at Northlake Boule- vard, and Prosperity Road. The oil company wants a sign Nvhose supports would rise - 35 feet. The sign on top of the supports would be five feet, five inches high. The propoged ordi- nance was written for a total height of 35 teet,, The request was referred back to Wallace Carver, the building official, for a recommendation. Council also: Instructed Village Atty. Herbert Gildan to draft an ordi- nance which would establish a, new commercial zoning classiti-1 cation to encourage businessi development. & a . Heard that the Planning and Zoning Advisory Board is against a special zoning classifl- cation which would permit effl- clency apartments smaller than 660 square feet. Learned that several members of the Reer eation Ad- visory Board are discouraged with a cut in the recreation budget, and invited them to at- tend next Tuesday's meeting to go over the recreation pro- gram r-- Decided to meet at the same time with the Beautifica- tion Committee which feels council has taken little action on A9 recommendations. ' too Learned the unty engi- neer has requested a study oni the types of traffic lights thati will be needed at two intersec- tions with Improved Northlake Boulevard.