Gainswave Therapy in The Acreage, FL

Palm Beach County's recent decision to ban semi-trucks from The Acreage should be overturned, according to a lawsuit filed in circuit court last month.

West Palm Beach lawyer Christopher Y. Mills represents Jorge Alfaro and Clare Dougal, two Acreage residents who park semis on their property. The lawsuit, filed April 12, accuses the county of seeking to attract white-collar residents into the region by slowly changing zoning ordinances to push out long-time blue-collar commercial residents such as Alfaro and Dougal.

The lawsuit accuses the county of practicing "rural gentrification." County Attorney Denise Coffman said the county's policy is to not comment on pending litigation.

Under the ordinance, anyone with a truck weighing more than 16,000 pounds will have to relocate the vehicle by July 1.

The Acreage, an unincorporated part of Palm Beach County, is a rural-residential area. County commissioners recently moved to limit semi-tractor trailers from being housed there after residents complained that the presence of the large trucks was threatening their lifestyles.

The Indian Trail Improvement District, which operates the road system in The Acreage, says its roads were never designed to accommodate such heavy vehicles and that it would have to spend millions of dollars every year if the semis were allowed. It had threatened to file its own lawsuit against the county if the zoning code was amended to allow for the storage of semis.

The lawsuit, though, argues that the ordinance adopted by the county is unfair to truckers. The lawsuit was expected. County Commissioner Sara Baxter, an advocate for the truckers, predicted that it would happen.

“The truckers are a vital part of our community, and I hope a judge can help interpret our confusing codes. In my opinion, our codes have allowed truckers to legally exist in The Acreage for decades and making them leave is equivalent to taking away their ability to support their families," Baxter said in a statement emailed to The Palm Beach Post.

"We should be finding ways to help make it more affordable for people to stay in their homes. Kicking truckers off their own property doesn’t solve the problem. It contributes to our affordability problems."

The lawsuit alleges that county commissioners caved into “public outcry” from residents who packed county commission meetings urging the board to ban the semis from The Acreage. The Acreage Landowners Association also argued that the road system was never designed to accommodate semi-tractor trailers and that their presence was incompatible with the existing zoning.

County commissioners said at public meetings they made accommodations by increasing the weight limit in 2008 to 12,500 pounds from 10,000, and on Feb. 22, they raised the weight limit to 16,000 pounds. But a majority of commissioners said they were unwilling to go any higher.

Lawsuit says Acreage truckers cannot afford to pay for parking at a commercial lot

Landscapers and most other vehicles for home-based businesses would not be impacted as they weigh, for the most part, under 16,000 pounds. Semi-tractors trailers, however, can weigh more than 80,000 pounds, so owners of those large vehicles would be impacted.

Alfaro, an interstate car carrier, and Clare Dougal, a transporter of sod and building materials, both own semis.

'An incredible need':County will at last get a parking lot for semi-tractor trailers

The lawsuit noted “a wave of code enforcement citations and fines” have already been issued to residents of The Acreage that park their commercial vehicles, including semi-trucks, on land adjacent to homes.” The lawsuit alleges that the new ordinance “effectively issues an eviction notice” to his clients.

Dougal told The Post that her family has been operating in The Acreage for 24 years. She has been fined $50 a day for more than four years. She said she hopes the lawsuit will allow her to continue to operate her business from her home.

Natalia Melian, another Acreage trucker, has been calling for an ordinance that would grandfather existing operators. She said Alfaro and Dougal's lawsuit will benefit the entire community of truckers should they prevail.

Palm Beach County faces a critical shortage of dedicated commercial vehicle parking lots, the lawsuit notes, adding that the drivers of these vehicles often have to wait hours before a spot becomes available or pay exorbitant monthly fees for a dedicated space.

The Post recently reported that Discount Truck Parking plans to soon open the county's first commercial parking lot for semis. The site is off Southern Boulevard near Florida's Turnpike.

The lawsuit says the option for Alfaro and Dougal is to either receive continued citations and fines from the county’s "rural gentrification" efforts or leave their land and livelihoods behind.

