Homeowners oppose Toscana Isles workforce apartments planned...

The mood was tense, the hour was late and the conflict had a familiar ring to it. Ansca Homes is seeking permission to build 206 apartments on Hypoluxo Road, and the neighbors were not happy.

“There are two sets of property rights here, the existing communities and the people who want to build,” Palm Beach County Commissioner Shelly Vana said. “I hope the answer is something everybody can live with.”

Vana reminded the homeowners that workforce housing, which accounts for 142 of the 206 apartments, is a mandatory program heavily supported by the Palm Beach County Commission. It was declared to be at a crisis level in 2005. Vana added that it would behoove the developer to make any concessions it could, even though some had already been made.

At the Wednesday night meeting west of Boynton Beach, a dozen homeowners representing six nearby communities called the planned apartment complex “an eyesore” and “a Pandora’s box.” Homeowners mainly objected to the rental units, which they said would attract transient people, more traffic, more kids in the nearby schools and possibly more crime.

“A lot of us don’t want workforce housing there at all,” said Winston Trails resident Henry Colon. “There is a group that would rather see retail on that frontage.” Colon acknowledges his position is radical, since even critics concede the plan for Toscana Isles meets all county requirements and is expected to be approved.

The original signs for Toscana Isles, planted two years ago and still up on the vacant land, said homes would be sold for $200,000 and up. There are still single-family homes planned for the 33-acre plot, but the developer, Ansca Homes, determined rentals are in greater demand.

The county commission will take comments on the Toscana plan July 26. After that, the permitting process could still take at least one year before the development to be ready to accept renters.

According to Suzanne Cabrera, president of Housing Leadership, formed in 2006 to find solutions for the county’s affordable housing crisis, the county needs at least 9,000 units of affordable housing, and by far workers prefer rentals.

Toscana Isles includes 208 multi-family units fronting Hypoluxo Road and 206 single-family, zero-lot-line homes to be built later. Of the rentals, 142 would be designated as workforce housing, allotted to workers making moderate incomes, with rental fees lower than market rates.

After the meeting, Pol Africano paced around the parking lot smoking a cigarette. He thought he had addressed the homeowners’ concerns two years ago.

“Back in 2010, we sat down with people from Lantern Key, Cocoplum and Biltmore, they asked for certain things and we worked it out,” Africano said. Among the changes were an added access road, an increased buffer and taller trees.

For Alberto Trujillo of the Journeys End neighborhood, the episode is an opportunity for residents to vet comprehensive planning along West Hypoluxo Road, which becomes progressively more rural west of Toscana Isles.

“There is no vision for all that stretch of land,” said Trujillo. “Each developer is doing what he wants. We believe that is wrong. This is a big opportunity here to make all that area look nice.”

Marty Perry, Toscana’s attorney, calmly combated objections one by one.

“Who in their right mind would jeopardize their investment by creating a slum at their front door?” Perry asked.

Perry said the apartments would be between 57.5 and 74.5 feet back from Hypoluxo Road, the seven buildings would be placed so that their narrower edges face the road. A three-foot berm with six-foot hedges would also soften the presence of the 35-foot, two- and three-story apartment buildings.

“They’re well-intentioned, but their fears and concerns are not realistic,” said Perry.

Perry reminded the homeowners that every detail of the Toscana Isles plan was legal and pointed out that Winston Trails includes rental units and multi-story buildings visible above the tree line right across Hypoluxo Road.

“What are you willing to negotiate?” Trujillo asked Africano.

“Lower density?”

“More single-family homes?”

“Townhomes?”

Africano shook his head no.

“With all due respect, we already reduced from 459 units to 414,” Africano said. “You’re trying to tell us what type of product to build.”

Vana urged the residents to meet one last time with Ansca’s representatives before July 26.

There is one long shot in the mix.

“We’ve been praying on this,” said the Rev. Tom Peters of Trinity International Church, which is right behind Toscana Isles. Peters wanted to buy 44 of the 70 acres a few years back to expanded its campus, which includes a K-12 school and needs athletic fields, but got outbid.

“We still believe that property is going to be ours,” Peters said.