Foreign Property News | Posted by Zarni Kyaw
Sylvester Stallone wants to keep moving forward with plans to build an underwater barrier near his Palm Beach home, despite the wrath of neighbors in his affluent, water-front community.
While the barrier is billed in applications to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as needed to keep out seaweed and debris, a public notice from the Army Corps said "the overall project purpose is to exclude boaters" from coming near the property — with seaweed a secondary concern.
What appears to be billed as an environmental project needed to keep out debris and seaweed from the waterway, "the overall project purpose is to exclude boaters" from being near the property, a public notice from the Army Corps stated. Seaweed is listed as a secondary concern.
Neighbors were reportedly blindsided by the proposal request from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which stated they have until 5 p.m. on Christmas Day to comment on Stallone's project, according to the outlet.
Stallone's application also includes a request for a submerged lease of state land, because the barrier would in part be on underwater property owned by the state of Florida, records show.
"He bought a beautiful property," neighbor Bradford Gary said of Stallone's estate, calling it "one of the nicest West Indies houses" on the North End. "I can see why you'd want to protect it. But you can't just kind of stake your claim and think you own the water."
(Sylvester Stallone's lakeside estate.ItSoldFl.com)
The application was submitted to the state and Army Corps for review by celebrity wealth manager Lester Knispel on behalf of Southpaw Trust, the entity through which Stallone in December of 2020 paid a recorded $35.375 million for the property at 1480 N. Lake Way in Palm Beach, records show.
According to state records, the floating barrier would rise about 8 inches above the water and extend down about 10 inches below the water's surface.
It would be anchored into the bottom of the waterway using a system of nylon ropes and eyelets that would be secured into the substrate by six piles, records show.
The barrier would allow marine life to swim underneath, and creatures could also swim around the barrier at each end, an engineer for the project said in an email to the state Department of Environmental Protection that was reviewed by the Daily News.
(Sylvester Stallone and wife)
The project dates back to at least 2022, when the state Department of Environmental Protection completed a site survey, public records show. Representatives for Stallone officially submitted the application to the state on Jan. 23, 2023.
The plans were received by the Army Corps on Aug. 16 of this year, an Army Corps spokesperson said.
That agency published a notice for public comment on Oct. 24, and there was a 30-day comment period that ended Nov. 24.
The notice was posted on the Army Corps' website, sent via email to the agency's public notice notification mailing list for Florida projects and sent via letter to the two residences on either side of Stallone's property, the Army Corps spokesperson said.
Ref: Neighbors question Sylvester Stallone's request for seaweed barrier near Palm Beach home (palmbeachpost)
Photo Credit- Damon Higgins/ Palm Beach Daily News, CAPEHART, ItSoldFL