Alfaro, according to the lawsuit, bought his parcel in The Acreage because he required a residence that allowed him to park his semi-truck at home for the cost-savings benefits and the convenience of having a guaranteed place to park.

If Alfaro had to pay for a dedicated spot at a commercial lot, the payment would be so much that it would render his business unprofitable, the lawsuit states.

“The zoning ordinance change has also lowered his property value and rendered his property unusable for its intended purpose. Thus, Palm Beach County’s zoning ordinance has resulted in a taking of Mr. Alfaro’s property," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit makes similar arguments for Dougal’s parcel that was bought in 2002.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent the county from enforcing the new ordinance. If the ordinance stands, Palm Beach County should compensate Dougal and Alfaro for “removing their ability to park their commercial vehicles, including semi-trucks, on their property located in an agricultural residential area.”

Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.

At issue was whether the big rigs could operate in The Acreage without destroying the quality of life there. Truckers are expected to mount a legal challenge, noting they have been there for years.

Owners of large tractor-trailers in The Acreage have until July 1 to look for a new place to park their vehicles.

An ordinance adopted Thursday, Feb. 22, on final reading by the Palm Beach County Commission limits the weight of trucks to 16,000 pounds, an increase from the current limit of 12,500 pounds but still well under the 80,000 pounds of fully loaded tractor trailers. Even an unloaded trailer weighs more than 30,000 pounds.

Commissioner Mack Bernard called for the July 1 date to give a lawyer for two truckers time to file a lawsuit to challenge the ordinance. He noted that there has been considerable debate about whether the county can force truckers already there to leave. The lawsuit, should it be filed, will answer that question, he explained.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the new changes but Commissioner Sara Baxter received support from her colleagues to instruct county planners to determine whether something could be done to allow the truckers already there to stay. The proposals are expected to be before the commission some time in May.

Baxter had pushed for a special exception for The Acreage that would have allowed two 80,000-pound trucks on each lot. But once that failed, she called on staff to see if there was a way to grandfather the existing truckers. Commissioner Maria Marino said she would not support any change to the ordinance that would raise the weight limit above 16,000 pounds. And in a statement emailed to The Palm Beach Post, Commissioner Gregg Weiss said the trucks do not belong in residential areas.

County staff says the truckers were never allowed to park their semis in The Acreage but some of the truckers say they have been there for decades.

The backstory: Truckers vs. Acreage residents has been percolating

For more than a year, the issue has been hotly debated with truckers staging demonstrations outside the county administration building in West Palm Beach and filling the meeting room during public sessions demanding that they be allowed to stay. Their livelihood is at stake, they argued.

"We are asking you to allow us to work from our homes to feed our families," said one trucker Feb. 22. But residents — as well as the Indian Trail Improvement District (ITID) and the Acreage Landowners Association — strongly opposed any ordinance that would have allowed the big rigs to be parked in The Acreage.

ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson testified that the 436-mile unpaved road network in The Acreage would have to be paved. The cost would range between $1.4 billion to $2.4 billion, and that cost would have to be paid by ITID taxpayers. Roads would have to be elevated by as much as a foot and they would have to be made wider as well, he explained.

"It is wrong to assess this type of financial burden on all taxpayers that only benefit a small group," Hanson told county commissioners, noting the unpaved roads were never built to accommodate the large rigs.

The issue has become so contentious that Burgess and Board of Supervisors President Elizabeth Accomando both claim they were verbally accosted by truckers at public hearings for opposing the higher weight limits. Attendees at public meetings have been escorted out of the sessions by sheriff's deputies for being disruptive. Testimony Feb. 22 for and against the ordinance went on for several hours — and Mayor Maria Sachs warned that sheriff's deputies would escort anyone from the meeting who was disruptive.

County decision could face a legal challenge

West Palm Beach lawyer Christopher Mills, representing two truckers, warned the county that he would challenge the ordinance if it was adopted. He claims it illegally targets semi-tractor trailers and intrudes in an area that is under the control of the Florida Department of Transportation.

