The Riviera Beach Planning & Zoning Board unanimously approved a site plan on Dec. 11 for a 36‑unit townhouse community at 4142 Leo Lane, subject to the staff report’s conditions and a police‑department lighting amendment. The board’s recommendation will go forward to city council as the project’s next step.

Principal Planner Curt Thompson told the board the ±2.51‑acre parcel is zoned RM‑15 and has a future land‑use designation of MF‑15, which allows the proposed density. "What you have here before you is … a 36 unit townhouse style multifamily residential community," Thompson said, summarizing site layout, zoning compliance and staff review across city departments.

Zach Sisera, agent for the applicant with Kotler and Herring, described the design as five two‑story buildings with a mix of three‑ and four‑bedroom floor plans and 72 parking spaces counted as a garage plus driveway per unit. He said the units are code‑compliant and that the project would not seek variances. "We are proposing 36 units," Sisera stated, and added the team would dedicate a sliver of right‑of‑way for a sidewalk improvement on Leo Lane.

Board members pressed the applicant on price, affordability and on‑site amenities. Sisera said the units are not proposed as workforce housing and that, based on Palm Beach County’s 2025 AMI, target buyers or renters would fall between about 80% and 120% AMI; he gave a ballpark for-sale range of "between 400 to $550k" and estimated a 3‑bedroom rental in the area at roughly $2,800–$3,400 monthly.

Several members raised traffic and emergency‑access concerns because the development has a single two‑way ingress/egress on Leo Lane. Staff and the applicant said drive aisles are 24 feet wide, the applicant submitted an auto‑turn exhibit demonstrating fire apparatus maneuverability, and that the fire and police departments reviewed the plan and will re‑evaluate access during the building‑permit stage. Thompson pointed to Condition No. 9 in the staff report requiring the applicant to "amend the lighting and photometry plan to comply with the comments included in the 11/25/2025 memo by the Riviera Beach Police Department" prior to permit issuance.

The board also requested a community‑benefit condition to track local hiring and contracting. A board member read a provision the panel has used previously requiring the developer to "actively advertise employment opportunities for temporary and permanent positions within the city of Riviera Beach, including participation at community job fairs" and to provide a report to Development Services six months after the certificate of occupancy documenting outreach efforts, number of local hires and the percentage of construction dollars spent with local vendors. Sisera committed to that reporting requirement and staff said the language would be added to the staff report.

A motion to approve the site plan "as read into the record by staff and explained by Mr. Thompson and the applicant, including the conditions that were read into the record, including the lengthy letter from the police department, the hiring conditions…" was moved and seconded; roll‑call voting by the attending members recorded unanimous approval.

Next steps: the board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council, and staff said final technical reviews—including building‑permit checks of fire and police access—will occur before permits are issued.