Spotlight On: Natalie Crowley, Director of Planning & Zoning, City of Palm Beach Gardens
July 2025 — The biggest challenge for a city like Palm Beach Gardens is to manage its own growth and success. As new businesses and residents are seeking to locate in the city, Director of Planning & Zoning Natalie Crowley told Invest: how they want to be able to accommodate this growth in a progressive and sustainable manner, while taking into consideration existing community needs. “Palm Beach Gardens is such an amazing city to live, work and play. Our job is to work together in serving the public, to make sure it stays that way,” said Crowley.
What has been the development strategy for the city of Palm Beach Gardens?
I’ve been working for Palm Beach Gardens for over 20 years now, and it’s been incredible to see how much the city has grown and changed. I’ve had the chance to watch it develop and to be a part in creating and implementing exciting fresh ideas. The strategy has been to get ahead of growth and plan for it accordingly with balance in mind. We’ve taken on some big projects, such as our Transit Oriented District, our city-wide mobility plan, and our affordable/workforce housing programs. A lot of city planning departments are in a position where they, as regulators, do not have the opportunity for a lot of proactive planning. The city has had the incredible opportunity at coming up with a strategy and vision while engaging the public and the business community, and has established a forward-thinking plan for how we want the community to grow.
What is the top priority for the city?
Palm Beach Gardens is booming, and the city is focused on properly managing this growth when it comes to planning for the future. The city manager and council are especially focused on making sure the city continues to provide the highest levels of services while maintaining a low tax rate for its businesses and residents. The services we provide — fire rescue, police, emergency management, parks and recreation, finance, and more, are truly world-class. We are very proud to serve the public and provide these high-quality services and are always looking at new ways we can keep up with new trends in emerging markets. All staff are incredibly dedicated and work seamlessly together as a team.
Also, the city has introduced several economic development policies to diversify its tax base, so it stays financially healthy long term. The city has brought in corporate headquarters and other targeted industries, creating new jobs and retaining important existing ones in the community. The city has a robust economic development incentive program that works with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County to encourage these types of projects.
What are the biggest challenges for the city’s development?
Palm Beach Gardens, built after the 1950s post-war era, is a classic example of a city which was built with the automobile in mind like so many cities in America during that time. Trying to address future growth for the city with this pre-existing automobile-oriented framework can be extremely challenging. More specifically, when seeking to provide mixed-use land use patterns with walkable blocks for certain areas of the city such as our Transit Oriented Design District, the city does not have the benefit of a grid layout like some older cities do. The road network is more limited, with surrounding single-use low-density land use patterns. Many of these developments are beautiful and are a positive feature to the city. They are well maintained and are extremely high-quality developments. However, in addressing future growth, most all growth will need to be done through strategic infill which provides affordable choices for the public. The city’s future growth plans for Palm Beach Gardens have worked through many of these challenges, building on our strengths and our unique identity, and have created a vision that is transformational and forward-looking. Our vision for the Transit Oriented District is to have a vibrant mixture of uses that is walkable, safe, beautiful, and offers multiple transportation choices — including a potential future train station. Our policies have allowed for higher density development, with a menu-based incentive system that lets developers add this density by including affordable housing, sustainable building practices, engaging the public at ground levels with shops and amenities providing public art, which the city really values.
Many cities across the world are moving in this direction. Hopefully some of these ideas can serve as an example for other cities across the country.
How have residents responded to the city’s plan?
People really love the plan, and the market response was very strong even before all the implementing codes were in place. I believe this success can be attributed to a clear vision that the City Council adopted, the extensive collaboration with the public in the development of that vision, and a feasible policy framework that developers can actually use. All of the workshops we hosted with the public, including the plans themselves can be found on the city’s website. We wanted to ensure the process was completely transparent. When developers now come to us with ideas for new buildings or questions about how much density we have a plan that provides clear guidance and direction. It shows developers exactly what kind of projects we would like to see in our city. Developers want to know what to expect. Our plan has provided that.
What makes the city of Palm Beach Gardens an ideal location to live, work, and play?
Palm Beach Gardens stands out for its beauty. The meticulously maintained landscaping, parkway systems, and roadways, along with the commercial and residential properties make an immediate positive impression upon entering the city. This exceptional state of upkeep is not accidental. Many property owners are diligent, while the city also plays a vital role in ensuring properties are well-maintained. A unique feature is the city’s beautiful parkway system, especially along corridors like Central Boulevard and PGA Boulevard, featuring wide sidewalks. These wide meandering sidewalks, shaded by trees, are favored by residents for biking and running or just walking. Building on this network, the city’s mobility plan prioritizes enhancing these sidewalks with a goal to connect them to a fully integrated multi-modal network. While bike lanes are valuable for some, many other residents feel safer on these parkways. Therefore, enhancing these parkways is a key aspect of providing diverse options for pedestrians and for people who are seeking to ride their bike or push a stroller. Overall, the lush and verdant landscaping, strong architectural standards, and beautiful parkways distinguish Palm Beach Gardens as an incredible city to live, work and play.
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