The county was looking at a lawsuit no matter what it did. A lawyer for the ITID said the agency was prepared to file a lawsuit if the semis were permitted to operate in the Acreage. For many residents, the presence of the large trucks, they say, is destroying their quality of life.

MORE:Could one word in an ordinance regulating truck parking cost Palm Beach County millions?

At 16,000 pounds, lawn care maintenance companies and other small business haulers will be able to continue to operate. Under the new ordinance, two commercial trucks could be parked on each lot but they must be under 16,000 pounds. The previous ordinance allowed for only one commercial truck.

Former firefighter: It's not safe for semis to be in The Acreage

Richard Vassalotti, a longtime resident of The Acreage and a retired fire rescue captain, testified Feb. 22 against allowing big rigs in The Acreage. He noted he did not appear on behalf of his former employer. Vassalotti also testified against the ordinance last month when the ordinance was considered on first reading.

"Why in the world would we want to make a bad situation worse?" he asked, noting that The Acreage has an accident rate much higher than the rest of the county. He said there have already been deadly accidents involving the big rigs. Even an unloaded one, he said, weighs 36,000 pounds, adding that they often carry dangerous cargo.

Even the critics of the higher weight limits agree there is a critical shortage of parking spaces for the semis. Many of them can be found parked along ramps of Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike. Weiss said county planners have been instructed to look at possible zoning changes that would make it easier for commercial truck parking lots to be built in Palm Beach County.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.

A developer could rezone 104.9 acres in the Acreage neighborhood of western Palm Beach County to build single-family homes.

Beverly Rawlings and George Rawlings of La Grange, Kentucky filed a privately initiated text amendment for Rawlings Estates with Palm Beach County. The vacant property is located on the west side of 180th Avenue North and at the dead end of Learwood Drive. It’s just northwest of Lion Country Safari.

Trending: FAT Village office, apartments break ground in Fort Lauderdale

According to the application, the property is under contract to Rawlings Estates LLC, managed by Yoni Bornstein of Wynwood Equity Partners in Miami and Eran Sharon and Kel Capital.

The property is currently zoned rural residential, which allows one home per 10 acres. The developer wants to change the zoning to low residential/one unit per acre. However, the developer would promise to build only 58 estate homes there by establishing it within a new category called the Rawlings Estates Overlay.

Boca Raton-based attorney Scott Backman, who represents the developer in the application, said access to the project would be from the east side of 180th Avenue. There would be a significant amount of open space, with more than 20 acres of preserve and a 9.5-acre lake.

West Palm Beach-based WGI is the planning firm on the application.

“The proposed overlay will allow for additional housing development on minimum one-acre lots on the site while matching and maintaining the low-density character of the surrounding area,” the developer stated in the application.

The developer noted in the application that the land to the east of the site has homes on one-acre lots, while the areas to the north and west of the site have homes on five-acre lots.

Read more: Wynwood offices targeted in $102M foreclosure

This application will require approval from the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The Acreage was originally developed to support workers on the nearby citrus groves with homes on one-acre lots. It has a population of more than 41,000. According to Realtor.com, the median listed home price in the Acreage is $696,761.

Sign up here for the Business Journal’s free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting South Florida. For more business intelligence, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.

Homebuilders in South Florida

June 2023 starts

View this list

(FDACS/TALLAHASSEE, FL/March 26, 2024) — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced the protection of over 8,000 acres of Florida agricultural land through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. With today’s approval by the Governor and Cabinet, approximately 8,349 acres of working agricultural lands will be preserved through cost-effective rural land protection easements totaling $25,296,000. Rural land protection easements prevent future development of the land and allow agriculture operations to continue to contribute to Florida’s economy and the production of food, timber, and other resources vital to the prosperity of Florida.

“Today’s approval to partner with Heart Bar Ranch and Rainey Pasture to preserve over 8,000 acres of productive agricultural land through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program is another huge win for the state of Florida,” said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “These rural land protection easements strengthen our food security though the protection of prime agricultural land, keep the protected property on the local tax rolls, and require every property owner to maintain the land and its natural resources according to state standards.”

