Map of the Jupiter Inlet area. (Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors; graphic: Jupiter Tide)
By Jupiter Tide Staff
JUPITER — A plan to redevelop the former Suni Sands mobile home park on North A1A with a hotel, condos and a 17-slip marina goes before the Jupiter Town Council for a first round of votes at a special meeting Thursday, Oct. 29.
The council will hold first readings on four ordinances tied to the 10.5-acre "Sperry Parcel" at 961 and 997 N. A1A, north of A1A and east of Clemons Street, according to the meeting agenda. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at Town Hall, 210 Military Trail.
What's proposed
Town documents list the owners as 961 A1A LLC and 997 A1A LLC, which are tied to Charles and Lisa Modica. The plan includes:
a hotel with 100 rooms plus 10 lock-off units (110 keys)
44 residential condo units
a spa, restaurant and retail space
a 17-slip marina for hotel guests and residents only, replacing an existing 17-slip dock and the old pilings from the former Sperry Boathouse
The site once held the 130-unit Suni Sands mobile home park. All of the homes have since been removed, according to the staff report. The property also includes the Suni-Sands shell midden, an archaeological site. About 4.07 acres of it would be preserved, along with a 1.41-acre parcel set aside for the town.
What the council is voting on
The four ordinances, all on first reading, would:
Ordinance 30-26: amend the Inlet Village zoning code (Chapter 27) to change the Flex South subdistrict boundary and its maximum building height
Ordinance 31-26: change the future land use map from 1.8 acres of Riverwalk Flex and 8.7 acres of High Density Residential to 5.0 acres of Inlet Village Flex and 5.5 acres of Conservation, and shrink the required Riverwalk Corridor frontage from 535 to 142 linear feet
Ordinance 32-26: rezone the land to 5.0 acres of Inlet Village Flex South, 4.1 acres of Conservation Preservation and 1.4 acres of Conservation Restricted
Ordinance 33-26: approve a large-scale planned unit development, with several waivers, in a quasi-judicial hearing
The agenda says the site plan will be discussed only, not approved, on Thursday. Dates for second readings have not been set.
Why it's moving this way
The applications follow a Jan. 20, 2026, mediation settlement agreement between the town and the owners under Florida's Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act. Under the settlement, only the land use map change went to the town's Planning and Zoning Commission. The other applications go straight to the council, according to the staff report.
Planning board wanted changes
On Sept. 10, the Planning and Zoning Commission, acting as the Local Planning Agency, voted 7-0 to recommend approving the land use change with changes, according to the commission's approved minutes. The commission wanted:
less Inlet Village Flex land (4.3 acres instead of 5.0), with a 0.7-acre strip along the shoreline left out
more conservation land (6.2 acres)
the full 535-foot Riverwalk Corridor kept
traffic mitigation and a fair trip cap considered
The ordinance before the council is written the way the applicant requested and does not include those recommendations, the report says. On Oct. 9, the applicant's attorney sent the town notice of possible objections, including to the planning board's recommendation.
Concerns about the marina
Town staff note that a marina in this district is allowed only as a special exception, which the council decides case by case. The land use change itself does not grant any marina rights, staff wrote. The applicant proposes turning the dock toward open water and adding buoys to protect seagrass.
Public comments in the agenda packet are mixed. One resident asked the town to require a seagrass survey and objected to running a 17-slip marina through seagrass habitat, writing, "Do not rush because of the settlement deadline." Another commenter supported the land use change.
How to weigh in
The meeting is open to the public, and residents can speak during the hearing. Agenda materials are posted on the town's CivicClerk portal at https://jupiterfl.portal.civicclerk.com.
Sources
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