One of the most unique features of the Jonathan’s Landing Community is the JL Marina located on the
Intracoastal
Waterway. Dry storage, boat accessorie
s,
and
access for large boats are all benefits of having this
neighbor in
our community. With a new operator stepping in a few months bac
k, the
POA Board had hoped a relationship could be developed to
ensure a sound
partnership for the community.
That being said, past activity
of the marina tenant has raised some concerns.
In 2018, the Marina owner, and its tenant Marberry and Associates, filed
suit against the POA as they felt the POA was going to deny access to
non-JLPOA
members entering the property. This came about as the Marina tenant created a business for weddings and
banquets
to be held under the name of Out of the Blue. Out of the Blue, a banquet
facility of
the Marina operation, was never
anticipated to service
anyone outside of the JL Community family. The JL POA has always maintained that the Marina, based on the documents filed by the developer in Palm Beach Count
y, would
operate for the owners living within Jonathan
’s as
well as the members of the JL Club and Marina Club
members
.
After legal
action was filed between the two parties, additional action was filed in Palm Beach County regarding two separate Code Violations against the Marina. Specifically, the code violations were:
- Violation on the conditions at the Marina to include lighting, the pavement, and some safety concerns that had been allowed to persist.
- Violation was filed against the Marina Operator that stated that a wedding and banquet venue was not allowed under the Development Order for Palm Beach County for the operation of the Out of the Blue facility.
Both code violations are still pending in Palm Beach County. Hearings regarding these violations will be heard by the Palm Beach County Magistrate on July 1, 2020. The POA Board has been concerned over the past few months that these violations have been pushed down the road each time they have come up for hearing. Both violations carry with them fines if the Magistrate finds the Out of the Blue Operator in violation.
Recently, the Out of Blue Operator began publishing on their
website
that the Out of the Blue Facility will soon be opening to allow lunches and happy hour
s, much
as they had in past years. The concern of the POA Board, however, is that this type of open-door policy will allow guests from outside the community to come to the restaurant. This issue has always been the primary concern of the POA Board and owners.
The POA Board has taken specific action on both fronts to try to bring the Marina operation back into compliance with what we
believe
was always
intended
for the development of the community.
Specifically, the POA Board has reacted to these violations by completing the follow
ing:
- A letter drafted from the POA attorney to the County Magistrate and County Attorney to try to expedite the handling of the two code violations and prevent the hearings from being further postponed. Interestingly, the county set the hearing for this violation right after the letter was sent from the attorney.
- A letter drafted from the POA attorney to Marberry and Associates to clearly state the objection of allowing random guests to access the community to travel to the Out of the Blue Restaurant venue.
Both letters are now stored on the JL POA website and are there for your
review.
All owners within the community should understand
the high level of importance that the JLPOA Board attaches and that it is working on these important issues. Security is the single most important issue
for owners within
the JL
community. To allow any entity to create an open access to the community to operate in violation of our covenants
presents
a fundamental concern for how we govern.
We will keep you posted as to the outcome of this issue.