Planning commission approves land-use change to allow ice cream parlor at Bulk Candy Store

The Palm Beach County Planning Commission voted May 8 to approve a small-scale future land use amendment that will let the Bulk Candy Store expand with a 1,370-square-foot restaurant space while maintaining existing warehouse uses.

The applicant’s land planner, Cameron Baker of Schmidt Nichols, told commissioners the 1.28-acre site currently carries an Industrial future land use and that the proposal would change it to Commercial High with underlying Industrial to accommodate the proposed ice cream parlor. "We are here this morning requesting approval of a small scale future land use amendment," Baker said, adding the applicant intends to retain about 17,167 square feet of warehousing and accessory retail on site.

Planning staff recommended approval with conditions. Aaron Kramer of the Planning Division said the site sits in the Urban/Suburban tier at North Jog Road and Wallace Road and falls inside overlays including the Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) approach area, the Haverhill neighborhood plan area, and the Jog Road corridor study. "Staff's recommendation is approval with conditions," Kramer said, noting the recommendation is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and citing Future Land Use Element policy 4.3. One required condition is a cross-access easement to the parcel immediately south to promote interconnectivity.

Commissioners queried how the cross-access condition would be recorded and displayed. Staff explained the condition would be memorialized in the ordinance, carried forward into the zoning resolution, and represented as a GIS layer where users can click the map to view the recorded ordinance and related documents. On traffic concerns, a commissioner asked whether the new restaurant would increase truck traffic or affect nearby residential streets. Planning staff and a staff presenter characterized the expected impacts as minimal and said the site is surrounded by industrial and commercial uses; staff cited an estimated maximum of about 115 trips associated with the change and said those trips would be distributed across the surrounding network.

Public commenter Christopher O'Brien, introduced by staff during public comment, urged the commission to reconsider conventional "units per acre" zoning in favor of density measures tied to household composition (for instance, bedrooms per dwelling) and offered to consult with staff based on his development experience. "My point being that our ... problem is affordable housing," O'Brien said, adding he would share examples from Japan and past local projects.

A motion to approve the Bulk Candy Store small-scale amendment "as submitted with the recommendations per staff" was moved by a commissioner and seconded by the vice chair. The commission approved the motion by a vote of 8-2-0. The approval includes the staff-recommended cross-access easement condition and the standard implementation steps described by staff. The commission adjourned following closing motions.

What happens next: the ordinance with conditions will be recorded and reflected on county GIS layers and will be carried forward into the zoning resolution as part of the implementation process. No additional funding or budgetary action was reported at the hearing.