WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — West Palm Beach commissioners voted 4-1 Monday to approve Mayor Keith James' appointment of a Related Ross executive to the Downtown Development Authority board, over more than an hour of opposition from residents affiliated with three neighborhood groups.
The lone dissent came from Commissioner Shalonda Warren, who said the appointment created a "perception of imbalance" on a seven-member board that would now include two people whose employers are tied to a single developer.
The vote came the same night Mayor Keith James announced he would pull the downtown master plan update from Wednesday's Downtown Action Committee agenda and stand up a resident-led working group to help shape it.
The DDA appointment
The commission confirmed Jordan Rathlev, executive vice president of development for Related Ross, to a three-year term expiring July 1, 2029. Related Ross is the West Palm Beach affiliate of Related Companies, chaired by Stephen Ross, and is the largest developer active in the city's downtown.
Residents told commissioners that Bernardo Neto, general manager of the Related-owned Ben Hotel, already sits on the seven-member DDA board. They said Rathlev's addition would give one company effectively two seats.
Fatima Fowler, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, said the objection was not about Related Ross specifically. "Our concern is not about Related Ross, it is about the concentration of the representation," Fowler said, adding that the DDA oversees millions of dollars in taxpayer revenue and shapes downtown planning decisions.
Mike Schmidt, a DNA board member, said the group had no objection to Rathlev personally. "It's wildly inappropriate on a city government panel to give any one company or one organization more than one voice on that board," Schmidt said.
Alfred Fields, president of the West Palm Beach NAACP, told commissioners two seats out of seven from one company was too much. "One company shouldn't have that much control," Fields said.
Not every speaker opposed the pick. John Rothberg, a downtown resident, said Related Ross is "the largest and most significant developer in West Palm Beach" and having development-community representation is appropriate. He suggested commissioners approve Rathlev but ask Neto to step down so a different hospitality voice could join the board.
Commissioner Christy Fox, who voted yes, said Rathlev has been her go-to contact for downtown issues in her district and would bring the city and Related closer together. "Jordan is not Related. He's one person that wants to help our community, and he's one person that's already helping our community," Fox said.
Commissioner Cathleen Ward also voted yes but said the DDA itself should build more specificity into its board composition through its bylaws. Warren said she believed Rathlev was qualified but could not support the appointment given the current board makeup and the level of resident concern.
Commission President Joseph Peduzzi said having an interest in DDA decisions does not automatically create a legal conflict of interest. "Just because you have an interest doesn't mean that there's a conflict," Peduzzi said.
City Attorney Kimberly Rothenburg told commissioners the DDA is a state-created body under the city charter and that removing a seated member requires cause such as neglect of duty or incompetence.
Commissioners also approved three other DDA appointments Monday: downtown resident and business owner Craig Glover, on a 4-1 vote; the reappointment of Daryl K. Houston, unanimously; and Kasia Marczyk, unanimously. All three terms run through July 1, 2029.
Downtown master plan pulled from Wednesday agenda
In his closing remarks, James told the audience the city would "not be rushing" the downtown master plan process and was pulling it from Wednesday's Downtown Action Committee meeting.
James said he met Monday with representatives from the Downtown Neighborhood Association and the West Palm Beach Residents Coalition, which together speak for more than 30 neighborhood associations, and had also reached out to Save West Palm Beach and Protect the Palm.
The mayor said his administration would develop a "resident-led engagement framework" giving residents direct access to planning staff, consultants, and technical resources during the master plan update. James assigned his chief of staff as the group's liaison.
"We hear you. We welcome your participation," James said. "Better conversations lead to better decisions, and better decisions build a stronger community."
Six-month pause on South Flagler development applications
Commissioners voted unanimously on first reading to approve Ordinance No. 5177-26, declaring a six-month "zoning in progress" for seven Multifamily High Density (MF32) properties on the South Flagler Drive corridor.
The pause bars new planned development applications for properties located south of Monroe Drive, north of Southern Boulevard, west of Flagler Drive and east of Washington Road. Affected addresses are 3701, 3611, 3901, 3907 and 3915 South Flagler Drive, and 3800 and 3906 Washington Road.
Assistant Development Services Director Angela Van said the city has retained the firm Zyscovich to conduct a zoning analysis, redevelopment testing and economic study, and to draft new zoning regulations for the corridor. The pause is set to expire Jan. 20, 2027, unless extended.
Commissioner Stephen Sylvester, who represents District 5 and championed the ordinance, said it responds to community concerns about overdevelopment. The action mirrors a 2025 overlay the commission adopted for the North Flagler MF32 corridor.
