A marina proposed for the historic Suni Sands site is facing opposition from several Jupiter residents and local environmentalists.
The issue was raised in public comments at the Sept. 8 Jupiter Town Council meeting, with several speakers opposing the 17 boat slips that would replace a dock at the former mobile home park.
The future of the 10-acre site along the Loxahatchee River has long been a source of debate, as it's one of the last open sites along Jupiter's waterfront. Studies have deemed it archaeologically and historically significant, and environmentalists have warned that proposed development could endanger a sensitive marine wildlife habitat.
"It is a very sensitive environmental seagrass bed," Vivien McLean-Bunce, president of the Jupiter
Inlet Foundation, told The Palm Beach Post. "It's one of the last in the Jupiter Inlet. It's quite valuable for our wildlife, for clean water, for all of the things that seagrass does."
McLean-Bunce was one of a dozen people who addressed the council, encouraging members to reject a special exception requested by the property owner, Charles Modica of Hobe Sound. She said the seagrass beds are a critical component of the marine estuary.
"Manatees rely on it. Turtles rely on it," she told The Post. "About 70 percent of game fish start their lives on a seagrass bed and then move on the coral reefs. If you're an angler, if you're a fisherman, you want to protect the seagrass because that's where all the (juvenile fish) are."
Cheryl Schneider, vice president of the Jupiter Inlet Foundation and a former Town Council member, urged the board to designate the entire shoreline for the site as a conservation area. One resident advocated for "sensible" development along the waterfront site.
"We don't need more marinas. We don't need more restaurants," he said.
Philippe Jeck, an attorney representing Modica, said he had not heard the public comments and could not directly respond to them. Jeck said he is confident any concerns will be addressed when a final proposal for the project is presented to town officials.
The council did not take any action during the Sept. 8 meeting as the Suni Sands project was not on the meeting's agenda. Speakers are allowed to address non-agenda items during public comments.
Mayor Jim Kuretski told those attending that the town staff would respond to concerns where appropriate and said the public will be given notice of any meetings pertaining to the project.
In January, the town and the property owner reached a $10.5 million agreement to give Jupiter ownership over half of the Suni Sands site.
Charles Modica, the developer behind the Charlie & Joe’s at Love Street restaurant complex near the Jupiter Inlet, paid $17 million for Suni Sands in 2013 after the mobile-home park that long occupied the property closed. The site is on south side of the Loxahatchee River between Clemons Street and Dubois Park.
Modica has indicated that he wants to build condominiums, a restaurant and hotel on the site, all with a view of the Jupiter Lighthouse. The plan has sparked outrage from residents who oppose development at Suni Sands because it contains artifacts from indigenous people who lived there as long as 5,000 years ago.
Through the settlement agreement, the town will own the site’s 4.07-acre midden, celestial railway right-of-way and a 1.4-acre view corridor at the northwest corner of the site, overlooking the Jupiter lighthouse.
Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Marina planned for Suni Sands site draws ire of some Jupiter residents
