Palm Beach Daily News from Palm Beach, Florida • Page A012

Jlfft --Jpif BLACK 12A ColorFinal A12 Palm Beach Daily News, Sunday, July 27 through Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Palm Beach Daily News THE SHINY SHEET The Community Newspaper of Palm Beach Established 1897 MAGENTA SHE SAYS SHE WANTS THE I ttSEA GULL COTTAGE" TREATMENT I COMPLETE RESURFACING, JOYCE REINGOLD, Publisher PAT THOMAS, Editor MICHAEL KAISER, City Editor CAROL CARNEVALE, News Editor ANDREW J. DAVIS, Deputy News Editor LOCAL VOICES Landmark debate must be fair Make or break ARCOM vote leads to opportunity It's now or never. The Architectural Review Commission, intentionally or not, has provided a window of opportunity that may save the architecturally unique Manus house. Although legally obligated to approve the permit to demolish the house at 144 Wells Road, the commission then voted to deny permission to build the planned British Colonial-stye replacement, saying it would be out of character with the rest of its North End neighborhood. Right now, before the bulldozers move in, is the time for an individual or an organization to step up and buy the Modern-era classic home from the current owners.

Put some money and muscle behind the usually futile wringing-of-hands preservation rhetoric. A new owner could immediately apply for landmark status, preserving the island's only surviving example of the work of Florida architect Alfred Browning Parker. The Cohen family could move on to another house or site for their new residence without having demolished a piece of Palm Beach history. The alternative is a scraped lot with no house on it at all for the foreseeable future a grim picture, indeed. By DENIS P.

COLEMAN JR. Special to the Daily News At its heart, landmarking is an agreement between the individuals in a community and the community as a whole. The community benefits by receiving certain property rights. It" 1 Bl The Town Council, acting as representative of the community, is responsible for assuring that the process is conducted within a set of defined rules, consistently applied and not subject to arbitrary or capricious In his desire to save the Manus house, Mr. (John) Ripley (executive director of the Preservation Foundation, whose opinion piece was published last week) would have weakened the trust and legitimacy that the council has been attempting to create in the process of landmarking over the last 3V2 years.

Mr. Ripley now concedes that the argument he made to uphold ARCOM may have been in violation of the law. He complains that he, as with all other public commenters, was limited in his time of comment. That is because neither he nor the Preservation Foundation was a party to the proceeding. His inability to understand the nature of the proceeding; his desire to save the Manus house, even if it meant stretching or breaking the law; and his willingness to disregard the historical pro -landmarking actions of the council can be characterized as short-sighted at best.

His claim to know the intent of individual council members is presumptuous. His allegations that the "collective mind of the council sees the program landmarking as a weapon" is not supported by historical fact. Mr. Ripley fails to mention that at the previous council meeting, I asked those parties who were present and advocating for landmarking, to assist the town in identifying worthy properties for landmarking consideration. I have also stated my willingness not to be bound by the "50 -year rule." In my tenure, no property brought to the council for landmarking has been denied.

Royal Poinciana Plaza has been deferred until November, but operates under the authority of the Landmarks Commission. To refer to the vote as political is without any substantiation. There was no political pressure on the council except for Mr. Ripley's "end-justifies-the-means" argument. It is Mr.

Ripley's frustration that was on display along with his cherry-picking of facts and selective presentation of context. His eagerness to challenge the integrity of those who disagree with him is most regrettable. There may be instances where all people do not agree with an action to landmark or not to landmark. In this case, had the Manus house been presented for landmarking before the ARCOM application was filed, I believe that I would have voted to landmark. However, the process has to be fair.

In this case, the process failed the fairness test, as does Mr. Ripley's argument. Mr. Coleman HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS The 'Palm Beach Daily News' welcomes letters to the editor. By mail: Please mail or bring your letters to: Palm Beach Daily News, 265 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach, FL 33480 By fax: Our fax number is (561) 655-4594.

By e-mail: To editorpbdailynews.com actions. To retain legitimacy, the landmark process must be perceived as fair. Fairness and predictability are key. Arbitrary and expedient variations undermine the trust that is necessary for the program to be successful. Mr.

Coleman is a member of the Palm Beach Town Council. Research backs Fatio design Cooley wrong; we aim for best for plaza From left, Lee Munder, Brian Kosoy, Adam Munder and Ryan Munder. another service entrance on Ocean Boulevard. The latter entrance was similar in design to the main entrance gate farther north on Ocean Boulevard. An article in the Jan.

30 or 31, 1956, Palm Beach Daily News Through Which Many Once Passed to Gay Parties of Era That Has Gone about the existing El Mirasol gate, states that the property owners along North County Road agreed to deed the road to the town at some point after the hurricane of 1928. The property owners also agreed to pay for "widening, paving and beautifying" the road at that time. My research indicates that the Stotesburys deeded their portion of North County Road to the Town of Palm Beach on March 30, 1931. I currently am writing a biography of E.T Stotes-bury in cooperation with some of his descendants (for further information about my project, please go to www.stotesbury.com). I would welcome any feedback from Augustus Mayhew, Michael C.

Burrows, Donald Curl, or anyone else who is interested in El Mirasol and or the Stotesburys in Palm Beach. WAYNE C. WILLCOX New Orleans I would like to add to Donald Curl's information confirming that the El Mirasol arch was indeed designed by Maurice Fatio. An article from the Sept. 20, 1930 Palm Beach Times Mirasol Is To Be Altered; Cost states that Treanor and Fatio will be the architects for the alterations and additions to El Mirasol, and that "installation of a fountain and lily pond will be included in the extensive beautification of the grounds.

