Palm Beach board to weigh landmark designation for 22 properties next season
As part of ongoing preservation efforts, Palm Beach will consider landmark designation for nearly two dozen properties next season.
At its meeting May 21 at Town Hall, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a list of 22 properties for consideration following presentations by landmark consultants Emily Stillings and Janet Murphy.
Those properties join eight others that were deferred from last season.
Additional properties could be considered if time and budget allow, particularly if a property owner brings an eligible property forward seeking landmark designation, Murphy told the Daily News. The landmarks board holds designation hearings between November and April.
The list of 22 properties approved for landmark consideration was developed based on the town's current preservation goals.
Those goals include:
Preserving distinct examples of the town's housing inventory/types.
Creating nodes of landmarked properties that preserve historic streetscapes.
Prioritizing structures that showcase currently underrepresented architectural styles.
Increasing the collection of resources designed by notable architects/builders.
Ensuring a balanced geographical distribution of landmarks across town.
Murphy said that while she and Stillings considered all five preservation goals when creating their list, their primary focus was on the second goal — creating nodes of landmarked properties that preserve historic streetscapes.
She noted that of the 22 properties on the list, eight were located on the "Sea" streets — Seaspray, Seabreeze and Seaview avenues — and four were on Pendleton Lane.
"We're just trying to fill in the gaps and preserve the streetscapes in town," Murphy told commission members.
The list also included the remaining houses in Barbara Hoffstot's 2015 book "Landmark Architecture of Palm Beach" that have not yet been landmarked, Murphy said.
Stillings and Murphy, of West Palm Beach-based Murphy Stillings LLC, will spend the summer researching and writing designation reports for all 22 properties that will be considered.
They are: 105 N. County Road; 250 Pendleton Ave.; 306 Pendleton Lane; 315 Pendleton Lane; 322 Pendleton Lane; 333 Pendleton Lane; 225 Barton Ave.; 321 Barton Ave.; 113 Clarke Ave.; 306 Seabreeze Ave.; 345 Seabreeze Ave.; 409 Seabreeze Ave.; 410 Seabreeze Ave.; 230 Seaspray Ave.; 400 Seaspray Ave.; 425 Seaspray Ave.; 140 Seaview Ave.; 130 Cocoanut Row; 141 Chilean Ave.; 230 Chilean Ave.; 234 Chilean Ave.; and 209 Banyan Road.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission reviews exterior changes to the more than 350 landmarked buildings in town, and recommends additional buildings for landmark protection to the council each year.
It also considers development applications for historically significant buildings, which were created in an effort to discourage owners from tearing down older houses that aren't landmarked, but still contribute to the charm and character of their neighborhoods.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach to consider landmark designation for 22 properties next season
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