Boynton Beach residents fear proposed development will create flood of problems

Some residents in a Boynton Beach community are hoping commissioners in Palm Beach County will be in their corner.

They're concerned a developer, Toll Brothers, will be given the green light to reshape the Cypress Creek Golf Course community.

Julie Nicholas is leading the efforts to keep that community as is.

She said Toll Brothers has a plan to add 152 new homes to the unused golf course that sits in the middle of that neighborhood.

We have reached out to their staff with questions and residents' concerns. Andrea Meck, director of public relations and social media for the company, said they received our inquiry and they're looking into it.

Meantime, Nicholas said the plan is a recipe for disaster.

"We believe Toll Brothers engineers are dramatically underestimating what it will take to prevent flooding, not only our neighborhood, but replacing the fact that this whole land is no longer a drainage basin for us,” Nicholas said. “And then the fact that they're trying to add 152 homes with concrete roads and sidewalks and, you know, concrete foundations. That doesn't absorb water."

As it is right now, they already struggle with flooding, whenever there's strong rain in that area, according to Nicholas

She says these photos were taken from the same spot, before and after a regular storm.

Residents said they're concerned about flooding because the 152-home plan would be built on land they currently use as drainage. They say this would bring "irreversible flooding risk to the area."

"What happens is the rain collects here, the rainwater collects here and it comes right up to our fence as it is,” Nicholas said. “A lot of people around the golf course have these same stories. We have tons of photos of just the most basic, hard rainstorm creating flooding that's up to our homes."

Nicholas said some residents have hired an independent engineer to also look at their soil, and they found high levels of arsenic in parts of the land.

WPTV found Toll Brothers has an office in Boca Raton.

WPTV journalist Victor Jorges reached out via email, and called and left voicemails to ask about this plan and residents’ concerns. They responded via email saying they’re looking into our questions.

The zoning commission has already recommended approval of the plan by a 4 to 2 vote, according to the meeting agenda for later this morning.

The hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the county commission chambers in downtown West Palm Beach.