Palm Trail HOA Urges Commissioners to Vote "NO"

 The Palm Trail Homeowners Association urges you to vote NO on the Bounce Sporting Club conditional use application to stay open until 2:00 am. The noise and disruption to Palm Trail and other nearby neighborhoods is a harm that makes this conditional use incompatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Bounce space in the Atlantic Crossing development agreement was approved as a restaurant, and was not expected to in effect extend the Entertainment District. Bounce is claiming to be a restaurant, but its after midnight aspects are clearly those of a nightclub. The Delray Beach City Commission has worked with the Palm Trail and Historic Marina District neighborhoods to mitigate any negative impacts from the Atlantic Crossing project on the neighborhoods to ensure neighborhood compatibility. We urge you to continue to work with the adjacent neighborhoods to mitigate any negative impact from Atlantic Crossing.

  • Neighbors in Palm Trail, Marina District and the Beach area (Barr Terrace, Delray Summit, Seagate Towers, Gleason St) are strongly opposed to the 2am closing hours.
  • Delray Beach has a well-defined, well considered Entertainment District to contain and concentrate the nightlife scene and maintain compatibility with adjacent downtown neighborhoods. Bounce is outside of the entertainment district.
  • Granting a conditional use permit to allow them to stay open until 2am and using 6 Bouncers to create urban club demand by making people queue down NE 7th Ave between 12 midnight and 2am is extremely disruptive to the adjacent residential neighborhood. It is not appropriate outside of the entertainment district.
  • Allowing the entertainment district to spread east and west on Atlantic is a mistake that will lead to more noise and inappropriate crowd issues in the residential neighborhoods.
  • Most people seem to agree that the Entertainment District should not be extended, but allowing Bounce to stay open until 2:00am is a de facto expansion of the Entertainment District, and will only encourage other applicants to ask for similar hours. Many more restaurants and bars are planned in Phase II of Atlantic Crossing. Establishments west of the district will expect to be granted 2am closing as well, extending the EntertainmentDistrict in both directions.
  • The architectural changes approved by SPRAB only amplify the noise into the Palm Trail neighborhood, by moving the entrance onto NE 7th Ave and providing nano glass doors that open onto a patio on NE 7th Ave.
  • Applying conditions to Bounce (closing windows at certain hours, etc...) will be difficult to enforce, leading to drastically increased calls to police and code enforcement, which draws these resources away from other areas in Delray Beach where they are needed more. The hundreds of future residents of adjacent Atlantic Crossing apartments and condos will increase these complaints exponentially.
  • Delray Beach already experiences hundreds of complaints from residential neighborhoods surrounding bars and live music, leading to the need for new noise ordinances. Why would we create even more noise issues and complaints when we know there is already a problem?
  • How much harm will Bounce suffer from closing at midnight instead of 2am? They signed the lease with full knowledge of current zoning restricting them to 12 midnight. They can still operate as a restaurant /sports club and close at 12 midnight.
  • This minimal impact to Bounce from midnight closing should be weighed against the extreme disruption and strong opposition of surrounding neighborhoods to 2 am closing. The neighbors are very strongly opposed. It is not as if they moved into a nightclub/entertainment district. The expectation of Atlantic Crossing when it was approved nearly 10 years ago was for residential, retail, office and restaurants, not for nightclubs open until 2am. 
  • Once this conditional use is granted, it is permanent and there is no going back. Even if we believe that Bounce will act responsibly and comply with any conditions, they can sell or move on and there is no guarantee that new owners/operators will respect those guidelines.

We urge you to ensure that Delray Beach retains its charm as a Village by the Sea. It is a delicate balance, one that is easily broken, and the responsibility should not be taken lightly. Tourists and residents do not come to Delray Beach to experience Chicago or New York, and we do not need to draw a hardcore club crowd from Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West PalmBeach. Delray and its downtown and neighborhoods are thriving and desirable, as long as future development is responsible and in keeping with the Village by the Sea character. Keep Delray’s charm and character by saying NO to the Bounce conditional use permit.

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