Councilman Erik Gleason was not in attendance.
The City’s next meeting is the Education Advisory Board meeting scheduled for Thursday June 18th at 6PM.
1) SEMINOLE RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL’s 2026 DUAL ENROLLMENT GRADUATES – were recognized at tonight’s City Council meeting. Twenty-four (24) students graduated Seminole Ridge with associate’s degrees and one student even graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Impressive!
Three of these students were present at the meeting: Evan Aho; Salutatorian Isis Secor; and Brianna Vargas!
2) PBSO – A Celebration of Life for PBSO Corporal Ray R. Ruby will be held this Thursday June 4th at Christ Fellowship at 1030AM. Traffic could be substantial so plan accordingly. RIP Corporal Ruby.
Three arrests were made in Westlake in May, this is much more than usual. Also, PBSO reminds us that with school out, sadly, crime could increase so stay vigilant.
Also, PBSO has no record of any bicycle thefts. It’s important that residents report bike thefts to PBSO. Maybe one bike theft is just an isolated incident, but a pattern of thefts is a definite problem that should be addressed.
3) SOLID WASTE SERVICES CODE AMENDMENT – The first reading of ordinance 2026-03 caused quite a stir but was ultimately approved 3-1 (yea – Charlotte Leonard, Greg Langowski, J.P. O’Connor; nay – Gary Werner).
This ordinance would allow multifamily developments of four or more dwelling units to opt for commercial solid waste collection services through the City’s franchise agreement. In other words, there was a deficiency in city code that provided for solid waste collection on a level sufficient to serve apartment buildings.
What I could kind of deduce from information shared during this discussion is that there MIGHT be a company, Eastwind Development LLC, that MIGHT be interested in developing some kind of multifamily dwelling units on Parcel L. This new ordinance is clearing the way or, at least, making Parcel L and Westlake more attractive to Eastwind by curing this deficiency.
There seemed to be a lot of confusion about the implications of the approval of this ordinance. On one hand, Councilwoman Charlotte Leonard and Mayor J.P. O’Connor maintained that this was strictly and simply about providing multifamily dwelling units with commercial solid waste collection. Councilman Gary Werner had concerns of broader implications and wondered why there wasn’t more information provided about Eastwind and its plans or application.
Residents were very vocal in expressing their concern and uncertainty about this ordinance and what it could mean for Parcel L which makes up 18 acres of the 62 acre parcel that Minto has zoned as mixed-use for Westlake’s Town Center. There were direct calls for the council to vote no against this first reading. But as noted above, this reading passed 3-1.
As for the prospect of apartments coming to Westlake, city code has always mandated a minimum residential requirement within this mixed-use zone of Town Center. Mayor O’Connor says that apartments are desperately needed and get asked for all of the time. The lack of affordable housing has apparently made some businesses hesitant to come to Westlake, like some restaurants who don’t know where their managers could live in the area. One of the developer’s attorneys pointed out that this type of population density is necessary to support an active downtown like the one we’re all begging and pleading for.
4) HAPPY PROGRAM – Establishedin 2018, Westlake’s HAPPY Program was recently recognized with a Housing Hero award by Palm Beach County! This recognition was due in large part to the City of Westlake hiring dedicated Housing Assistance Program Manager Taylor Garcia. Ms. Garcia was on hand at the meeting with a presentation and to answer questions.
A common concern among residents was that the HAPPY Program applies to new construction homes only, not to resale homes. The Council agreed that it might be time to look into how a resale program might work to connect even more buyers and sellers. Ms. Garcia has agreed to look into it. An initiative for seniors was also proposed for more research.
From every Westlake home sale, $1500 goes to the HAPPY fund. As of March 31st the HAPPY cup runneth over at $4,620,451! So still a LOT of opportunity for new home buyers to get that leg up toward their closing costs or a down payment. (Psst… 7% of the fund is allocated to administer the fund, this allocation pays for Ms. Garcia’s salary, etc., so no skin off the taxpayers back when it comes to HAPPY.)
Since 2018, HAPPY has assisted 135 households to the tune of $3,232,424; in 2026 alone, 34 households have already been assisted for a total of $956,244.
5) HAPPY COMMUNITY RETENTION PROGRAM – I gave this one its own number because it’s a pretty big deal in that it allows for home buyers who aren’t first time buyers to access HAPPY funds! This new feature of the updated HAPPY Program intends to retain Westlake residents as… Westlake residents! Westlake residents who have continuously occupied a Westlake home for a minimum of three years AND who also meet HAPPY’s other eligibility requirements can qualify for funds toward their down payment or closing costs if moving within Westlake. So families looking to upsize or empty nesters looking to downsize can apply for the Happy Program now, too.
6) CITY OF WESTLAKE OFFICES – Currently, City Staff works out of the buildings at 4001 SPW and most City meetings are held at the Westlake Lodge. We get the buildings at 4001 SPW for about $500/year, but there is a concern the land these buildings are on could be sold at any time. And renting the Lodge is not exactly frugal.
Remember that Minto recently sold the City a parcel of land at the truly bargain-basement price of $10 with the intent of building a City Hall! So what to do… See item 5 HERE.
There appears to be three options for city offices till a true City Hall is built: somehow building out that packing plant behind 7-Eleven 1.0 to accomdate some desks and a meeting space; putting some nice, professional looking portables on the newly acquired land; or updating a lease with the current office’s landlord to ensure some certainty. New City Manager Howard Brown will research each of these options and report back to Council.
7) PBCFR – Average response time is down to 5:59!
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