A multi-million-dollar deal to purchase the Village Golf Club in Royal Palm Beach is hitting residents hard because it could mean they will not have a say in how the property is redeveloped. Developer GL Homes has acquired the approximately 175-acre golf course for $14.5 million, and local leaders and residents are fearful of what could come next.
Florida’s new Infill Redevelopment Act (SB 1434) could allow developers to turn the site into a residential community while bypassing the normal approval process. The state law, which went into effect earlier this year, allows developers to use environmentally impacted land, like closed golf courses or idled commercial industrial properties, for housing projects.
Similar to the Live Local Act, proposals that meet certain criteria do not have to comply with most land-use restrictions — something many municipalities believe has been a direct attack on Home Rule…