VERO BEACH — The Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously Nov. 20 to approve the Vero Beach Art Museum’s site plan to demolish and rebuild an entire wing, adopting project conditions aimed at preventing the decision from setting a new height precedent in the city.
Principal Planner Cheri Fitzgerald provided an comprehensive overview of the presentation that afternoon, followed by presentations by both Museum Director Brady Roberts and his contracted Kimley-Horn engineer, all of which led to debate over Roberts’ request to utilize a new city-approved height calculation formula that he helped to craft. Fitzgerald began with a description of the request for the property at 3002 Riverside Park Drive before Planning & Development Director Jason Jeffries chimed in with additional information.
“The project is to redevelop the site and construct 66,671 square feet of museum building,” she said. The museum is also planning to demolish 54,800 square feet and retain 20,904 square feet of the existing building to the south. All the necessary site infrastructure improvements are also part of the site plan. The applicant is the Vero Beach Museum of Art, and the engineer of record is Kimley-Horn & Associates. The site area is 7.6 acres and the building height is 35 feet with 15 feet architectural embellishment.”…