By Andy Reid | Sun Sentinel

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Suburbia took another step toward taming a slice of Palm Beach County's wild side on Wednesday.

Lion Country Safari won initial approval from the County Commission to change its "rural" designation and quadruple the number of homes allowed on the 637 acres in Loxahatchee that houses the 40-year-old tourist attraction.

Lion Country Safari owners contend they have no plans to close the drive-through animal theme park but want the chance to build homes on about half of the property.

But neighborhoods near Lion Country Safari already are saturated with homes people aren't buying, Loxahatchee resident Rita Miller said.

She was among about 20 Loxahatchee residents and environmental activists who on Wednesday opposed allowing suburban-style development to spread to the gates of Lion Country Safari.

"This change in public policy removes a brick from that carefully built wall against Browardization," Miller said.

Despite residents concerns, the County Commission preliminarily agreed to change development guidelines that now limit Lion Country Safari to building one home per every 10 acres and instead would allow 1 home per every 2.5 acres.

If Lion Country Safari chose to develop its entire 637 acres, that would allow as many as 254 homes instead of the 63 homes now allowed.

If Lion Country Safari just developed its vacant land, the new approvals would allow 96 homes instead of the 24 now allowed.

The development proposal must still be reviewed by state regulators before going before the County Commission for a final vote in August.

"Lion Country Safari is within their rights," Commissioner Priscilla Taylor said about the disputed development plans.

Past development proposals floated for Lion Country Safari's land through the years have included allowing more than 1,000 homes on the property.

The growth watchdog group 1,000 Friends of Florida opposed the latest Lion Country Safari proposal, saying the county should encourage development closer to existing roads, jobs and other community services.

"There is no justification of need," Joanne Davis, of 1,000 Friends of Florida, said about allowing more development at Lion Country Safari.

Drew Martin of the Sierra Club warned that increasing the number of homes allowed on the property would make the lure of development dollars too great for Lion Country Safari owners.

"You are simply approving the end of Lion Country Safari," Martin said. "They will just flip the property."

Not so, said development consultant Kieran Kilday, who represents the Lion Country Safari proposal.

Kilday said developing a portion of the property would raise money that could be reinvested in the theme park.

"We want the theme park to stay," Kilday said. "We don't have an immediate plan for developing the vacant land."