A pavilion also is to be constructed. New gates will be placed at both the Ocean Boulevard and County Road entrances and complete landscaping of the grounds is considered, it was said." Mr. (Michael) Burrows is correct that County Road did exist north of Wells Road in the 1920s, although it was not a public road owned by the town. I have some photographs from that era showing the service gate to El Mirasol on North County Road (also known then as Palm Beach Avenue), which is probably the "two columns to the south of the entry" to which he refers. This service gate appears to have been just north of Wells Road and led to an al-lee of Australian pine trees that extended all the way to By LEE MUNDER, ADAM MUNDER, RYAN MUNDER and BRIAN KOSOY Special to the Daily News Last Sunday's Shiny Sheet contained a letter from developer and prospective Town Council candidate William O.

Cooley, which attacked the honor and integrity of landscape designer and ARCOM Chairman Morgan Wheelock, Town Attorney Skip Randolph, all members of all of the town-appointed committees and the members of our Royal Poinciana Plaza ownership team, specifically, Lee Munder, Adam Munder, Ryan Munder and Brian Kosoy. His accusations contained many misrepresentations, errors of law, and were egregious in both content and tone. The assertion that we engaged the services of Mr. Wheelock solely because he serves as the chairman of ARCOM and not because he's one of the finest landscape architects in the nation with perhaps the most comprehensive knowledge of Palm Beach, in an effort to "buy influence" and "buy project approval," is absurd and insulting. Informed residents know that a proposed plan to revitalize Royal Poinciana Plaza will go before the Town Council, not ARCOM, in November.

Thereafter, should the property be landmarked, ARCOM will never have jurisdiction over the plaza, a fact that Mr. Cooley knows, but ignores. If, however, our project ity and, as a community, we are lucky to have a professional of his caliber working here and serving our Town on a volunteer basis. We hope Mr. Cooley isn't suggesting that professionals such as Morgan Wheelock, Jeff Smith, Gene Pandula and Eugene Lawrence, to name a few, should not work in Palm Beach while they serve on committees in an advisory capacity to the town.

What's our alternative? Is it being suggested that these exceptionally talented individuals should be excluded from serving on committees that address areas in which they have unmatched local expertise? As a town, we would suffer from such a decision. We reject the premise that the credibility and scruples of these professionals who earn a living by working here are compromised if they serve on Town Council appointed committees and we disagree with the implied assertion that these fine individuals lack backbone. We want the residents of Palm Beach to know that we have assembled the best possible team of professionals for this project and as a part of our commitment, we will continue our effort to make the process as open and inclusive as possible. Please visit our Web site at www.royalpoinci anplaza.com. We value all of our neighbors' constructive input, and would welcome Mr.

Cooley's insight as well. While none of us have ever met him, nor has he ever tried to contact us, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss the property in person. We are confident that he will come to realize that we all have the same goal: the very best of everything for our town. should come before ARCOM, Mr. Wheelock has unequivocally and publicly agreed to recuse himself as currently is required by our town ordinance and in keeping with his personal standards of professional ethics.

While we hope it is not the case, Mr. Cooley's position sounds like a strategy to advance his Town Council aspirations. Inflammatory, unfounded, free-wheeling accusations against the integrity and proven track records of some of the most respected professionals in this community especially when they have no basis in either fact or logic is not representative of the character of Palm Beach. It's easy for political candidates to pick on "developers." Please remember, we are residents of the town and are your neighbors. We took on the challenge of buying and revitalizing the deteriorating plaza as a business decision, but also to ensure that it was restored or improved in a manner that positions the property to endure and serve the town in the coming decades.

We knew we'd suffer slings and arrows from those who resist any change whatsoever as a blanket policy. But many of those who subscribe to that position which we understand and respect now realize that Royal Poinciana Plaza is not what it used to be. We intend to make sure that the revi-talization of the property is carefully considered from all perspectives, and we will take appropriate findings from the charrette and scenarios being considered for Royal Poinciana Way into our planning process, which will be directed and shaped by professionals of the highest caliber. That's precisely why we hired the synergistic team of Ann Beha Architects, who are noted for outstanding preservation work, and Mr. Wheelock's firm.

Not only were they repeatedly recommended to us by many longtime residents of Palm Beach, but they both have the sensitivity and respect for the history and character of Palm Beach, which will be translated into the renewal plan for this signature property. Morgan Wheelock's credentials speak for themselves. After all, he was selected by some of the residents who arguably know Palm Beach best to develop and implement the spectacular new sculpture garden at the Society of the Four Arts. We don't know anyone who disagrees that he offers a unique Palm Beach sensibil ARCOM meeting a civics lesson Attending the July 23 meeting of Palm Beach's Architecture Committee (ARCOM) was a great lesson in civic responsibility vs. the dangers of personal greed.

It was so clear that committee members had their hands tied when they reluctantly voted to allow the demolition of the historic Manus house on Wells Road. As suggested by so many professionals over the course of the last several months, there are many viable options to saving the house and satisfying the owner's desire to build a new one on the oversized double lot. JOSE R. GELATS Tampa Lee Munder, Adam Munder, Ryan Munder and Brian Kosoy head a group of investors who own the Royal Poinciana Plaza..