Free parking survives at 12 county beach parks
A $33.4 million rental sale out west, what Amendment 3 means for homestead owners, and a month of library tech classes.
Palm Beach County's new beach parking fees are dead before anyone paid a dime. Residents would have needed annual passes, starting Oct. 1, to keep parking free at a dozen county beachfront parks. Visitors from outside the county would have paid $4 an hour.
Then parks officials checked the fine print. State and federal grants paid for improvements at eight of those parks, and the grant terms demand equal treatment for every beachgoer. Jennifer Cirillo, who runs the county's parks department, said charging visitors while residents parked free would have crossed that line.
This was already the second version of the idea. Cirillo first proposed charging everyone, residents included, which would have raised an estimated $10 million a year. Commissioner Maria Marino pushed for that fee until July, when more than 2,000 angry emails changed her mind. Her fallback, a charge for out-of-county drivers only, would have brought in $3 million. Other commissioners fell in line, since seven of the 12 parks sit in her north county district.
The upshot: parking at all 12 stays free for residents and out-of-towners alike. Among them are the County Pocket's Gulfstream Park, Ocean Ridge Hammock Park and Boynton Beach's Ocean Inlet Park. South Inlet Park in Boca still charges, as it has for years. Boca officials wanted it that way, worried that free county parking next door would drain revenue from city beaches.
Western Delray 55-plus rental community sells for $33.4 million
Solera at Avalon Trails has a new landlord barely a year after construction wrapped. Tampa-based Robbins Property Associates paid $33.4 million for the 55-and-older rental community at 14800 Cumberland Drive. The seller was its builder, Fort Lauderdale's 13th Floor Homes.
That price buys 74 attached, single-story homes in the gated Avalon Trails neighborhood. Each rental has two or three bedrooms, with 1,300 to 1,450 square feet of space. Residents share a clubhouse, a gym and a pool, plus courts for pickleball and tennis.
Why Delray? Robbins, which brothers Steve and Mitchell Robbins started, runs about 4,800 apartments around the state. Its news release pointed to the city's wealthier, aging population as the draw for adult rentals.
Amendment 3 could raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000
This year a qualifying homeowner can exempt up to $51,411 from non-school taxes: $25,000 that applies to every levy, plus $26,411 more. Amendment 3 would raise the non-school exemption as high as $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 a year later, with inflation increases after that.
School taxes are the catch. Their $25,000 exemption would not move, so most homeowners would still get a school tax bill. For owners of qualifying non-homestead property, the yearly cap on assessment growth for non-school taxes would drop from 10% to 5%. It would not limit their tax bills or tax rates themselves. Newcomers who become Florida residents on or after Jan. 1, 2027, would start at $50,000 for non-school taxes and could get the larger exemption after five years.
Local budgets could feel it too. The amendment would steer county and city property tax money toward a list of uses, including public safety, schools and infrastructure. Nothing in it guarantees a set funding level for law enforcement, fire rescue or EMS, the Property Appraiser notes.
Passage takes 60% of voters on Nov. 3. The change would first show up on TRIM notices in August 2027 and on November 2027 tax bills. An online calculator from the Property Appraiser gives an estimate for your own homestead.
Retail Therapy trolleys roll to Delray boutiques Nov. 12
Holiday shopping gets a head start, with the ride included, at the Delray Beach Public Library's Retail Therapy day. The day is a benefit event for the library. It opens with a welcome reception at the library before the trolleys pull out.
Nine shops are on the route so far, with more to come: Coco & Co, Just Hearts, Marie Blu Resort, Morley, Periwinkle, Salutations, Sky Boutique Florida, SeaZen Holistic Boutique and Just Darviny. Shoppers sip cocktails between stores and compete for raffles and prizes.
The afternoon wraps at Le Colonial with champagne, small plates and red carpet photos. A ticket covers the reception, a trolley seat and that happy hour. Parking at the library is free, and the trolleys drop everyone back there.
Library tech classes climb from basics to advanced in October
The library's October tech calendar is built like a staircase. Excel takes three steps: Basics on Oct. 14, Intermediate on Oct. 21 and Advanced on Oct. 28. Canva comes in two parts: 101 today and 102 on Oct. 22.
Phone owners get their own track. A class on getting more from your phone's camera comes first on Oct. 13, then iPhone Basics on Oct. 16 and iPhone Settings on Oct. 23.
Computer basics round out the month: a Google search class on Oct. 19, Exploring Windows OS on Oct. 20, a computer decluttering class on Oct. 26 and a beginner's tour of the internet on Oct. 27.