Judge rebukes officials, orders new review of proposed beach house

By Steve Plunkett

A federal judge has ordered Boca Raton to reconsider its 2019 denial of a permit to build a home on the beach and barred Mayor Scott Singer and City Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte from taking part.

U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith excoriated the three officials for bias they showed under oath and said some of their actions were apparent violations of Florida’s Sunshine Law. He saved his strongest words for O’Rourke.

“The record is replete with her bias all over. … Her credibility is totally shot,” Smith said.

Natural Lands LLC sued the city in federal court, claiming that the vote by Boca Raton’s elected officials stripped its property at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. of all economically beneficial or productive use. It bought the .34-acre parcel in 2011 for $950,000; its plans for a fourstory, single-family home provoked a public outcry.

After a five-day non-jury trial, Smith on March 24 declined to rule the case an unconstitutional taking of land by the city government, saying case law required that the

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Editor’s Note

The first sea turtle of the summer has nested — a huge, awe-inspiring leatherback. Our volunteers are out again at dawn looking for the V-shaped trails in the sand that show the arrival of our ancient, reptile visitors.

These leathery ladies are the canaries in the coal mine of the ocean, and by that designation, indicators of Mother Earth’s well-being.

Last year, more than 20,000 sea turtle nests were reported along Palm Beach County beaches. Without our stewardship their future is in danger.

This year, three of those stewards departed the rescue section of South County’s premier sea turtle hospital. One by choice, two let go. With them went Gumbo Limbo’s license to treat injured turtles.

No clear reasons have been articulated, and the center’s Gumbo Limbo Coastal Stewards nonprofit management has hired a public relations firm to talk with residents and the media, so we may never know. The scientists — who lost their jobs — are outraged at how the debacle unfolded, alleging chronic mismanagement and a failure of the nonprofit’s leaders to support the sea turtle care mission.

The only certainty is that no more turtles reside at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center — and no one knows when they might be back.

The good news is that turtle experts remain at the center to monitor nesting and hatching. If an injured or sick turtle is found, however, it likely will be transported to a hospital more than 40 miles away.

As Tim Stepien’s beautiful photographs in this edition show, all along our coast volunteers and professionals are out helping the nesting turtles (and soon their hatchlings), but you, too, can help this summer. Here’s how: Turn off the lights — Nesting and hatchling turtles need the dark. Talk with your city or town and condo boards about making sure no external lighting is visible from the beach this time of year. And if you’re on the barrier island, consider turning off some or all of your exterior night lighting. Urban glow is a growing problem that negatively impacts sea turtles — especially hatchlings.

Clear the beach — If you keep beach chairs on the sand, pull them far away from where a turtle might nest, or a hatchling might head for the sea. If you’re a private club member, ask your management to pull chairs and cabanas off the sand at night. Same with beachfront condos with communal beach equipment.

Watch the dogs — Dogs aren’t allowed on beaches in Palm Beach County except in designated areas. Service dogs are another exception. All dogs should be controlled so no nests are dug out or holes left behind for hatchlings to fall into. Keep an eye on the kiddos as well.

Stay off the beach — If you are on the beach after dark, carry only a red light and stay quiet. If you see a turtle coming ashore, keep your distance and do not disturb her. No camera flashes. Turtles are easily frightened by light and noise and may return to the water without nesting — sometimes aborting their eggs.

Light no bonfires — These create a double whammy: light and noise on the beach, plus holes in the sand. Save those for the cool winter months.

Slow down — If you’re a boater, keep your eyes open for turtles during mating season. They’ll often be at the surface and easy to miss if you’re driving fast. Hitting a large turtle is not good for your boat, and can be deadly for one of our marine friends. Remember, rescue and rehab will be difficult in our area this summer.

Please be aware and considerate as the miraculous circle of life takes place over the next several months just steps from our front doors.

To learn more on how you can help, search for sea turtles at myfwc.com.

Mary Kate Leming

— Editor

By Steve Plunkett

To say it’s been a banner year for longtime special-needs soccer coach Lin Hurley would be a huge understatement.

First, she was declared coach of the year for the Soccer Association of Boca Raton’s TOPSoccer program, an outreach program for specialneeds children that she has been a part of since it started in 2000.

In August she was recognized as the Florida Youth Soccer Association’s TOPSoccer coach of the year, and in November with the same honor for the 11-state South Region of U.S. Youth Soccer. Two months later she traveled to Philadelphia to accept accolades as the national TOPSoccer coach of the year.

“This whole thing has been like a dream, it really has. I just love what I do, and I’ve done it so long, I never expected anything like this to happen,” Hurley said as Boca Raton’s 2023 season drew to a close in March. “This has made me feel like a rock star.”

Vic Nocera, who directs the TOPSoccer program, said Hurley’s national recognition was “like an Academy Award.”

“It’s all made out of glass. Probably weighs about 50 pounds,” he said of her trophy.

Hurley’s motivation is simple.

“I love the children, I love seeing the joy that they have when they come here, the smile on their faces,” she said.

As a sophomore at Boca Raton High School in 1966 she “adopted” a special-needs girl who was institutionalized in Miami, driving there every month with fellow high schoolers to hold a party “just

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for something for them to experience.”

“That’s how I started. I just fell in love with these children and I just knew that this was what God planned for me.”

After that came a degree in special education from the University of South Florida, four years of teaching at J.C. Mitchell Elementary, a break to raise her four children, then 25 years teaching pre-K at St. Paul Lutheran, Advent Lutheran and Spanish River Christian schools, all in Boca Raton.

She also launched an afterschool program for specialneeds kids at the Boca YMCA.

At a Valentine’s Day program at Spanish River, the headmaster told students about kindness.

“He said, ‘When I think of kindness, I think of Lin Hurley,’” she said.

Since 2000, the year the program began, Hurley has spent Saturday afternoons from January to March at Boca Raton’s University Woodlands Park coaching kids 4 to 7 years old. Her co-coaches are Suzie Wrenne, who joined in 2004, and Genie Butrym, since 2006.

The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District presented Hurley, 71, with a proclamation March 6 noting its “profound appreciation for her dedication to our community.”

“I’ve never seen a lady with more energy. I’ve never seen her without a smile on her face. I’ve never seen her not being willing to help any of our parts of our soccer program,” said district Vice Chair Bob Rollins, who is also the treasurer of SABR.

“There’s some really nice people in this world still, aren’t there — like truly, just really, honestly nice people,” district Chair Erin Wright said.

Each TOPSoccer athlete gets an official soccer shirt and has one or two “buddies” from middle or high school to help out depending on the athlete’s abilities. Buddies earn community service hours and program awards based on their contributions. The program is free to participants, who numbered about 145 this year.

“I love seeing the joy they have when they come here,” says Hurley, who moved from Boca Raton to Delray Beach in 2015.

A typical Saturday starts with a group run followed by obstacle courses and a modified game. When players kick the ball into the goal, she immediately blows her coach’s whistle and shouts “Woo-hoo,” “Yay!” “Good job,” and “Gimme five.”

“We’re basically cheerleaders,” she says.

On March 11 she and 6-yearold Ethan Robinson walked hand in hand toward a soccer field for the warm-up run.

At 4-feet-11, Hurley didn’t have to reach far to hold onto the young player’s hand.

Her husband, Pat, who was on the Ziff estate’s management team in Manalapan, towers over her at 6-foot-3 but has this to say about the size difference:

“She’s considerably smaller than me, but she has more love in her little finger than I have in my whole body.” Ú

Highland Beach/Delray

a member of the audit committee.