Jupiter Council Takes First Vote Oct. 29 on Sperry Plan for Former Suni Sands Site

The Jupiter Town Council will hold its first vote on Thursday, October 29, on the plan to develop the Sperry property, the former Suni Sands mobile home park at the Jupiter Inlet. The waterfront site has been at the center of one of the town's longest-running development fights.

The council will consider the requests on first reading at a special meeting that starts at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at Town Hall, 210 Military Trail, according to public hearing notices the town posted September 23. A second reading, along with the project's site plan and special exceptions, will follow at a date not yet set.

What's being decided

The property covers about 10.5 acres at 961 and 997 N. A1A, north of A1A and east of Clemons Street. Its owners, 961 A1A LLC and 997 A1A LLC, are asking for three things:

• A land use change. About 5 acres would become Inlet Village Flex, and about 5.5 acres would become Conservation. The site is now 1.8 acres of Riverwalk Flex and 8.7 acres of High Density Residential.
• Rezoning. The 5 developable acres would join the Inlet Village zoning district's Flex South subdistrict. Of the remaining land, 4.1 acres would be zoned Conservation Preservation and 1.4 acres Conservation Restricted.
• A large-scale planned unit development. This would allow a hotel, residential condominiums, a restaurant, retail and a marina, with several waivers from town standards.

The land use change would also shorten the Riverwalk corridor on the property from 535 linear feet to 142 feet, according to the notice. The town's notices do not list unit counts, hotel rooms, building heights or the number of marina slips.

A related item on the same agenda would expand where the Inlet Village Flex South subdistrict can be applied, adding the area north of N. A1A between Clemons and Saturn streets.

How we got here

Developer Charles Modica bought the property for about $16 million in 2016. Plans stalled after archaeologists found significant Native American sites on the land, including a roughly 5,000-year-old shell midden and the path of the Celestial Railway, Jupiter's 19th-century rail line, WPTV reported.

After years of dispute and mediation, the council approved a settlement 4–1 in January. Under that deal, the town would take ownership of the 4.07-acre midden and the railway right-of-way, and it would buy about an acre of waterfront from the developer for $10.5 million. The developer could then seek approval to build on the rest of the land through the normal public hearing process, which is what comes before the council this week.

The proposal still has opponents. In August, members of the Jupiter Inlet Foundation raised concerns that a larger marina could harm protected seagrass near the inlet, WFLX reported. The developer's attorney said his client is fully complying with the settlement. The settlement agreement expires at the end of the year.

How to weigh in

The council will hear comments for and against the requests at the hearing. The town typically posts the meeting agenda on its website about a week ahead. For questions, contact the Planning and Zoning Department at (561) 741-2691 or (561) 741-2290.