The Delray Beach Planning & Zoning Board on Oct. 20 recommended approval of a level‑3 site plan to redevelop a 3.22‑acre site at 2612–2650 North Federal Highway as a Hyundai and Genesis full‑service dealership, and granted two regulatory waivers while adding a condition asking the applicant to seek corporate approval for extra glazing on one garage elevation.

The motion, made by Commissioner Mitch Katz and seconded by Commissioner Jim Chard, approved the site plan with conditions including a requirement that the applicant ask Hyundai/Genesis corporate to allow glazing of five bays on the east elevation (and one turning the southeast corner); if corporate denies that request the applicant must submit the denial letter to the city and the approval would stand without the glazing. The board’s tally was recorded as six in favor and one opposed.

Why it matters: The project replaces a long‑standing vehicle storage lot with a two‑brand, two‑story dealership and a multi‑level integrated parking garage. The board’s action clears a major hurdle for construction while highlighting neighborhood concerns about lighting, noise and visual screening of the garage levels.

The proposal and waivers
The applicant presented a redevelopment plan for a roughly 3.22‑acre site north of Gulfstream Boulevard between Federal and Dixie highways. The plan calls for a two‑brand (Hyundai and Genesis) showroom and service facility with an integrated parking garage and internal inventory storage. The applicant described a 55,000‑square‑foot primary building footprint for sales and showroom areas and a larger gross square‑footage total that includes the multi‑level parking garage and service areas; staff later summarized the total gross area (including the garage) as about 167,000 square feet.

The applicant requested two forms of relief available under the Land Development Regulations: front‑setback relief in the North Federal Highway Veil district (the code sets a 5‑ to 15‑foot established range; the applicant proposed a much larger setback to allow circulation and fire access) and a reduction in the open‑space percentage allowed for automotive commercial (AC) zoned dealerships. Staff told the board it had reviewed technical issues including water, sewer, drainage, traffic concurrence and parking and found the application technically compliant except for the two areas of relief requested.

Public comment and applicant response
A nearby resident, Ingrid Kenimer, urged the board to require physical screening and downward‑directed lighting at night to reduce noise from remote vehicle fobs and light spill from inventory display areas. Kenimer referenced past issues at other dealerships where vehicles parked on rooftop levels or alarms created recurring noise.

Neil de Jesus, the applicant’s chief operating officer, told the board the dealership will use an electronic inventory system that identifies an individual vehicle’s exact location and “eliminates the need to find those vehicles by the key fob alarm,” adding the project team had agreed to comply with the city’s photometric and illumination requirements. “Anything in terms of the illumination criteria that the city has required … we’ve complied with and we’ve agreed to,” he said.

Board discussion and conditions
Board members generally praised the site design, landscaping and circulation changes that reduce curb cuts on Federal Highway. Several members urged stronger screening on the garage elevations facing Dixie Highway and the adjacent neighborhoods. Commissioner Roger Cope urged the applicant to “offer a screening solution on the east elevation to assist in the acoustics” and recommended that solution be carried to other elevations as appropriate.

The board’s approval included a specific condition asking the applicant to request additional glazing on five bays along the east elevation (and one bay on the southeast corner) from Hyundai/Genesis corporate. The record requires the applicant to provide written confirmation of the corporate decision: if corporate refuses the glazing, that denial letter must be delivered to the city and the approval stands without the glazing; if corporate approves, the glazing becomes part of the final approved elevation set.

Key technical clarifications
- Site area: about 3.22 acres. (Applicant stated the primary sales/service building about 55,000 sq. ft.; staff later cited a gross total of ~167,000 sq. ft. including the multi‑level parking garage.)
- Parking: the plan shows approximately 325 total spaces; staff noted 153 spaces are required for customer and employee parking under the code and the remainder are eligible for inventory/bullpen parking inside the garage.
- Setbacks: property is in the North Federal Highway Veil district; the code calls for a 5–15 foot range for front setbacks and the applicant requested a waiver to place the building farther back to allow fire and truck circulation.
- Open space and landscaping: the existing site has minimal landscaping (applicant said 1% counted today); applicant proposes roughly 15,000 sq. ft. of new landscape (about 11% of the site), an increase over existing but short of the 25% open‑space threshold for AC zoning, and asked for reduction approval that the code allows in the automotive district if perimeter buffers and other requirements are still met.
- Loading and service areas: staff and the applicant confirmed loading zones sized to accommodate large delivery trucks (applicant described 20x30 loading pads and capacities for ~60‑foot delivery vehicles) and garbage/trash enclosures configured for front‑load trucks.

What the board did not decide
The recommendation is for final site plan approval and is subject to the condition described above. The board did not—and could not—bind Hyundai/Genesis corporate to accept façade changes; the condition asks the applicant to seek that corporate approval and produce a written denial if corporate will not allow it.

What’s next
This is a level‑3 site plan and the approval moves the application toward final permitting and building‑permit review. The applicant must provide the corporate response about the glazing and comply with the conditions of approval and the standard site plan and building permit reviews, including final photometrics and engineering review for drainage, utilities and fire access.

Quotes
“We have a policy now that…marks where those vehicles are parked…so there’s no longer a need to find those vehicles by the key fob alarm,” said Neil de Jesus, chief operating officer for Superstore Auto, the applicant. “So when a salesperson is going to identify a vehicle, they simply go to the computer. It tells them exactly the spot that is numbered and where that vehicle is located.”

“This is an absolutely stunning, beautiful improvement to the…stretch of Federal Highway,” said Commissioner Roger Cope during discussion, urging further screening on the garage elevations.

