A plant nursery west of Boynton Beach could be rezoned as industrial, potentially leading to redevelopment.

Las Farms of the Palm Beaches LLC, managed by Lois and Andrew Soowal in Deerfield Beach, filed a land use amendment with Palm Beach County officials for the 6.95-acre site at 9437 S. State Road 7. It’s a few blocks north of Boynton Beach Boulevard.

The agricultural site at 9437 S. State Road 7, Palm Beach County, could be rezoned industrial.
(PALM BEACH COUNTY RECORDS)

It’s currently zoned “agricultural” and has a plant nursery with a 3,713-square-foot office building. The application calls for rezoning it to “industrial,” with only light industrial uses. Heavy manufacturing, uses that create lots of noise, operate 24/7 or use hazardous or toxic chemicals would not be permitted.

The application says the maximum amount of industrial space permitted under the new zoning would be 136,234 square feet. This would generate 964 daily vehicle trips, according to the developer’s traffic study.

The developer’s representative, Jennifer Morton of Palm Beach Gardens-based JMorton Planning & Landscape Architecture, said the new zoning would permit both industrial development and the business offering landscaping services, which are not permitted under the current agricultural zoning. The owner has not decided whether it will redevelop the property with industrial buildings in the near future, but that would be a possibility under the new zoning, she added.

There has been a spike in demand for industrial space in Palm Beach County, as vacancy rates have fallen and rents have increased. The site would probably be worth more with industrial buildings, depending on the tenants.

In the application, Las Farms noted that only 1,700 acres of the 22,000 acres designated for development in the county’s Agricultural Reserve have no development approvals. Over the past 20 years, the Ag Reserve has become a mostly residential area. The application says the industrial zoning would create more job opportunities for the area on one of the few remaining development sites left.

The land use application is expected to go before the Palm Beach County Commission in November. After a state review, it would require a second county commission vote at a later date.

Source: SFBJ