[EXPIRED] IMPORTANT – Bizarre Proposal to Partially Fill North Lake Worth, North Palm Beach, AICW Statute Mile 1014
Since the struggle for Florida anchoring rights began in the 1990’s, I have personally witnessed and been involved with some truly bizarre attempts to run anchored vessels out of city and county waters, BUT this action by the COUNTY of Palm Beach, must take the proverbial cake. As you will read below, Palm Beach County is proposing to FILL IN A GOODLY PORTION OF THE POPULAR ANCHORAGE AND MOORING FIELD IN NORTH LAKE WORTH, and plant sea grass in the newly raised bottom strata. The resulting depths once such a project is completed are in dispute. Some say it would be 6 feet, and others say 3 1/2 to 4 feet. Whatever the depths, you cannot anchor or set moorings in sea grass beds. The final results would be that a major portion of North Lake Worth would become inaccessible to the cruising community!
And, if that is not bizarre enough, Palm Beach County has apparently formulated these proposals with no reference to the adjacent village of North Palm Beach. As you will see from the strong letter, copied below, from North Palm Beach Mayor, Darryl C. Aubrey, and other members of the town council, they were not informed, nor consulted in this matter.
The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net first heard about this consternating matter some ten days ago from Captain Sue Morgan, Marketing Director for SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Old Port Cove Holdings. She also sent along the map reproduced below! Since that time, the SSECN has been working hard to understand this dismaying proposal, and the material below is the result.
And, yes, I know this is lengthy, BUT we have decided to post this article on our Home Page for maximum visibility!
Stay tuned!
Hi Claiborne,
I thought you would like to see the attached Public Notice regarding a proposed project which impacts those who use the very popular anchorage at the end of Lake Worth.
Best Regards,
Sue Morgan, Marketing Director
OLD PORT COVE HOLDINGS, INC. MARINAS
Subject: Potential USCOE partial filling of North Lake Worth from c. 15′ to 6′ at Palm Beach County request to provide grass habitat.
Claiborne,
There is a move afoot by Palm Beach County interests to fill the north Lake Worth with sand to bring its’ level from about 15′ to 6′ to provide a habitat for some grasses. This is an area constantly used by North and South bound ICW cruisers. It is a well known layover for wx windox waiting, provisioning and staging for the Bahamas-bound. It is just off the Old port Cove marinas, popular spots for fueling and just hanging out. The request for this project, seemingly surreptitiously submitted, should it be granted, will impinge on its use. For more particulars, would you please contact His Honor,
Mr. Daryl Aubrey,
Mayor of North Palm Beach, Florida
and Commodore Greg Fightmaster, NPB Yacht Club
And this letter from Mayor Aubrey and the Village Council to the County Commissioners and others:
THE VILLAGE OF North Palm Beach
501 U.S. HIGHWAY 1’¢ NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33408 ‘¢ 561- 841-3355’¢ FAX 561- 881- 7469
VILLAGE COUNCIL
Darryl C. Aubrey, Sc. D., Mayor
David B. Norris, Vice Mayor
William L. Manuel, President Pro Tern
Robert A. Gebbia, Councilman
Edward M. Eissey, Ph. D., Councilman
VILLAGE MANAGER, Jimmy Knight
VILLAGE CLERK, Melissa Teal, CMC
February 27, 2012
The Honorable Shelley Vana, Chair
Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County
301 North Olive Avenue, Suite 1201
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
Re: Turtle Cove Restoration Project
Army Corps of Engineers Permit Application No. SAJ- 2012- 00131 ( IP-EGR)
Dear Chair Vana:
The Village of North Palm Beach has recently learned of a massive fill project involving the dumping of 640,000 cubic yards of sand within a portion of the Lake Worth Lagoon known as Turtle Cove. The project site is not only partly within the Village’ s municipal boundaries, but also is immediately adjacent to two established Village communities with marinas ( Old Port Cove and Twelve Oaks) and one proposed Village development with a marina( Water Club at North Palm Beach f/k/a Domani). The purpose of this correspondence is two- fold. First, the Village wishes to express its extreme disappointment and displeasure with the method in which it was notified of the project. While a project of such a large scale must have undergone months of planning, the Village did not learn of the project until immediately prior to the Army Corps’ issuance of a Public Notice on the permit application, giving affected parties only thirty days in which to submit their comments. The County’ s failure to include the Village in the planning process or to even notify the Village prior to submittal of the permit application violates all notions of intergovernmental cooperation and renders suspect the project’ s stated purpose, i. e., the enhancement of the aquatic environment through the creation of a seagrass habitat.
Second, as outlined in the Village’ s February 24, 2012 letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Village is vehemently opposed to a large-scale fill project that would potentially spoil a forty-two acre currently pristine portion of the Lake Worth Lagoon. Prior projects within the Lagoon have hampered, rather than enhanced, the aquatic environment, and the Village fears that this undertaking will be no different, but on an even larger scale. The Village believes that this massive fill operation will seriously impede navigation in the area by eliminating a long- established navigation channel and essentially pushing all vessels, including those currently located within the established mooring field, to the outskirts of the Lagoon. Additionally, the accumulation of silt would have disastrous consequences for Little Lake Worth and for the existing and proposed marinas in the immediate vicinity of the project site. Finally, the proposed fill operation could impair the riparian rights of owners of properties adjacent to both the Lagoon and Little Lake Worth, and a multi-year construction project will be detrimental to property values that have already seen massive declines in recent years.
Due to the County’ s failure to notify or solicit input from the Village or any other interested party, including the County’ s own constituents, until after the County filed its permit application, the Village strongly urges the County to rescind the pending permit application. Given the potential for disastrous consequences, the Village cannot comprehend the urgency to proceed with a project of this magnitude intended merely ” to enhance the aquatic environment” when there is no imminent threat to the public health, safety or welfare.
Sincerely,
The Village Council of the Village of North Palm Beach, Florida
Darryl C. Aubrey, Sc. D., Mayor
David B. Norris, Vice Mayor
William L. Manuel, President Pro Tern
Robert A. Gebbia, Councilman
Edward M. Eissey, Ph. D., Councilman
According to the public notice, linked above:
“Comments regarding the application should be submitted in writing to the District Engineer at the above address [DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT CORPS OF ENGINEERS, 4400 PGA BOULEVARD, SUITE 500, PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA 33410] within 30 days from the date of this notice.
“If you have any questions concerning this application, you may contact Eric Reusch at the letterhead address, by electronic mail at Eric.G.Reusch@usace.army.mil, or by telephone at 561-472-3529.
The decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact to the aquatic environment. This is based on an analysis of the applicant’s avoidance and minimization efforts for the project, as well as the compensatory mitigation propose.”
May I strongly suggest that we ALL MEMBERS OF THE CRUISING COMMUNITY EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO “COMMENT!”
Click Here To Read Cruising Community Reaction to the North Lake Worth Filling Proposal
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of North Lake Worth
Comments from Cruisers (2)