Once finalized, these projects represent the 88^th and 89^th approved Rural and Family Lands Protection Program easements, with more than 120,000 acres preserved through the program.

Heart Bar Ranch

Heart Bar Ranch is a cattle, timber, wildlife management, and seed operation in Osceola County. The easement consists of approximately 3,080 acres of native or semi-native habitat for wildlife, much of which also supports cattle grazing. Pine flatwoods, forested wetlands, and herbaceous wetlands are the primary habitat types. Over 4 miles of Camp Lonesome Creek traverses the project before flowing into Canoe Creek, which has a mile of frontage. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS’ Best Management Practices program and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Rainey Pasture

Rainey Pasture is a timber operation in Marion County. The easement consists of approximately 5,269 acres, is in the Silver Springs Watershed, is situated along the western floodplain of the Ocklawaha River, and provides several miles of river protection. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS’ Best Management Practices program and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Established in 2001 with the passage of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act, the program recognizes that working agricultural lands are essential to Florida’s economic future. Agricultural lands are being increasingly threatened by urban development. To counter this trend, the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program partners with farmers and ranchers to ensure sustainable production practices while protecting natural resources.

During the 2024 Legislative Session, Commissioner Simpson helped to secure from the Florida Legislature $100 million for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and another $100 million each fiscal year, appropriated in SB 1638, to support the Florida Wildlife Corridor, including the acquisition of conservation easements under the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.

Commissioner Simpson recently highlighted the historic interest in the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and the results of the 2023 application cycle. Landowners from over 180 properties – representing over 200,000 acres – submitted new applications to be considered for funding. In December 2023, the Governor and Cabinet formally approved the program’s project acquisition list [ ], which ranks over 250 eligible properties for acquisition, estimated at over $1 billion in value.

Commissioner Simpson has been involved in Florida’s land conservation policy issues long before becoming Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture. As Senate President, Commissioner Simpson championed the successful passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, which directed the state of Florida to better protect and connect Florida’s natural areas and wildlife habitats and to preserve working agricultural lands from future development. As Senate President, Commissioner Simpson also secured $300 million for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.

A story map of all completed Rural and Family Lands Protection Program projects can be viewed here: FDACS.gov/RFLPPMap.

For more information about Commissioner Simpson and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit FDACS.gov.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County commissioners have approved a land-swap usage proposal that will allow GL Homes to build 1,000 luxury homes on 682 acres in the Agricultural Reserve west of Boca Raton.

Commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of the deal Wednesday.

In exchange, the builder would give up 1,600 acres in the Acreage and build a water resource project there.

As part of the project, GL Homes would build a $40 million, 277-unit workforce housing complex that will include apartments and for-sale homes, a 25-acre parcel for a county park, land for a synagogue, special-needs facility for seniors and the developmentally disabled, and 1,600 of the 5,000 acres for continued farming.

The project was approved despite the planners' recommendation to deny the change.

"Allowing dwelling units to be shifted from one geographic area of the county to another is a significant policy departure for the county, with significant repercussions for the county's managed growth tier system," the planner wrote. "These include the potential for subsequent amendment requests, not only from the (Western Communities Residential Overlay) but from any other location in the county."

The Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations, the Sierra Club and Save Agriculture Reserve for Agriculture also were against the land swap, the Palm Beach Post reported.

People who board horses at Sunshine Meadows, an equestrian facility, are opposed to the swap.

Commissioners opposing the decision were Maria Sachs, who serves the area West of Boca Raton, and Marci Woodward.

GL Homes already owns 5,000 acres of farmland in the area. It has been leasing Hundley Farms in an area called Hyder West parcel west of State Road 7. It was seeking a change in the land-use designation.

The area is west of State Road 7, north of Stonebridge Boulevard and south of Avenida Del Rio, with the Saturnia Isles subdivision to the northwest.

Created in 1980, the county enacted special zoning rules designed to limit development and preserve agriculture in the Agriculture Reserve, which covers 22,000 acres bordered by Hypoluxo Road and Clint Moore Road, with Florida's Turnpike on the east and the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge on the west.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.