PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — It’s no secret that more development is coming to Palm Beach County.
GL Homes, one of the largest developers in Florida, recently got approval by the Palm Beach County zoning commission to expand the Valencia Del Mar development with 37 additional homes.
The expansion will take the development from 481 homes to 518 homes in the luxury community.
WATCH: County leaders raise concerns about luxury development
But the expansion is raising red flags by some who are calling on developers to delay it until the State Road 806/Atlantic Avenue project, which includes parts of Lyons Road, is complete.
"The infrastructure to support more units on Lyons just isn’t there, it’s not safe," said Barbara Roth, president of the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations (COBWRA).
She says the increased development in Palm Beach County is having a major impact on infrastructure, like county roads.
"We’re not asking for a stop, we do believe that GL builds fine products, we are just asking for time to catch up," she said.
County commissioner Maria Sachs is also sounding the alarm. At a June 18 Palm Beach County zoning hearing, she asked GL Homes to pause construction of the additional units until Lyons Rd. is widened from two lanes to four lanes.
“What I’m saying is, not now. Wait until Lyons Road is extended to four," said Sachs.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) scope of work for the project says it will widen SR 806/Atlantic Avenue from west of SR 7/US 441 to east of Lyons Rd. from two to four lanes.
The improvements will also widen Lyons Rd. to east of Florida’s Turnpike from four to six lanes, to enhance traffic flow.
The Lyons Rd. improvements are expected to be complete by 2028.
“This is premature. This is not right to the people who live on Lyons Road, and it’s not right to the people of Palm Beach County,” said Sachs.
Bryan Kelly, senior traffic engineer with Simmons and White, Inc., testified on behalf of GL Homes during the zoning hearing that the additional units will have “minimal impact” to the roadway network on Lyons Rd.
WPTV reached out to GL Homes and a spokesperson said: “The proposal met all standards for approval under the adopted county ordinances.”
A company representative said Valencia Del Mar is under active land development.
“The additional 37 homes are along the western side of the project, so towards the tail end of the overall project schedule," they said.
We reached out to FDOT about the project, and are still waiting on a response.