Following up from last Tuesday's (8/7) City Commission meeting...

During the discussion related to allowable heights and the Comprehensive Plan, much reference was made to Delray Beach and its height restrictions in the downtown area.  Commissioner Mulvehill reported that she was fresh from a meeting with Delray Beach's economic development staff person.  According to Commissioner Mulvehill, height in downtown Delray Beach is limited to four (4) stories and they seem to have no trouble attracting a hotel of four stories.  So, Lake Worth shouldn't have a problem either.

I am not sure about the last claim regarding the hotel, but this I do know about the height restrictions in Delray Beach.  If you turn to the section of their land development regulations related to the Central Business District, on page 8 you will find that building height there is limited to 48 feet.

HOWEVER, exceptions to this height restriction can be made by the City Commission through a "conditional use" process, similar to what is being proposed through our own draft land development regulations.

Here is the section on height in the Central Business District:

 In the Article 4.3 of the Delray Beach land development regulations, on pages through 67 through 70, the process is detailed how the City Commission can raise the height limitation to 60 feet in the downtown, along with other areas of the city.  Here are the pages where that process is discussed:

So, we can conclude that Delray Beach's current code can allow buildings in their downtown to go up to 60 feet and are not necessarily limited to four (4) stories.  And, instead of using Delray as a successful example of how a city can economically co-exist with a four story height limit, Delray is actually a better match to how Lake Worth would handle requests to go up to six (6) stories or 65 feet.

It seems that both Commissioners Mulvehill and McVoy failed to see that similarity last Tuesday night.  Alas, the half-truths keep flowing out of these pair of mouths.