Developers Create County's 39th City: 'Westlake'

        In recent years, the development-oriented majority on the Palm Beach County Commission has routinely granted private land developers building variances, waivers, bait-and-switch land use swaps known as transfer development rights (TDR's), and even revised zoning rules to benefit their future projects.
        However, to one development company, Minto, the Commission's generosity apparently did not provide enough compensation for their desired profit margin. So to bypass county permitting and zoning regulations, Minto created and helped incorporate its own city - "Westlake".
        Two years ago, the County Commission approved their "Minto West" development of 4,500 homes built on a 3,800-acre tract of land located west of the Acreage. The project would include a commercial district of 2.1 million square feet.
        Minto wanted more - higher density, more housing units, and especially more control over its future land use. What better way to achieve this than to incorporate a "company town" with a friendly city council to approve zoning standards less restrictive than those imposed by county government.
        It so happens that Minto also is the primary land owner in the Seminole Improvement District which includes Westlake (formerly Minto West). Florida law allows special districts such as Seminole the option of incorporating into a town by a simple majority vote.
        So with the backing of Minto, and using a state-mandated fast track to urbanization, a vote was taken within the geographical boundaries of Westlake to create the 39th city in Palm Beach County. The vote was unanimous, 5-0, in favor of incorporation of Minto West (i.e. Westlake). Yes, only five residents voted and they all live on Minto property.
       The Supervisor of Elections canvassing board certified the vote June 20 and the municipality of Westlake was born. Westlake will have a council-manager form of government, and will be run by a "transitional" council of five until future elections are held.
        Two of the council members voted in favor of incorporation and are residents. The other three members of the transitional government don't live in Westlake. One council member has already resigned. Such is the nature of politics in Palm Beach County.
        One can only hope that the County Commission learned an important lesson about the avarice of land speculators and developers - but don't count on it. Green spaces and farms disappear, while new development projects multiply faster than concrete tombstones in a cemetery.*
        Westlake joins four other subdivisions planned near the Acreage area - Iota, Avenir, Arden and Indian Trails Grove. When (not if) approved, they will add more than 14,720 housing units. Currently, there are inadequate roads, schools, infrastructure and government services to meet this future growth.
        At its Sept.21 meeting, Palm Beach County School Board staff announced future Westlake and Arden students would have be bused to Binks Forest Elementary School in Wellington which is currently at 80 percent capacity. There is no funding budgeted to build a school in Westlake.
         The County Commission majority approved a land use change amendment Sept. 22 at its monthly Zoning Commission hearing for the Indian Trails Grove subdivision, and for the Iota project at the Oct. 26 transmittal hearing.*
        Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, an opponent of Westlake incorporation, warned that if the four additional subdivisions are approved, the Acreage area could face population growth equal to Boca Raton or Delray Beach.
         "Browardization" was at one time the keyword for uncontrolled growth. In Palm Beach County, it is now called "Westlake".
(c.) Davidsson.  *Updated Oct. 2016.

*NOTE: Additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.