Former Commissioner Christina Lambert told the commission she began asking staff to look at South Flagler during her tenure after concerns emerged during the North Flagler overlay process. "The pressures we were responding to up north, however, were not just limited to the north end," Lambert said.
Amy Triggs, a Monroe Drive resident, urged commissioners to approve the pause and cited a Portofino property offer that residents said had climbed from $205 million to $295 million as evidence of development pressure. "Developers paying way, way above market price shouldn't come at a cost to the neighborhood," Triggs said.
Joeté Stanbo Keen, whose family represents six generations in the area, said "a six-month pause is not anti-development. It is pro-planning."
Second reading is scheduled for July 20.
Alton West Palm Beach annexation clears first reading
Commissioners voted unanimously on first reading to annex 8.54 acres at 5710 North Haverhill Road into the city, assign it a Multifamily future land use designation, and rezone it to Multifamily 32.
The site sits at the northeast corner of Haverhill Road and 45th Street and is currently developed with a 13,890-square-foot Palm Lake Baptist church campus built in 1964 and 1974. The applicant is The Kolter Group LLC, represented by Urban Design Studios. The proposed development is named Alton West Palm Beach.
The project would place 318 multifamily residential units in three six-story buildings, at a density of 37.2 units per acre. Under the city's Affordable and Workforce Housing Overlay, Kolter is required to provide 22 workforce housing units. According to the applicant's presentation, Kolter has committed to an additional 22 voluntary workforce units, for a total of 44, at a minimum 30-year affordability period.
The applicant is separately seeking a special site plan review and a 23% parking waiver, both of which return to the commission July 20 alongside the second reading of the annexation ordinances.
Water and sewer service to the annexed parcel will come from the city of Riviera Beach under an existing interlocal agreement, according to city planner Alex Hansen. Palm Beach County notified the city in October that it found no inconsistencies with Chapter 171 of the Florida Statutes, which governs annexations.
Commissioner Warren said she supported the project but wanted more information on the parking waiver before the July 20 vote. "A 23% reduction in parking does seem like a lot to me," Warren said, asking the applicant to return with data on vehicle ownership in the workforce-housing income brackets and a fallback plan if the developer's transit-subsidy assumptions do not hold.
Peduzzi, whose District 4 includes the site, said the project would expand housing options in an area that has seen little recent development.
Other actions
Commissioners approved on second reading Ordinance No. 5172-26, which restates and consolidates the city's public art program into a new Chapter 43 of the code, and Ordinance No. 5173-26, which clarifies townhome provisions in the Broadway Mixed-Use District and modifies the Currie Park height-bonus incentive in the Currie Mixed-Use District. Both passed unanimously.
The commission also approved the consent calendar unanimously, including a $700,000 appropriation for water main replacement along Alhambra Place, a $330,000 workers' compensation settlement in the James Rothgery matter (with the city's excess carrier obligated to reimburse the full $330,000, according to the agenda backup), a $21,638 Palm Beach County EMS grant for two automated medication dispensing cabinets, and a $75,287 state Library Services and Technology Act grant for the Mandel Public Library.
Public comment on homelessness
Shirley Bryant of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard returned to a concern she raised last month, telling commissioners that homeless activity near two churches and Westward Elementary School had continued despite increased enforcement. Bryant said she saw a naked man near her mother's home the day before the meeting and asked the city to install fencing at the nearby park and increase police visibility before schools reopen.
Fox said the city's homeless outreach coordinator, Leah Rockwell, had visited the park and found conditions worse than she had previously seen. Fox said fencing the park may not be feasible because it sits on a stormwater canal. James said overnight camping violates city ordinance and directed staff to address the encampment.
What happens next
The second reading of the South Flagler zoning-in-progress ordinance and the second reading of the Alton West Palm Beach annexation, land use amendment and rezoning ordinances are scheduled for July 20. The related site plan review and parking waiver for Alton West Palm Beach will be considered the same night.
The city administration is developing the framework for the new resident working group on the downtown master plan. A separate infrastructure workshop tied to the master plan is scheduled for Aug. 10 at 10 a.m., Fox said. A second community conversation on Evergreen Cemetery is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gaines Park Community Center, according to the mayor.
West Palm Beach continues to see new housing, commercial development, downtown investment, and redevelopment activity across key areas of the city. Read our West Palm Beach Government coverage for reporting on the decisions shaping the city’s future.
