Sylvester Stallone wants an algae barrier near his Palm Beach home

Does Sylvester Stallone want to keep algae and boaters away from the water next to his multimillion-dollar Palm Beach estate?

The action star’s plans to install a barrier on the Intracoastal Waterway next to his North End home are angering some of his neighbors, according to reports obtained by the Daily News.

While the barrier is billed in applications to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as being necessary to prevent the entry of algae and debris, a public notice from the Corps of the army indicates that “the overall objective of the project is to prevent boaters” from approaching. property – with algae a secondary concern.

The request has angered neighbors who say they were blindsided by the notice they recently received from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that they have until 5 p.m. on Christmas Day to comment on Stallone’s proposal.

Stallone’s request also includes a request for submerged leasing of state land, as the barrier would be partly 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 finest homes in the West Indies” in the North End. “I can understand why you would want to protect it. But you can’t just claim your right and think you own the water.”

Requests for comment to several Stallone representatives — including Isiminger & Stubbs Engineering Inc. of North Palm Beach, the project engineer — were not returned.

What does Sylvester Stallone ask for in Palm Beach?

The request was submitted to the state and military for review by famed wealth manager Lester Knispel on behalf of Southpaw Trust, the entity through which Stallone in December 2020 paid the recorded sum of $35.375 million dollars for the property located at 1480 N. Lake Way in Palm Beach. , the archives show.

The estate where the famous “Rocky” and “Rambo” actor lives with his wife, entrepreneur and model Jennifer Flavin, includes a 262-foot private beach on the lake, as well as a two-story mansion, a home ‘guests and a pavilion with swimming pool.

The property is a short walk from the north end of Palm Beach, which faces Palm Beach Inlet. It looks west toward the Port of Palm Beach and Florida Power & Light’s Manatee Lagoon Education Center. Peanut Island, a popular recreational site for boating, is about a mile north.

According to state records, the floating barrier would rise about 8 inches above the water and extend to about 10 inches below the water’s surface. It would be anchored to the stream bottom using a system of nylon ropes and grommets that would be secured into the substrate by six stakes, records show. The barrier would allow marine life to swim underneath, and creatures could also swim around the barrier at either end, a project engineer said in an email to the state Department of Environmental Protection and reviewed by the Daily News.

The barrier would extend 191 feet south of the dock that is at the north end of Stallone Beach, then make a 90-degree right turn back 50 feet toward shore, forming an “L” shape “, according to federal and state authorities. public notices describing the project.

Sylvester’s public comment notice surprises Palm Beach neighbors

The project dates back to at least 2022, when the state Department of Environmental Protection conducted a study of the site, according to public records. Stallone’s representatives officially submitted the request to the state on January 23, 2023.

The plans were received by the Army Corps on Aug. 16 of this year, an Army Corps spokesperson said. This agency published a notice of public comment on October 24, and a 30-day comment period ended on November 24. The notice was posted on the Army Corps’ website, emailed to the agency’s public notice notification mailing list. for projects in Florida and sent by letter to the two residences on either side of Stallone’s property, the Army spokesman said.

The Army Corps received a public comment questioning the proposed project’s effects on seagrass beds and the risk of manatees becoming entangled in the barrier, the spokesperson said, adding that Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also submitted comments. The FWC also reviewed and commented on the application to the state Department of Environmental Protection, records show.

“The Corps is reviewing the intent of the project to determine whether the use of a barrier for the purpose of deterring boaters on the public waterway is permitted,” the Corps spokesperson said. The agency requested more information from Stallone’s team, they said.

The state’s notice of public comment period surprised Susan Gary and her husband, Bradford, when they received it in the mail Sunday.

“Usually when your neighbors want to do something, we found in Palm Beach, they usually call,” Bradford Gary said, adding, “A lot of neighbors are concerned.”

The Garys sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel opposing the project, and they also submitted a letter opposing the project to the state.

Those wishing to review the entire project application may do so by contacting the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 3301 Gun Club Road, SC 7210-1, West Palm Beach.

Written comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. Dec. 25 to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 3301 Gun Club Road, SC 7210-1, West Palm Beach, FL 33406.

Trash washed up on Sylvester Stallone’s beach

Although the 2022 state survey of the area found no algae, that’s because the survey was done in November and most algae accumulates during the summer, said a project engineer in an email to a Department of Environmental Protection employee last year. .

The engineer then described some of the items washed up on the beach in June 2022, including plastic bottles, trash, sticks, leaves, palm fronds, coconuts and a watermelon, in addition to seaweed.

“All of these would be reduced by the floating algae barrier,” the engineer wrote. The beach is cleaned regularly to remove algae, trash and other debris that washes up on Stallone’s property, he said.

Wildlife and safety concerns

The area where Stallone proposed installing the barrier is a quiet cove that serves as a refuge for kayakers, paddle boarders and others who might get stuck in the strong current that flows in and out of the cove, said Susan Gary.

Among those boaters are the small boats used by the Sailfish Club to teach young people how to sail, she said.

“We wouldn’t want an entire section of the beach to be completely blocked by this net, which is quite large,” Bradford Gary said.

Susan Gary remembers that when they moved to Palm Beach, she was in a kayak and her husband in a small Boston Whaler when she got stuck in the cove’s strong current. Bradford Gary had to throw a tow rope to her to pull her to safety, she said.

“From this experience, I would say it was a safety issue, especially for people who are new to the area and don’t realize how strong the current can be,” Susan Gary said. “You could stop there to escape the current.”

Both said they have never seen a problem with large amounts of algae accumulating along the lake’s shores. Another frequent boater in this area, who asked not to be named due to privacy concerns, was of the same opinion, saying that while there may be an occasional pile of algae that enters the cove, they rarely congregate along the shoreline in groups that could be considered a nuisance. at the north end of Palm Beach.

There are some federally listed species in the area, including manatees and smalltooth sawfish, the Army said in its public notice. The state’s 2022 survey revealed several seagrass beds, as well as corals. The Garys also said starfish are frequently seen in the clear, shallow waters of the cove.

The Army Corps notice said the plans would include standard conditions for the protection of manatees, sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish. The project team would use floating curtains to protect the surrounding area during construction until the sediment stabilizes, the Army Corps notice states.

The request to the Army Corps stated that the amount of seagrass and waterway hard bottom that would be affected is “negligible,” the Army Corps notice said.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Kristina Webb is a reporter for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Subscribe today to support our journalism.