For the first time since Martin County separated from it in 1925, Palm Beach County’s boundary has changed. The so-called “wedge,” a three-square-mile tract in the southwestern part of Palm Beach County, is now officially part of Broward County.
State lawmakers originally approved the boundary change by adopting legislation in 2007, subject to the effective date of the removal of two planned road extensions, University and Riverside drives, from Palm Beach County’s Comprehensive Plan and their subsequent abandonment. The amendment became effective on July 28, 2009. The boundary change officially became effective on September 18, 2009, when the abandonment of these roads was recorded.
The wedge, a triangular area comprised of 45 separate lots totaling 1,928 acres (2,029 including rights of way and water features), is located just west of the West Boca community and just south of Lox Road, which parallels the Hillsboro Canal. The canal becomes Palm Beach County’s new southern border east of the Everglades.
Although largely unpopulated, the wedge area requires some road and drainage maintenance and emergency services. This area was difficult to reach due to its remote locale, and access to the area from Palm Beach County was only available by traveling south on State Road 7 into Broward County. This is the only access over the Hillsboro Canal in the area. Conveying the property gives Palm Beach County a more regular, geographically defined southern boundary.
Palm Beach County’s land mass now stands officially at 1,976 square miles, according to county planners. It remains one of the largest counties east of the Mississippi River.
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