Marcel Mullet and his wife Jennifer King, a young couple from north Palm Beach, are very involved in the popular sport of wakeboarding. Last year they purchased a 114-acre parcel of land in Hobe Sound – land that sits right between I-95 and the Turnpike. Part of that land is zoned for expressway-oriented businesses (hotels, gas stations, restaurants) and part of the land use is agriculture. There are no neighbors, the parcel is surrounded by highways on all sides.  

Earlier this year, Marcel and Jennifer brought forward a proposal to build a hotel, restaurant, etc. on the property already zoned for that activity, plus to allow for a professional cable wake park on a lake that already exists on this property. At these parks, a quiet cable system pulls water skiers and wake boarders along just like they’d be pulled behind a boat – but without the noise and expense. There are similar parks in Deerfield Beach, Orlando and Tampa.

As of May 9, 2012, the proposal has received approval from the local planning board and initial approval from the Martin County Board of County Commissioners. But, there has been significant opposition from a no-growth group trying to derail the park. Many of their members and people who were misled by the group’s false claims spoke at the public hearing against the park.  Many others spoke in favor.  Most of those against the park had their facts wrong. Many who spoke out in favor of the park were teens and younger Martin County citizens who are very excited about the possibility of having an attraction like this one in their backyard.

The final adoption hearing is now set for July 10, 2012.  Please check back with us in June for additional information.   In the meantime, please take the time to thank the following county commissioners for their staunch support of the park:

Commissioner Ed Ciampi  eciampi@martin.fl.us

Commissioner Patrick Hayes  phayes@martin.fl.us

Commissioner Doug Smith  dsmith@martin.fl.us

Thank you!