Palm Beach County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to amend the Future Land Use Atlas and a companion development order for Pine Ridge Apartments and to adopt a replacement restrictive covenant that loosens unit income restrictions.

John Roach, an in‑house land planner with the Gunster law firm, told the board the 2020 approval restricted 288 rental units into detailed income bands. Roach said the applicant proposes to keep roughly half the units income‑restricted (moved into the two lower AMI tiers) and to leave the other half unrestricted to provide market flexibility. "Since they opened, they turned away about 1,400 potential tenants in a 12‑month period," Roach said, arguing the prior mix did not match prevailing demand.

Roach cited a 2025 rent table that shows a one‑bedroom in the 60–80% AMI category starting around $1,300 and rising to about $1,755; higher tiers, he said, move into the roughly $2,200–$2,600 range and top out near $3,000 for the highest category. He told commissioners that leases already in force would not be altered during their current terms.

Commissioners pressed for detail on how many of the 272 previously designated 'workforce' units were at the top of that band and asked what advertised rents would look like if the changes passed. Roach said he did not have a market‑rate advertising table at the podium but maintained that current market rents are generally below the published restriction table and that unrestricted units would help preserve occupancy and the project's financial stability.

Commissioner Weiss moved to approve the Future Land Use Atlas amendment (item 3a); the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Baxter and passed 5‑0. The board approved the companion development order (item 4a) and then adopted the replacement restrictive covenant (item 4.5) on subsequent voice votes, each recorded 5‑0. The board also approved related routine items, including permission to advertise (item 5) and a time change for the green market (item 6), both 5‑0.

Votes at a glance: item 3a (FLU amendment) — approved 5‑0; item 4a (development order amendment) — approved 5‑0; item 4.5 (replacement restrictive covenant) — approved 5‑0; item 5 (permission to advertise) — approved 5‑0; item 6 (green market time change) — approved 5‑0.

The board recorded the decisions as administrative approvals; staff indicated the restrictive covenant adopted mirrors the newly approved Atlas and development order language. The items will be reflected in county planning records per usual administrative processing.