Editorial: Bravo to West Palm Beach for killing marina plan for its waterfront

Thank you to the West Palm Beach City Commission, for reversing plans for a marina development on the city's scenic waterfront. And congratulations to West Palm residents, who quickly organized and pressed the board to scrap the $16 million proposal the city sprung on them.

Mayor Keith James, who said his administration had spent two years working behind the scenes on the project, pledged to form a committee of community and business leaders and residents to come up with a vision for the waterfront's future. Some residents at the Monday night commission meeting lauded that announcement. But one after another made clear it came too late. Soliciting public input would be meaningless unless the city immediately halted negotiations with the marina developer it had selected, City Harbor LLC. , they said.

Ultimately the commission relented. Torn between disappointing a politically powerful and sometimes vengeful mayor and their more powerful (when united) constituents, the commissioners made the right choice, voting unanimously, on a motion by commissioner Catherine Ward, to drop the project.

More: Does West Palm Beach's open waterfront need a marina? Ask the public | Editorial

That's not to say the new committee couldn't come back with a vision that still includes additional docks. But the residents who spoke Monday night made clear that wouldn't win their support. It's a wide-open waterfront they want, not boats blocking their views. The commission's legacy should be to preserve the waterfront, as commissioners have done for more than a century since the city's formation 129 years ago.

West Palm Beach's waterfront is a gem, not just for downtown residents but for visitors from throughout the city and county, and for tourists from out of state and around the world. Sometimes the best imprint we can leave on the future is to leave it alone.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach right to sink marina plan, preserve waterfront