Council member Charlotte Leonard was absent.
Very importantly: the joint SID/CITY meeting is Tuesday September 2nd at 4PM at the Lodge. This is the same date and location as the next City Council meeting at 6PM.
1) LOWE’S – is coming! Expecting to open toward the end of 2026, construction could begin as soon as this fall (Oct/Nov), with 11-months of construction.
This store will add about 150 J.O.B.’s to these western communities: about a 40/60 full-time/part-time split; with about 7 salaried leader positions.
This will not be a prototypical store as it will also be the home of the Lowe’s District Manager (i.e. the DM from the Palm Beaches to Titusville). So the design will have a tiny bit of flourish to make it look Westlake-centric and to match up with other Westlake commercial aesthetics.
This store will have exactly the amount of parking it needs, and not any more: 488 parking spaces; 9 golf cart spaces; 6 oversized “pro” spaces.
Lowe’s has their own organized Retail Theft Unit. So don’t even….!
Lowe’s has opted to add 1% of their construction costs to the Art in Public Places fund. (Commercial entities are required by City code to either a) contribute 1% of construction costs to the AIPP or b) provide their own art valued at 0.75% of construction costs.)
Fun Facts: Lowe’s is a Fortune 50 company (52 actually). They LOVE our Veterans, offering a 10% discount and VIP parking. Lowe’s target audience is female DIYers. That’s me till I get tired or lose patience or can’t figure it out. Then I call my main handyman Robert. IYKYK.
2) XCEL PADEL – was present at tonight’s meeting requesting an exception to Westlake’s requirement that alcohol purveyors be distanced at least 1,000 ft from each other. In this case, the door-to-door distance from Xcel Padel to Publix is 911 ft. So close to the 1,000 ft requirement. Right?!
Luckily, the Council was on board with approving the exception seeing that Xcel Padel is asking for what amounts to a cafe license: to provide beer and wine, on premises only (nothing can be brought in or taken out), and there’s a front desk that members need to pass through to enter the club. OH, and there’ll be a master chef-curated menu, too. Food to sop up that beer or wine. Wooh wooh!
A “sexy venue”, as per Mayor J.P. O’Connor qualifies it, just like this social sports club is exactly what we need out here. Expected in September.
See these related Xcel Padel Westlake Wanderer articles:
3) PLANET FITNESS – is opening next Tuesday August 12th! You might see activity there the 11th, but that’ll just be the staff getting oriented and ready.
4) SOLID WASTE ASSESSMENT – Did you get a notice from the City of Westlake of a $324 solid waste assessment for the period of 10/1/2025-9/30/2026? This is an annual letter that MUST got out with the specific verbiage as required by state statute. It is not entirely accurate, however.
Westlake has recently gone out with RFPs (“requests for proposal”) for a new SW contract, with proposals expected next week. So that number, the $324, could change. Hopefully, it will go down. We will have more news about a new contract at the September 2nd City Council meeting.
5) STRATEGIC PLAN – that work we ALL did with Dr. Dale Sugerman for a new Strategic Plan has paid off in the form of a Final Report (see pages 340-352).
Westlakers met with Dr. Sugerman, City Council members met with Dr. Sugerman, and City Staff met with Dr. Sugerman to arrive at the final strategic plan (pages 340-352).
Dr. Sugerman conceded that Westlake’s Strategic Plan could not, and should not, look like that of an established city and, further, recommended we hold a Strategic Planning session in about 18 months (as opposed to the typical 3 years).
This is because Westlake is young, growing very fast and, on top of that, the world is changing so quickly right now.
Now we just need to make sure our City leaders hold to this Strategic Plan!
6) EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD – is meeting Thursday (i.e. tomorrow!) 6PM at Westlake’s “city hall” (4001 SPW). Call in to listen during your Northlake-gate commute home or just pop on over!
If you care about Westlake’s schools and children, these meetings are for you. There’s PLENTY of room to learn and help out. Read more at Westlake the Magazine’s July/August ’25 issue on pages 29-30.
7) VICE MAYOR GREG LANGOWSKI – is hosting a Chat this Saturday morning, 8/9, 10AM-12PM. He’s always curious about your experiences in Westlake and willing to answer any questions you might have. He’ll be stationed to the left once you enter the back gate.
It’s perfect, you can chat with the Vice Mayor and then head on over to the Back to School Pool Bash at noon.
8) HOLIDAY POP-UP MARKET 2025 – is scheduled for Sunday December 7th. My understanding is that Westlake and Wellington worked together to not double-book this year.
Requests for vendors go out a couple of months beforehand. So stay tuned to Westlake Wanderer for that announcement. Or just sign up for City notifications here. 😉
9) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION – the City, particularly City Manager Ken Cassel, is working with Palm Beach County on a public transpo pilot project. This could result in a friggin’ BUS (my dad’s version of foul language) coming out to Westlake, possibly within 18 months, to help commercial employees get to work, to get customers out to Westlake commercial and, and!, to REDUCE traffic congestion.
Hope and pray! Hope and pray!
10) PARK FUNDING – just didn’t land. But the City is in communication with the governor’s office which has been supportive and helpful.
So the City is looking for different pathways or alternate doorways to find funding.
We’re really just looking for a measly $1.2 million which would get us Phase I, the park entry and parking lot. The lot could serve as a car pooling station, parking for the fitness trail, and, maybe, a public transpo bus stop!
City Manager Cassel warns that whatever monies Westlake might get, we want to be cautious about what we build, taking maintenance and upkeep costs in mind. Those costs will fall on us, Westlakers. Something to keep in mind.
11) THAT OUTBUILDING – of Grove Market (aka Aldi Plaza) might be moving toward a medical slant. We have very little communication from the builder but this is City Manager Cassel’s takeaway. I say, get a dermatologist in there! A PCP! A skin/laser place. An eye doctor? A Lasik place? What other medical things? Hair plugs.
12) CHASE BANK – is still headed to Grove Market (aka Aldi Plaza), as seen in the third image above.
They have a contractor and their site plan is in. It’s up to them now to create their own timeline which the City isn’t privy to. Hello, Chase? Speak up.
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