Speakers
- Mitch Katz — Planning & Zoning Board member (mover)
- Jim Chard — Planning & Zoning Board member (seconder)
- Roger Cope — Planning & Zoning Board member
- Deidre Strong — Planning & Zoning Board member
- Judy Malika — Planning & Zoning Board member
- Gregory Snyder — Planning & Zoning Board member
- Price Patton — Planning & Zoning Board chair
- Christina Balenki — Applicant representative (presenter)
- Neil de Jesus — Chief operating officer, applicant (Superstore Auto)
- Mike Covelli — Landscape representative (applicant)
- Ingrid Kenimer — Resident, public comment

Authorities referenced
- Land Development Regulations (LDR) Section 4.4.0.10(f)(3) — front setback in North Federal Highway Veil district (referenced during the presentation and waiver discussion)
- LDR Section 4.3.4(h)/4.3.4 — open space and auto commercial reductions for dealership properties (referenced for open‑space relief)
- LDR Section 3.1.1 — required findings for site plan approval (consistency and concurrency findings)
- City of Delray Beach Comprehensive Plan, policy NDC 2.002.1 (cited by applicant/staff regarding encouraging automotive uses in the corridor)

Actions
- kind: "land_use"
identifiers: {"agenda_item_id":"8a","file_number":"2025-065"}
motion: "Approve Level 3 site plan application for Hyundai/Genesis dealership at 2612–2650 N. Federal Highway, subject to standard conditions and a condition requiring the applicant to request glazing of five bays on the east elevation (and one on the southeast corner) from Hyundai/Genesis corporate, with the applicant to submit any corporate denial letter to the city; if denied, approval stands without glazing."
mover: "Mitch Katz"
second: "Jim Chard"
tally: {"yes":6,"no":1,"abstain":0}
outcome: "approved"
notes: "Approval conditioned on applicant seeking corporate approval for additional glazing and submitting corporate denial if applicable. Technical reviews for drainage, utilities, photometrics, and fire access remain required at permit stage."

Clarifying details
- site_area: {"value":3.22,"units":"acres","source_speaker":"Christina Balenki"}
- primary_building_sqft_applicant: {"value":55000,"units":"sq ft","source_speaker":"Christina Balenki"}
- gross_sqft_including_garage_staff: {"value":167000,"units":"sq ft","source_speaker":"Staff"}
- parking_total: {"value":325,"source_speaker":"Staff"}
- customer_employee_parking_required: {"value":153,"source_speaker":"Staff"}
- open_space_existing_percent: {"value":1,"source_speaker":"Christina Balenki"}
- open_space_proposed_percent: {"value":11,"source_speaker":"Christina Balenki"}
- right_of_way_dedication: {"value":10,"units":"feet","source_speaker":"Christina Balenki"}
- loading_zone_size: {"value":"20x30","units":"feet","source_speaker":"Staff"}

Proper_names
[{"name":"Hyundai","type":"business"},{"name":"Genesis","type":"business"},{"name":"Federal Highway","type":"location"},{"name":"Dixie Highway","type":"location"},{"name":"CubeSmart","type":"business"},{"name":"Delray Beach","type":"location"}]

Community_relevance
- geographies: ["North Federal Highway corridor","Delray Beach"]
- impact_groups: ["neighbors along Dixie Highway","customers of dealership","employees"]

Provenance
- topicintro: [{"block_id":"s861.13","local_start":0,"local_end":210,"evidence_excerpt":"At this time I'd like to enter into the record file number 2025Dash065, and I will turn it over to the applicants.","reason_code":"topicintro"}]
- topicfinish: [{"block_id":"s5923.78","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"Thank you very much. Appreciate your time.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

Searchable_tags:["auto_dealership","zoning","setback","open_space","Federal_Highway","Delray_Beach"]

salience:{"overall":0.72,"overall_justification":"Large redevelopment of key corridor site, multiple LDR waivers, visible local interest","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Site affects corridor and adjacent neighborhoods","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Local interest; public comment on noise and light","novelty":0.38,"novelty_justification":"Standard auto dealership but with corporate glazing condition","timeliness_urgency":0.50,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Permitting will proceed; condition requires followup from applicant","legal_significance":0.30,"legal_significance_justification":"Waivers under LDR but no new ordinance","budgetary_significance":0.05,"budgetary_significance_justification":"No direct budget impact stated","public_safety_risk":0.12,"public_safety_risk_justification":"Concerns raised about alarms and lighting but mitigations proposed","affected_population_estimate":1500,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Residents and corridor users within immediate neighborhood; approximate","affected_population_confidence":0.45,"affected_population_confidence_justification":"Local impact limited to corridor and adjacent blocks","follow_up_priority":7,"follow_up_priority_justification":"Board conditioned approval requiring corporate response; staff and permit steps remain"}

engagement_forecast:{"newsworthiness":{"national":0.05,"regional":0.15,"local":0.90,"justification":"Local land‑use decision on high‑visibility corridor with neighborhood concerns"},"notify_recommendation":{"audience":"city","reason":"Local land‑use approval with condition requiring applicant follow‑up; relevant to planning and building staff and commissioners"},"predicted_interest":{"national":0.02,"regional":0.10,"local":0.85,"justification":"Potential interest from residents and business community"},"predicted_click_through":0.60,"predicted_read_time_minutes":3.5}

graph_signals:{"jurisdictions":["US-FL-DEL"],"ontology_topics":["land_use","transportation","economic_development"],"entities":[{"id":"org:SuperstoreAuto","name":"Superstore Auto","type":"business"}],"events":[]}

issues_audit:{"spelling":[],"clarity":[],"chronology":[],"framing":[],"misinformation":[],"misidentification":[],"out_of_context":[],"Quantitative precision":[],"Process clarity":[],"Context clarity":[],"Agency clarity":[],"Question emphasis":[],"omission":[],"bias":[],"duplicate":[]},