By making the conservation land developable, the Bedners could make a huge profit if they sell the land to a developer.
Intervention in the agricultural reserve: development along Lyons Road
From Hypoluxo Road to Clint Moore Road, development can be seen along Lyons Road that threatens to alter the Palm Beach County Agricultural Reserve.
- County commissioners on Thursday approved a zoning change that will allow the construction of more than 200,000 square feet of warehouse space on conservation lands in the agricultural reserve west of Boynton Beach.
- The Bedners say they need the revenue the warehouses generate to operate.
- But county planner Bryce Van Horn said approving the application would represent a fundamental change to the agricultural reserve’s rules designed to protect agriculture and limit development.
Despite opposition from county planners who called it a “fundamental policy change,” county commissioners approved a zoning change that will allow the construction of more than 200,000 square feet of warehouses on conservation land in the agricultural preserve west of Boynton Beach.
The zoning changes were sought by the Bedner family, one of the county’s largest agricultural operations. The Bedners say they need the revenue the warehouses generate to keep operations going.
County planners, along with the Sierra Club and the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations (COBWRA), opposed the changes approved Thursday, Aug. 22. County planner Bryce Van Horn said approving the request would represent a fundamental change to the Ag Reserve’s rules designed to protect agriculture and limit development. He pointed out that the Bedners had already received special treatment in 2012 when the county allowed them to build an 800-square-foot grocery store in the Ag Reserve.
The Ag Reserve is a 22,000-acre area created in the 1980s to restrict development and protect agriculture.
The zoning changes made Thursday allow the Bedners to move a five-acre conservation easement onto their property, which includes a retail store, about two miles south of Boynton Beach Boulevard on State Road 7. The county created an “Agricultural Marketplace” designation for the Bedners, allowing them to replace the former produce stand with a retail building. However, the ordinance stated that conservation easements cannot be on the property where the store is built. That was changed Thursday.
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“We love the Bedners,” said Barbara Roth, president of COBWRA, “but this is asking too much,” noting that the warehouses will be very close to the Arthur Marshall National Wildlife Refuge. Dagmar Brahs, a former president of COBWRA, said the approval will open a Pandora’s box, asking, “Who’s next?”
Brahs and other critics pointed out that it was never expected that the Bedners would be able to move a preserved property onto the grocery store site.
Real estate agent Jim Knight supported the Bedners, pointing out that one farmer after another has left the region. The warehouses will help them stay in business, he said.
The result of the vote on the approval of the application was 5:1; District Mayor Maria Sachs voted against.
Bedners have often supported candidates in county commission elections
Over the years, the Bedners have frequently supported candidates involved in county commission elections. Financial reports show that since April 2022, Bedner-affiliated entities have donated at least $28,000 to four county commissioners: Sara Baxter (received $17,000); Maria Marino ($4,000); Gregg Weiss ($2,000) and Mack Bernard’s political action committee ($5,000).
The Bedners purchased the conservation land on July 30 for $500,000. Based on recent sales, the property is now worth more than $3 million because it is ready for development. It is still unclear whether the Bedners will build the warehouses or sell the land to a warehouse builder.
Dismantling of agricultural protected areas
In the Ag Reserve, west of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton, developers are generally only allowed to build on 40% of their developable area. They can exceed that number by keeping land in the Ag Reserve out of their development.
That’s what the owners of the All Seasons Congregate Living facility did when they built west of Delray Beach. They bought a 2-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Lee Road and State Road 7 and agreed to keep it non-developable in perpetuity. That’s the property purchased by the Bedners that was the subject of Thursday’s zoning change.
The protected site is directly north of the market building. County planners point out that the intent behind approving the Fresh Market facility was to support the adjacent, already existing agricultural operations. Approving the application for a new warehouse would undermine that goal, they say.
The request “creates a potential intensity that may have a negative impact on a majority of the adjacent properties. The proposed amendment provides another exception for a use that was already previously permitted (the Fresh Market building) and fails to further the Agricultural Reserve Tier’s existing goals and objectives to protect farmland and preserve agricultural land,” staff wrote in a memo to county commissioners.
Why Bedner Farm wants to build the warehouses on the property
In their letter to the county council, the Bedners say the warehouses are necessary to serve the growing population in the immediate area “and also to support agriculture around the site.” They also say they would create jobs and access would be via State Route 7, diverting traffic from local roads.
The document submitted to the county identifies Charles, Bruce, Stephen and Marie Bedner as the applicants.
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The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council had reservations about approving the application.
“The overall trend toward reducing agricultural use in the Ag Reserve is concerning because the conversions result in a net loss of a regional resource that may never be recovered,” the council said in a memo to county commissioners. “The council urges the county to take a strong position to protect agricultural use in the Ag Reserve.”
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In recent years, more and more farmland has been lost to development as the commission created a new commercial category allowing commercial development along Boynton Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue. The Treasure Council argued that approving the Bedners’ application could lead to “further weakening of the protected areas in the Ag Reserve.”
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach PostPart of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at [email protected]. Support local journalism. Subscribe today.
